[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/hr\/article\/modal\/5964\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETalk to your baby: they might understand\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMainstream theory holds that children become self-aware at some point between 15 and 24 months old, when they are able to show that they recognise themselves in a mirror, and become aware of others as individuals with their own minds around the same age or a bit later.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, both awareness of others and self-awareness could come much earlier, according to researchers on the EU-funded TESIS project, which is looking at the role of actions and objects in infant understanding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt means that if babies can see what other people think and feel then parents need to really talk to their kids, even when they are tiny babies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Parents should go ahead and take their newborns seriously as alert, responsive and socially intelligent people,\u2019 said Professor Vasu Reddy, a psychologist from the University of Portsmouth, in the UK, who is participating in the project. \u2018The awareness of others\u2019 minds is something that arises first in direct engagement (when other people directly address babies), in very early infancy.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers have demonstrated that babies perceive a lot more than people think. They\u2019ve shown, for example, that even at two months old a baby knows it is about to be picked up and stiffens its body in anticipation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018They are picking up your intentions from the actions you are doing towards them,\u2019 said Prof. Reddy. \u2018They understand the significance of your smile and your attention in a limited way, and you can tell this from their emotional reactions to you, such as in feeling shy or coy when you greet them as early as at two months of age.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmpowering parents\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParents frequently believe that they can communicate with their babies, even when they are really small, but they\u2019re often told that they must be imagining things. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It\u2019s this kind of emotional engagement which allows the infant to flourish and develop.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Vasu Reddy, from the TESIS project\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Prof. Reddy believes that they may be correct after all. \u2018Actually, sometimes it\u2019s true, and what this research is showing, it is in a way trying to empower parents\u2019 observations and trying to give them the courage to take their perceptions seriously.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s all based on the idea that interaction plays an important role in helping children to learn and develop, even when they are tiny babies. Prof. Reddy underlines, for example, the importance of addressing a baby directly, rather than talking about them in the third person.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s this kind of emotional engagement which allows the infant to flourish and develop, doors will open that wouldn\u2019t open if there wasn\u2019t this kind of engagement,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAngelique Eydam, a psychologist working on the project who is looking specifically at learning, said that interaction is critical to the way young children pick things up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Learning happens together with other people and it develops, it\u2019s not this very one-sided A teaches, B learns, but both kind of learn together,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore than the sum of its parts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers on the TESIS project, which ends in 2015, believe that the power of interaction lies in the fact that it is more than just the sum of its parts. They say that you can see the power of interaction because babies show a greater interest in things brought to them by their parents such as books or specific toys, and parents can use this fact to engage with their children more.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZuzanna Rucinska, a philosophy researcher on the project, said that such an interaction can help toddlers to be more creative in the way they play.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Interacting with others and hearing different stories insofar as they (the interactions) portray unusual and alternative behaviours can expand on accepted norms and increase possibilities of play,\u2019 she said. \u2018All of that really shapes the individual\u2019s cognitive capacities such as imagination.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor parents, this all means that the best way to teach your infant or toddler is to take the time to play with them, even when they are tiny babies. Prof. Reddy believes that society would be better if people did this more often.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think you\u2019d get happier kids, happier parents and therefore a better society,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn this video, the researchers demonstrate how babies stiffen their bodies moments before being picked up.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-x7tk8eq0enjjz047fqazba9w21ymhn-ddovzkezdyn8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-x7tk8eq0eNJJz047FQAzbA9W21YMHn-dDOvzKEzDYn8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]