Sept. 3, 2024

mental model of the world

It’s fascinating watching BB develop a mental model of the world. A six-month-old lives entirely in the moment: I am hungry now (upset). I am chewing on a toy now (happy). I am being carried now (neutral). People could come and go, hand him off like a sack of potatoes, he didn’t care.

At fifteen months, he’s starting to think and even slightly imagine things. A recent incident at daycare: Near the end of the day, the doorbell rang. He looked expectantly at the door. The person who entered was not his mom, but the daycare lady’s son. BB started crying and kept it up until a few minutes later when his mom arrived to pick him up.

This is actually a bunch of small mental feats.

  • Recognizing sequences of events and forming expectations based on past events (doorbell ringing = Mom is coming)
  • Comparing expectation with reality (Mom coming vs. Mom not coming)
  • Having an opinion on the matter (mad)

It’s a more challenging time, compared to when he didn’t care at all, but it reflects a lot of mental development. He didn’t see his mom, but he imagined and expected and wanted his mom.

Another example: On Monday morning, he was starting to get whiny and easily annoyed, which is a sign that he’s tired and needs a nap. Brother picked him up to bring him upstairs for a nap and he WAILED. Like, immediately on pickup. He knows that’s the precursor to being put in his crib for a nap, and he HATES naps. Before, he would just wail when you put him in the crib, but now he understands the sequence of events.

(He conked out super fast. He really needed that nap.)

(Then we left before he woke up. Byeee! He apparently spent a while searching the house for us when he woke up.)

In other news, Mom stubbed her tailbone by sitting on one of BB’s spinny toys in his playpen. Big oof.

Written by Achaius

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