as I do, that the most
important period of life
is not the age of university
studies, but the first one,
the period from birth
to the age of six.
For that is the time
when man’s intelligence itself,
his greatest implement,
is being formed.
“Look at our have baby; sleeping like an angel. The eyelids covering her beautiful eyes, the button nose, the tiny, pink mouth; looks so adorable when she yawns. And those small fists curled up, like she has a few tricks hidden in them. You know what amazes me, when I look at Akira sleeping? For someone so small and helpless, it’s amazing how she manages to get whatever she wants; whenever she wants it!”
“That’s so true, my dear. She has managed to make our world revolve around her, isn’t it?! I used to be such a sound sleeper and yet, now, I wake up a few seconds even before she starts crying for her feed.”
“Oh yes. She has you wrapped around her little finger. She’s worked her magic on you in these few days. Even I couldn’t do it in all these years!”
“Ha-ha. I am her favorite person now because she knows me from when she was inside me, I guess. And of course, I am her only source of food! But don’t look so sad. Soon those tiny hands will reach out to you too.”
Creating a new life is an overwhelming experienced! An impermeable cloak of protective behavior envelops every single notion and action surroundings this amazing life event. The mere mention of the word ‘baby’ conjures up images of absolute beauty and utter vulnerability.
Despite being a seemingly defenceless small person your baby has some exceptional powers. Nature equips babies with the basic kit for survival. You will be surprised that the tiny fertilised egg, right from inception, contains all the potential of the tiny bundle of joy that is being formed. Just as a tiny seed holds all needless to say, the responsibility of nurturing this precious bundle falls on you, the parents. Here’s a tip-off! A blend of ‘Nature’ and ‘Nurture’ holds the mantra to prepared parenting. Sounds easy, right? However, before you fly away on the wings of this new-found knowledge, reflect on the fact that you are the keepers of those powers. Knowing how Nature prepares this miraculous creation will make the parenting journey a fulfilling, spiritual experience.
Consider this; at the time of birth, the baby larynx or sound box is placed high in the throat above the esophagus to avoid chances of the baby choking. Over 3 months, the larynx drops down creating space for it to move and make the sounds vital to human language. However, your new born can cry lustily and draw attention whenever she wants her care-givers to tend to her, be it for feeding, changing or simply for some cuddle time. Soon enough, your baby will be able to do more than just cry in order to get your attention. She will wave her arms at you, babble or even just smile. The smile will definitely enslave you to her whims and wishes and have you dancing to her tunes!
Just like how growing to love her parents is a natural process for your child, so is utilising the essential powers bestowed upon her by nature. This part of her mind which drives the instinctive force of life is called the Horne, meaning impulse or impetus.
Your baby, with latent survival powers, is in transit from the internal physical gestation to an exogestation that will prepare her for the new realm she has come into. During gestation, within the womb of the mother, repeated fission of the single fertilised cell results in growth and eventually a baby is created in over 40 weeks. After completing her physical development to a great extent in the womb, she is now ready for ‘physical development’, bulking up on the raw materials from her environment in the form of sounds, smell, touch and feelings.
Between birth and 6 years your baby tugs at anything that is in her vicinity, and it’s not just the physical objects around her. She draws in the love, the touch, the language and the culture with her senses, just like a sponge. In the beginning, her supine position and limited range of movement with hands and legs will allow her very little exposure to the environment, but she is eager and ready for more. She uses her hands and senses as the tools to feed her very special mind, called the absorbent mind. As the months pass, she will turn and crawl and she will gain access to many more things in the world around her, owing to her inner powers.
Just like the sponge, which does not differentiate between clean water and dirty water, neither does your baby’s mind. The absorbent mind in the initial stages cannot differentiate between which experience or impressions to take and which to negate.
This brings the parents in the limelight, so to say! Everything done or said by you is being absorbed by your baby. While this ensures that the good things like culture, family traditions, language etc are being automatically imbibed by your baby for use in the future, even your slip-ups and bad habits are being closely watched! Having dinner while watching television and gadget over use could be constructed as acceptable if the parents are seen indulging in these practices. On the other hand, the positive side of this wonderful phase is that you can deliberately focus on certain rewarding activities like:
* Reading books: In a home where the parents read, the children will definitely take to reading.
* Playing a sport: If you are in the habit of playing any sport, make sure you continue playing in front of your baby, despite the extra demands on your time due to the baby’s arrival.
* Pursuing a hobby: When children watch their parents paint, sing, dance or event knit, be aware, they are making a mental note!
* Upkeeping culture and traditions: Children grow up unconsciously absorbing the distinctive customs and the traditions that exist in the family; even how courtesy is practiced in the home. For example, being respectful towards domestic help or towards the people who work and help us or helping the spouse with housework, is a lesson being learnt by your child from you.
* Interpersonal skill: Your child’s social skills will depend on how you go about your social life. They learn the basic of being a social being from you. Likewise, the case with the use of gadgets, children imitate their first and strangest role models, you!
All the impressions made on the supple, accepting mind of the baby ae stored as memories. This unconscious memory, called Mneme is the permanent storehouse of all the impressions relating to environment, language, movement, culture and intellect, but she is in possession of the immense absorbent mind, using which she develops the Horme and the Mneme built on the innumerable impressions that she imbibes. As she turns 3, she begins to consciously take in the impressions with focus and concentration owing to the budding intellect that is slowly being crated within her. The Horme and Mneme are vast powers and volumes can be written about them. We shall talk about the Horme and Mneme a bit more in another chapter.