Learning through exploration and discovery...

I just watched a great TED talk about the minds of babies.  Definitely worth watching.  Click here to view it.

This is why following the child's lead is so important.  Babies are wonderful at learning through exploration and discovery.  In the TED talk she talks about babies having a lantern type focus rather than the spotlight type we use as adults.  How do we foster this exploration and discovery and tap into that lantern style?  By following the child's lead and helping foster that exploration and discovery. 

What worries me so much is that many behaviorally focused professionals approach young ones with a spotlight mentality that is more focused on exposure and memory than exploration and discovery.  In my humble opinion and from my experience, this is the exact wrong approach.  I worry that it ends up limiting rather thane expanding development.

Let's do our best to put down the spotlight and pick up the lantern and join in with the babies in our lives.  Not only is it good for them, it is also good for us!