play. Better yet, borrow a young cousin for the day. Talk to him. Listen. Hang out. Children
do not all develop at the same rate, and each child is unique, so the following is just a rough
guide. In this world of growing global media, children are learning more and experiencing
more at an earlier age.
The First Year
Babies start to learn early. Their earliest fears are falling, separation, and strangers. Parents
help their babies to face these fears and learn to handle them. By the baby’s second month
she is already learning through her senses to differentiate between objects. A baby will
follow a moving person or look at a light as early as six weeks of age. He’ll be soothed by
music or a voice by around three to four months. Early on, a baby learns that he can cause
things to happen: Mother will feed him when he cries, and with some effort, he may be able
to get a pacifier into his mouth. Eyes start to focus in the early months. Babies learn to repeat
behavior that brings a good response. And infants who are still unable to sit up by them-
selves might eagerly watch the changing patterns of light and color on TV. Between the
fourth and eighth months babies are able to coordinate vision and grasp. They will play with
anything that is in their reach: fingers, toes, mobiles, toys, Mom’s hair and nose. They begin
to recognize objects, and before they’re one year old they begin to recognize that objects
can cause effects. Babies prefer the human voice to other sounds, the human face to pat-
terns. They’ll play simple peek-a-boo games and enjoy an audience of family, although they
may begin to distrust strangers. The psychoanalyst Erik Erickson believed that the key issue
in the first six months of life was the development of trust in a child.
Learning is taking place by first noticing a rough “sketch” of a new object, then filling
in more details with each additional encounter so that a baby learns “furry thing” first, then
“dog,” then “my dog Spot.” Simple skills of any kind are practiced; then variations are per-
formed: standing, walking, later skipping, hopping, and jumping. By the end of the first year
most babies can probably stand and may walk. Babies learn language through listening to
others, especially those important to them. They need to hear lots of soothing and nurtur-
ing sounds. Researchers have discovered that infants are capable of communication long
before they say much. Parents who began to teach their six- to eight-month-old baby simple
sign language have been rewarded with infants who can sign words and simple sentences in
three to ten weeks. By the end of the first year babies can repeat a simple word or even a
few.
Toddlers (Ages One to Three)
Each child is starting to look outward and discover the immediate world (home and family)
around him. This is still a very vulnerable and dependent stage, and the child needs to
develop a sense of emotional security from Mom and Dad especially. They will help him
face his fears, like the second-year fear of the doctor and the shots she gives. A child needs
sensory stimulation. He needs to be able to practice newfound skills uninterrupted and
within the window of opportunity in which this particular learning process naturally appears
and develops. This is a tremendous period of learning. Children learn to solve problems
46 Animation Writing and Development