Wary Walker
Waving a broom to catch
her daughter’s interest,
Chloe Nunez joins two
New York University
researchers in encour-
aging 16-month-old
Campbell to try walking
down the slope before
her. (At home, sweeping
together is a favorite
game.) Mother and child
are volunteer partici-
pants at NYU’s Infant
Action Lab, where a
team led by psychologist
Karen Adolph studies the
way healthy infants suss
out challenges such as
unfamiliar terrain. “One
way they figure it out is
through touch,” Adolph
says. Natural sensors in
those small feet and toes
send Campbell’s brain
vital data about how—or
whether—to proceed.