The Wonder Weeks

Last night I finished my second book of the year: The Wonder Weeks by Hetty van de Rijt and Frans Plooij.  The premise of this book is that babies go through ten predictable, age-based paradigm shifts where their whole world view changes.  Each major leap in brain development is accompanied by a fussy period, lasting from a day or two to several weeks, and after the shift parents can expect their baby to be prepared to learn new skills.

I really enjoyed learning about what babies understand at various points in their first two years, as well as the recommended games and toys for each developmental period to encourage them to get the most out of each mental leap.

My sweet little boy is 16 weeks old now, so the wonder week he's coming up on is the 19th week leap into the world of events.  According to the book, ever since the 12th week leap he has been able to perceive smooth transitions as long as the transition is fairly simple (for example, a ball rolling from left to right).  In the world of events, he will now be able to understand that everything he is experiencing can be broken up into events that aren't always so simple.  For example, if someone jumps into the air, they are going to come back down again.  Or, if you drop a rubber ball, it will bounce back up... and will likely bounce up and down a few more times after that.  He will now start to understand the "purpose" of some of his toys (wheels can be turned, bells can be rattled, etc.), will enjoy watching repetitious events (brushing hair, slicing bread, etc.), and will enjoy looking at pictures, talking, singing, and playing games like "This Little Piggy Went to Market".

I love learning about my sweet baby!



2016 Book Count: 2