Does your child know who they are? Kind of a big question, but at around one year old, your child starts to realise they鈥檙e an independent person with their own thoughts! How exactly do we measure something like that? With mirrors of course! If scientists put a secret coloured mark on a child鈥檚 cheek and then let them see a mirror, younger babies will look and think that baby has a mark on their cheek! But at around 18 months, they鈥檒l think that鈥檚 me! I鈥檝e got a mark on my cheek!and to prove it, they鈥檒l even try to wipe it off.
This is actually a huge deal for your little one鈥檚 language learning. With their newfound sense of self, they can start using language to express how they feel. And this too has been demonstrated by, our old friend, science. In the same mirror test, scientists asked mothers to complete a form, counting when children used words like 'me', 'my' and 'mine'. They found that children who recognised themselves used farm ore 鈥榤e鈥, 鈥榤y鈥 and 鈥榤ine鈥 words, suggesting that a sense of self gives children more power to express themselves. You can try the test yourself! Pop a bit of ketchup on your child and let them look in the mirror!They won鈥檛 always recognise themselves, but when they do, you鈥檒l know they鈥檙e starting to understand exactly who they are!
Does your child have a sense of self? Of what makes them 'them'?
Kind of a big question, but at around one year old, your child starts to realise they鈥檙e an independent person with their own thoughts!
Image caption, Does your child know who they are?
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