Historically, babies have been thought of as having three functions in life, eating, sleeping and pooping.  Instead, what many proud parents of my “baby is an honor student” bumper stickers already know is being scientifically accredited; it is in fact true that infants are world-class explorers, observers and intellectuals. In a study conducted by Laura Schulz and Elizabeth Baraff Bonzwitz at MIT, young children were given a simple experiment involving light and blocks. By the end of the experiment, the children not only had a peripheral understanding of probability but an astonishing capacity for statistical reasoning and experimental discovery.

Now, I know what you may be thinking. These test babies, if you will, were probably the baby geniuses that know hundreds of words in sign language and are soothed to sleep every night with digitally enhanced recordings of Mozart with subliminal baby messaging. Not so, these were normal infants of parents who probably not only didn’t read their parenting books, but perhaps even used them as extra paper towels. These babies were just studied by the right people. Normal babies are actually extraordinary. They just don’t have the same kind of intelligence that you or I do, instead they have a really interesting fun kind.

While we sit in classrooms, ticking off boxes, agonizing about life goals and reconfiguring our mortgages, babies are doing the opposite!  Preschoolers are paying attention to everything without focusing on any goals. They love anything new, unexpected and informative, the ultimate 24-hour thrill seekers; babies find possibility and adventure in absolutely everything.

So the question is, what do babies find the most interesting of all? Light shows? Cliff diving? Nascar races? It turns out that as many RDI Parents already know, babies are endlessly fascinated, fixated and infatuated by the people around them, with parents playing the starring roles. Irreplaceable by toys or DVD’s, Parents and caregivers enrich their infants by doing nothing more than paying attention to them and letting them play.