(The importance of good parenting from day one)
Raising a baby, especially for the first time, can be a exciting but challenging experience.
This is a time for developing the bonds that will last a lifetime. It is also a time for parents to understand the personality of the child as it develops as each child is different and unique and it is imperative that parents lean to understand, respect, support and encourage the unique characteristics and abilities of your child.
The Parent-Child Relationship is one that nurtures the physical, emotional and social development of the child. It is a unique bond that every child and parent can enjoy and nurture. This relationship lays the foundation for the child’s personality, life choices and overall behavior. It can also affect the strength of their social, physical, mental and emotional health.
Toddlers may not recall the specifics of an event, but they carry the emotional experience of those events through life.
Even though we can’t consciously remember our earliest years, there’s another, vastly important type of memory that we do carry into adulthood: The unconscious and emotional memories of how we have learned to view the world.
If you throw a beautiful first birthday party for your child, he/she may not recall the event, but if you consistently expose him/her to happy, loving gatherings of family and friends, heshe will form emotional & unconscious memories connecting these types of gatherings with feelings of love, happiness and belonging.
Likewise, if a child is exposed to negativity, abuse, violence etc. while they may not recall the specific events they will continue to carry that emotional unconscious memory of violence and will tend to have negative natural reactions to situations as they grow into adulthood.
So don’t judge an experience by whether or not your baby will remember forever. because even if they don’t remember the experience, that’s nothing to sneeze at in terms of forming lifetime worldview for the baby.
When it comes to the unconscious and emotional memories that form a child’s view of the world, consistent, warm responsiveness creates the lasting memory that one is safe, loved, and capable – a memory with lasting, powerful effects on all aspects of a child’s future.
Parents’ involvement in early childhood development is not only important, but can extend the experience of a child in all aspects—social, emotional and mental. Involved parents can make a positive and lasting impact on their child’s learning ability and overall growth.
A child who is stimulated correctly or is moulded in a proper way is likely to perform better and do well in the long run. The child is more likely to perform better academically and lead a healthier and more productive life as an adult.
Parents contribute to the cognitive, socio-cultural, physical, mental, and spiritual development of an individual. Parental values and expertise play a vital role in the healthy upbringing of a child in all these areas. This can play a vital role in the building of the child's profile of cognitive abilities, beliefs, ethical values, coping defenses, and salient emotional moods that characterize each child at each developmental stage.
Conclusion
Throughout the baby and toddler years, children can form memories and holding them for increasingly longer periods of time. However, these memories formed in early childhood fade by the time they’re adults.
Even though children may not remember specific details of early childhood, consistently exposing them to happy, loving, and meaningful moments can help them form implicit memories of joy and belongingness. Because while babies and toddlers may not remember the specific details of an event or experience they do carry the emotional memory that is associated with those experiences which in-term impacts their character as they grow into adults.
So babies do remember-somewhat.
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