The youngest children have a great capacity for empathy and altruism. There's a recent study that shows even 14-month-olds will climb across a bunch of cushions and go across a room to give you a pen if you drop one. Alison Gopnik altruismbunchcapacity share on social
One of the best ways of understanding human nature is to study children. After all, if we want understand who we are, we should find out how we got to be that way. Alison Gopnik childfindhuman Change image and share on social
The thing that is most important is having people who are involved and engaged with the kids and also are not stressed and can be involved with them. And that's actually not boring and banal. That actually takes a lot of work to make that happen, and it's not something that our society does very well at all. Alison Gopnik banalboreengage share on social
Teaching is a very effective way to get children to learn something specific - this tube squeaks, say, or a squish then a press then a pull causes the music to play. But it also makes children less likely to discover unexpected information and to draw unexpected conclusions. Alison Gopnik childconclusiondiscover share on social
Even the very youngest children already are perfectly able to discriminate between the imaginary and the real, whether in books or movies or in their own pretend play. Children with the most elaborate and beloved imaginary friends will gently remind overenthusiastic adults that these companions are, after all, just pretend. Alison Gopnik adultbelovedbook share on social
Something like reading depends a lot on just having people around you who talk to you and read you books, more than sitting down and, say, doing a reading drill when you're 3 or 4 years old. Alison Gopnik bookdependdrill Change image and share on social
We learn differently as children than as adults. For grown-ups, learning a new skill is painful, attention-demanding, and slow. Children learn unconsciously and effortlessly. Alison Gopnik adultattentionchild Change image and share on social
When nobody read, dyslexia wasn't a problem. When most people had to hunt, a minor genetic variation in your ability to focus attention was hardly a problem, and may even have been an advantage. When most people have to make it through high school, the same variation can become a genuinely life-altering disease. Alison Gopnik abilityadvantagealter share on social
From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young breathing time to master the things they will need to know in order to survive as adults. Alison Gopnik adultbreathechild share on social
I'm afraid the parenting advice to come out of developmental psychology is very boring: pay attention to your kids and love them. Alison Gopnik adviceafraidattention Change image and share on social