The News:
An autistic 18-year-old lost in the wilderness for four days was found alive… weak but apparently fine, and reunited with his family… "To the best of our knowledge, he was just hungry and thirsty and fatigued," said Jim Reneau, one of the nine searchers who found Jacob Allen… Allen, who wandered away from his parents while hiking, was found lying in a clearing… The teen, who has the mental capacity of a 3- or 4-year-old, opened his eyes and rolled over to meet his rescuers… “He was very quiet, he was nonverbal," said Jeremy Reneau, 25, the first to spot Allen. "But you could tell by his body language he was hungry"… "The family is all together," search group spokesman Chris Stadelman said. "As soon as they heard the report he was alive and doing fairly well, they gathered in a prayer circle"… (cnn.com)
Comment:
I can’t hide the fact that I like very much happy endings. And we have so few news with happy endings that we should worry about but the sad reality is that this type of news doesn’t sell. The day I found this news, they were others with greater headings like: "Suicidal bomb attempt against Prime Minister in Pakistan; 135 deaths," "Assassin cannibal also killed his homosexual couple," "Powerful storms are moving in the Atlantic," "Britney Spears…"
A family that lost for four days their son, recuperates him unharmed and join to give thanks to God because of it. It’s really charming!
I recognize that if not for the fact that the young man was autist, supposedly with the “mental capacity of a boy of 3 ó 4 years old,” this news have never reached the press. This young man survived the cold nights in the forest during four days, resisted the thirst and the hunger during that time, as well as the solitude and the distance of his parents. Not even when he saw the rescue team asked for aid or asked them if they have something to eat. I don’t understand a great deal about autism, but I know that God loves them and protects them and I also know that they are among His favorite people, because they are like children.
What does the Bible says:
An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."
(Luke 9:46-48)
Forget Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs, etc. There we have one of the greatest among us.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta children. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta children. Mostrar todas las entradas
lunes, 5 de noviembre de 2007
martes, 5 de junio de 2007
Babies Identify Languages
The News:
The babies between four and six months are capable of distinguishing visually between two languages just by observing the facial gestures of a speaker. After six months of age, only the babies who live in an environment in which the family speaks two languages support this skill, because they are forced to be more attentive … What is the importance of the visual perception in the baby and his comprehension of the world to which he has just arrived? It is known that they are capable of distinguishing faces and that they can appreciate in them the annoyance or the happiness. Now, a new investigation shows that, in spite of just looking at the gestures of the face of his speaker, a baby can distinguish if one speaks to him in a language or in other. According to Núria Sebastián, researcher …, this skill "is part of the set of capacities that the child has" … The results demonstrate that experience modifies the brain. (It appeared in El País)
Comment
Let’s start with some irrelevant questions: Could there be trilingual babies? Perhaps not, because the thing about to be bilingual comes from having parents that speak different languages, although I wonder… if one of them is bilingual and the other speaks a third language… Does some languages cost them more than others? For westerners, the Mandarin and the Japanese are quite difficult to learn. I suppose that it does not matter to babies. What would happen if a baby has a Mexican father and a Spanish mother? Would it count as bilingual? After all, accents and meanings, even if we are talking of a single language, vary among regions.
What is true is that if someone still doubted that babies are a marvel and a blessing for their parents, should be ashamed. Few things equal in tenderness, beauty and inspiration, to the laugh of a baby. And if the baby is the own one, the effect is magnified. Certainly there are moments of discomfort (night crying, change of diapers, etc.), but what father / mother does not overcome them with love?
Now, the babies come with the book empty and although they have an unknown kind of connection with their mother, they are going to be discovering their environment little by little. As the article mentions: they will be attentive. It is up to us, adults "wise persons," to produce for them an agreeable, positive, full of love world. Will we be able to do it?
The babies catch everything according to the study, even different languages. Then let’s be careful with the example that we offer them, let’s pay attention to the attitudes that we use in their closeness and of course, let’s observe the tone that we use, not when we speak to them (since I suspect that the majority of us play the innocent, smile at the point of hurting those muscles that we use very little and say foolish things as "beautiful little angel, how is my cherub doing? Cuchi-cu, baby!"), but when we speak to other members of the family. It happens sometimes that we speak to the babies in the tone of a fairy tale and we shout to our spouse and elder sons in a language and tone proper of a cheap bar. It’s wrong!
At the end, example, attitude, and tone, are types of languages for family communication. And as well as our babies identify the Korean, the Russian, or the Dutch, from the English, they are capable of identifying and of answering to the most sophisticated languages of love, anxiety, annoyance, or … hate.
What the Bible Says
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. (Psalm 127:3-4)
Do not give toys to your baby, give away words of affection, fondness and love to all members of the family in the environment near to the baby. Remember that loving your baby, is not about of just covering him with kisses and to speak to him in "babysh."
The babies between four and six months are capable of distinguishing visually between two languages just by observing the facial gestures of a speaker. After six months of age, only the babies who live in an environment in which the family speaks two languages support this skill, because they are forced to be more attentive … What is the importance of the visual perception in the baby and his comprehension of the world to which he has just arrived? It is known that they are capable of distinguishing faces and that they can appreciate in them the annoyance or the happiness. Now, a new investigation shows that, in spite of just looking at the gestures of the face of his speaker, a baby can distinguish if one speaks to him in a language or in other. According to Núria Sebastián, researcher …, this skill "is part of the set of capacities that the child has" … The results demonstrate that experience modifies the brain. (It appeared in El País)
Comment
Let’s start with some irrelevant questions: Could there be trilingual babies? Perhaps not, because the thing about to be bilingual comes from having parents that speak different languages, although I wonder… if one of them is bilingual and the other speaks a third language… Does some languages cost them more than others? For westerners, the Mandarin and the Japanese are quite difficult to learn. I suppose that it does not matter to babies. What would happen if a baby has a Mexican father and a Spanish mother? Would it count as bilingual? After all, accents and meanings, even if we are talking of a single language, vary among regions.
What is true is that if someone still doubted that babies are a marvel and a blessing for their parents, should be ashamed. Few things equal in tenderness, beauty and inspiration, to the laugh of a baby. And if the baby is the own one, the effect is magnified. Certainly there are moments of discomfort (night crying, change of diapers, etc.), but what father / mother does not overcome them with love?
Now, the babies come with the book empty and although they have an unknown kind of connection with their mother, they are going to be discovering their environment little by little. As the article mentions: they will be attentive. It is up to us, adults "wise persons," to produce for them an agreeable, positive, full of love world. Will we be able to do it?
The babies catch everything according to the study, even different languages. Then let’s be careful with the example that we offer them, let’s pay attention to the attitudes that we use in their closeness and of course, let’s observe the tone that we use, not when we speak to them (since I suspect that the majority of us play the innocent, smile at the point of hurting those muscles that we use very little and say foolish things as "beautiful little angel, how is my cherub doing? Cuchi-cu, baby!"), but when we speak to other members of the family. It happens sometimes that we speak to the babies in the tone of a fairy tale and we shout to our spouse and elder sons in a language and tone proper of a cheap bar. It’s wrong!
At the end, example, attitude, and tone, are types of languages for family communication. And as well as our babies identify the Korean, the Russian, or the Dutch, from the English, they are capable of identifying and of answering to the most sophisticated languages of love, anxiety, annoyance, or … hate.
What the Bible Says
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. (Psalm 127:3-4)
Do not give toys to your baby, give away words of affection, fondness and love to all members of the family in the environment near to the baby. Remember that loving your baby, is not about of just covering him with kisses and to speak to him in "babysh."
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