Comments for Songs From The Wood

Comment on Summer Feels Close by Songs From The Wood » Poems For Little Darling

Songs From The Wood » Poems For Little Darling — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:43:00 +0000

[...] have encountered were nursery rhymes. When she expressed what I thought was joy on reading a poem to her recently, I was intrigued and thought to read her poetry along with stories. But what poems ? Were there any [...]

Comment on Eating Mud by Songs From The Wood » A Short History of Haiti

Songs From The Wood » A Short History of Haiti — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:02:47 +0000

[...] 500 words) history of Haiti to get a little more context of this poor country. I’d written earlier about Haiti, about how people pay money to eat [...]

Comment on Oh! Why Can’t She Remember by Jack Yan

Jack Yan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:57:42 +0000

I have been reading about infantile amnesia tonight. I am not sure how much to believe. My memory goes back, easily, in a linear fashion, to about nine months of age. I remember being unable to walk, shuffling, and actually considering the efficiency of walking versus the risk of falling over (I continued shuffling till I must have been 15 or 16 months).

Obviously, I did not know what age I was—those are guesses based on situations around me at the time, which I won’t go into here, since I did not have a concept of age or months. I also cannot mark out when I began verbalizing in language—there was no “moment” where I can tell you others began understanding me. But I remember understanding those around me before I could speak.

I severely doubt that Europeans have earlier memories than I do as an Asian person. In Hong Kong we had to sit an exam to enter kindergarten by 2½, where we had nightly homework. I had to have numeracy and literacy skills prior to starting that. I also had to sit an exam, solo, to enter Man Kee Kindergarten in Kowloon.

When I moved to New Zealand with my parents at age three, most of my contemporaries had not started school, and regular homework was not a reality for these kids till age five. Being a predominantly European society, there is less need for Europeans to practise their memory skills compared with Asians. Consequently, my European friends tend to tell me that their linear memories begin around five or six years—considerably later than nine months. In your case, you recall being three—again, far earlier than most Europeans.

Interestingly, the two people I have met in life, when discussing this topic, who can remember to before they were one, are European women. So there are exceptions, as there are for any race.

I dare say Maya will remember these times. Children are far cleverer than these so-called “experts” give them credit for. Whether Maya remembers these early days as flashes or in a linear fashion is hard to say, but these times may be more precious to her than you think. And that is a good thing because she will remember more of the love you have given to her.

Comment on Rapture on the Lonely Shore by kiki

kiki — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:16:52 +0000

oh what a way with words…

Comment on A Toy Around Every Corner by Songs From The Wood » Effect of TV On Children

Songs From The Wood » Effect of TV On Children — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:43:22 +0000

[...] children is the contribution to the consumerization of childhood, a subject about which I’ve written in the past. The majority of advertisements to children involve food and toys. The advertisements [...]

Comment on Ripples from The Swine Flu by Smita Dattatri

Smita Dattatri — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:12:49 +0000

Hi Dinesh,
We got the H1N1 shot for aditya last week. Luckily it was very easy for us as we just had to go to the pediatrician. We were undecided at first, but then a lot of kids started falling sick here with the H1N1 flu and since my son is s little prone to upper respiratory illness we decided to get him vaccinated inspite of having concerns. Thanks for writing about this as it reassures me that we did the right thing.
I don’t know how you all managed to stand in the line for almost 8hrs that day.I probably would have given up .

tc
Smita richmond VA

Comment on Tempting Fate by Songs From The Wood » Ripples from The Swine Flu

Songs From The Wood » Ripples from The Swine Flu — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:47:01 +0000

[...] be it on the issue of global warming, evolution or in this case, vaccines (I hope I’m not tempting fate by laughing at the skepticism of these [...]

Comment on Animal Minds by Songs From The Wood » Do Animals Grieve ?

Songs From The Wood » Do Animals Grieve ? — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:17:54 +0000

[...] is wheeled away when dead as opposed to what happens in the real world ? Remember what Marc Hauser said about how hard it is for us to decipher what is going on inside an animal’s [...]

Comment on Maya The Talker by Suku

Suku — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:57:05 +0000

Maya looks soooo cute, romping around , talking nineteen to a dozen on the phone !!! She is a pleasure to watch!!

Comment on Oh! Why Can’t She Remember by Frances Monro

Frances Monro — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:43:10 +0000

My first memories are from age three – about the birth of my sister. 3-4 is apparently the common age for the first memories to be laid down that we can access as adults. Before that… blank. It really is a mystery. The developmental changes of the childhood brain – and again at puberty are rather fascinating and mysterious. Did you know that teenagers actually loose ability in some mental tasks – such as the ability to recognize facial expressions – as compared to preadolescent children? Adults then have to redevelop these skills.