Do you know exactly what your baby will have learned from the time she is born through to kindergarten? Do you know that your baby is smarter than you? Your baby will have mastered how to walk, talk and eat alone. She will master the toilet, make friends and will be able to ask questions and deduce answers.

In fact, children between the ages of newborn to 3 learn more through daily interactions than in any other age bracket. This research was published in The Scientist in the Crib; Minds, Brains and How Children Learn (William Morrow, 1999). The book was co-written by Alison Gopnik, a leading cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, Andrew Meltzoff, a pioneer in infant psychology at the University of Washington, and Patricia K. Kuhl, a well-known figure on language development.

According to the authors, one of the first things your baby will learn is to get your attention. To do this either because he's hungry, has a soiled diaper or is tired – your baby will cry.

"Roxanne will scream if she hurts herself. When she's tired she'll whine. She has a happy reaction when her mother enters the room," says Dennis, dad of 8-month-old Roxanne. "But when I get home from work, Roxanne is all ready to play. She won't let me look at anything else; she wants me all to herself."

In the process of learning this, your baby is learning about human emotion. Your baby will know how to act to make you laugh and get your approval, and will discover things that make you mad just by observing your reaction.

"Just by making eye contact, Justin knows if he can continue what he's doing," says Caroline of her 2-year-old son. "He will touch things I won't allow him to. I know that he knows he's not to touch them. He's trying to see if I changed my mind."

The way a 3-year-old child sees information, registers it and learns from it, she is learning twice as fast as an adult. Ever heard the expression, "Children soak up information like a sponge"? Many children younger than 3 are exposed to a second language and never tell themselves they can't do it. They learn it by seeing, doing and trying.

The best way to enhance your baby's learning or give extra stimulation is simply by spending more time with your child. If you are working outside the home, make sure your child is in a high-quality child-care setting.

“The ideal situation for toddlers and infants would be to have several attentive caring adults and older children who play with the baby regularly in a rich physical environment," says Gopnik.

During the time you spend with the baby, try to play, talk, exchange and be attentive with your child. Use all occasions as they are presented. If your baby's in the mood to dance, then join in and dance with your baby. If she's playing peek-a-boo, engage in a game of peek-a-boo. Be spontaneous and get down on the floor and interact with your child. Your child will learn in situations where play isn't present.

"I love it when after supper Alex cuddles up with me when I'm reading my paper," says Danny, father of 27-month-old Alex. "He pretends to read and he can stay on my lap for a good 20 minutes. I enjoy that and I'm sure he does, too."

They'll learn by watching other children, or other adult caregivers in their daily activities.

"The kind of play we're talking about isn't a separate activity that has to be somehow scheduled into a baby's day, but happens naturally as adults and babies are together," Gopnik says. "That's why it's impossible to say that 'x' amount of a particular activity is necessary."

Babies are learning when they're throwing their toys out of their beds. They're learning when they take a bath and they're learning when they get into your pots and pans in the cabinet. It all may seem insignificant but the baby is learning about noise, life and the environment. She is discovering her own possibilities.

An important part of the research has found that babies who were deprived of the adult interaction made children's development worse. Babies need the adult-baby interaction. When the baby didn't get the right quality care, the baby's knowledge suffered. Gopnik says she's worried that children aged newborn to 3 may not be getting enough quality interactions to reach the mental and emotional levels they should normally reach when entering kindergarten.

"One-fifth of children from birth to 3 grow up in poverty,” says Gopnik. “We provide public support for every other kind of education and learning, but we provide zero support for the kind of learning that happens in the first 3 years of life.”

Gopnik, Meltzoff, and Kuhl request the government take action by developing programs to allow parents to spend more time with their babies such as flex or part-time and working from home. They also demand better subsidies for parents of children in daycare. They feel that better wages and recognition for early childhood educators also would result in fewer turnovers in the field.

While there are many factors that contribute to a baby's development, the authors remind parents that the first 3 years are important – and urge everyone to pay attention to this issue.

Side bar At Play With Your Baby

  • Interact with your baby often and in a variety of ways.
  • Show interest in the things that interest your baby.
  • Let your baby try and experiment with many things.
  • Set up different learning opportunities for your baby. For example; pots and pans, a basket of clean laundry, empty boxes.
  • Establish firm limits and be consistent with behavior you find unacceptable.
  • Show your child your love and pride.