A Baby’s Growth
1 To describe a baby’sgrowth, the old saying “one thing leads to another” should really read，“one thing leads to an explosion.”1 The perfection of vision and the abilityto hold his head up allow appreciation of visual space. The evolution ofincreasingly efficient reaching also lets the baby appreciate and participatein his three-dimensional world.
2 You may notice thatyour baby can grab toys with either hand. This is partly because the baby haslearned to grasp an object even if it touches his hand lightly or his eyes areaverted. By the end of the fourth month, he can probably alternate hands tograb the toys or transfer a toy from one hand to the other. He may even wave itbriskly, then transfer it and repeat the waving, shuttling it back and forthbetween hands. In imitating the behavior of one hand with the other, the babymay be becoming aware that he can do the same thing with each arm and that eachhand is distinct from the other. This awareness is important to his receivinginformation about space. The baby also begins to see himself act when herepeatedly reaches for and grasps things. He starts to distinguish himself fromthe outer world.
3 If you would likeanother sign of this growth process, try one of Gesell’s measures of mentalgrowth, the behavior of a baby before a mirror. According to Gesell, a babywill smile at his image at around twenty weeks of age. Hold your baby up to amirror and watch him examine the faces there.2 He will probably attend most tohis own image and perhaps smile at it. As his image returns the smile, he maybecome active and vocalize. He may also look back and forth between your imageand you as if the duplication puzzles him. A baby who knows his mother’s facecannot understand two of them. Calling softly to your baby, as he looks at yourconfusing double, complicates matters even further.3 His turning back to thereal you shows that a baby four months old is likely to have the ability ofpreference in discrimination.4
4 An early attachmentto one object —a toy or a stuffed animal —is another index of discrimination,as well as self-development, for the baby’s interests are going beyondhimself.5 Most babies do not prefer one toy this early6, but some will. Afterexploring each toy, your baby may start reaching and playing with one specialone. In the months to come, the toy or anything else the baby identifies withhimself by wearing or carrying may become a "lovely". A "lovely"will be slept with, chewed, hugged, loved, and "talked to". These"lovelies" give the baby a way of coping with the necessaryseparations from the mother.7 A friendly and familiar toy bear may just makehim easier on himself. Rather than feeling threatened, a mother should beflattered by her baby’s extension of affection elsewhere. A baby with the heartto find a "lovey" is showing early mental resourcefulness andflexibility.
要描述一个婴儿的成长，我们应该把谚语“一事引起另一事”改为“一事引起大风波”。视觉的完善和支撑起头的能力使孩子能够欣赏视觉空间了。越来越有效的够东西的能力也使孩子能够欣赏和参与到他们的三维世界中去。
你可能注意到你的孩子可以用两只手的任何一只抓玩具。这部分是因为孩子学会了当东西碰到他的手或吸引他的目光时去抓那件东西。到第四个月的月末，他很可能会用双手轮流抓玩具或把一件玩具从一只手换到另一只手。他甚至会快速地摇晃它，或换一只手继续摇晃，让它在两只手之间换来换去。在一只手模仿另一只手的过程中，孩子可能渐渐意识到他可以用每只胳膊做同样的事，而且每只手和另一只手不同。这种意识对于他解释空间信息是很重要的。当孩子反复够和抓东西时，他也会开始审视自己的行为，他开始区分自己和外界。
如果你愿意看到这个过程的另一种迹象，试用一下盖塞尔智能发育诊断量表：一个婴儿在镜子前的表现。盖塞尔说孩子大约20个星期的时候会朝着自己的镜像笑。把你的孩子抱到镜子前面，观察他如何看镜子里的脸。他很可能会注意到他自己的镜像，或许会朝它微笑。当他的镜像也冲他笑时，他会变得活跃而且发出声音。他还会来回看你和你的镜像，似乎这种复制使他迷惑。一个熟悉他母亲模样的孩子不能理解为什么会出现这样的脸。当你的宝贝看着镜子里你那个令他不解的“复制品”时，你如果轻轻地叫他，会使他更加迷惑不解。他转向真实的你，表明四个月的婴儿很可能具有在辨别中有所偏向的能力。
婴儿早期对某物品(如一件玩具或填充动物玩具)的喜爱不仅是自我发展的标志，也是具有鉴别能力的标志，因为这时婴儿的兴趣已超出了自我之外。大部分婴儿不会这么早就喜欢玩具，但是有些会的。在了解了每个玩具后，你的孩子会开始去够和玩一件特定的玩具。在后来的几个月里，这件玩具或任何他认识的穿的或拿的东西就会成为他的“爱物”。他会和“爱物”一起睡，咬它，抱它，爱它和它“说话”。这些“爱物”使孩子在不得不离开母亲时有一个独处的方法。一个友好的熟悉的玩具熊会使他自己玩时更容易照顾。当孩子的爱扩展到其他事物上时，母亲不该感到受威胁而应该感到荣幸。一个能找到“爱物”的孩子较早地显示了他的机智和灵活性。