Why Toddlers Don't Do What They're Told

Hugh Pickens writes "New cognitive research shows that 3-year-olds neither plan for the future nor live completely in the present, but instead call up the past as they need it. 'There is a lot of work in the field of cognitive development that focuses on how kids are basically little versions of adults trying to do the same things adults do, but they're just not as good at it yet. What we show here is they are doing something completely different,' says professor Yuko Munakata at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Munakata's team used a computer game and a setup that measures the diameter of the pupil of the eye to determine mental effort to study the cognitive abilities of 3-and-a-half-year-olds and 8-year-olds. The research concluded that while everything you tell toddlers seems to go in one ear and out the other, the study found that toddlers listen, but then store the information for later use. 'For example, let's say it's cold outside and you tell your 3-year-old to go get his jacket out of his bedroom and get ready to go outside,' says doctoral student Christopher Chatham. 'You might expect the child to plan for the future, think "OK it's cold outside so the jacket will keep me warm." But what we suggest is that this isn't what goes on in a 3-year-old's brain. Rather, they run outside, discover that it is cold, and then retrieve the memory of where their jacket is, and then they go get it.'"

Comments

Oh

[binarylarry]

So children learn by DOING, I get it.

Man, I'm glad millions of dollars are going to these kinds of studies.

Re:Oh

[okooolo]

I agree and have a feeling that if they substituted college students for toddlers they would get pretty similar results for a fraction of the price.

Re:Oh

[ta bu shi da yu]

Heck you could substitute a slug and you'd get the same result. Only you would also get a cool slug trail also, so that would be cooler.

Re:Oh

[Anonymous Coward]

We already know God created the universe in 7 days, why the hell are we wasting billions of dollars on astronomy, biology and physics?

To find out how he did it.

Re:Oh

[Anonymous Coward]

Except it would take days for the slug to find its jacket.

Re:Oh

[ta bu shi da yu]

I dunno man. My pet slug never does what he's told. All he ever does is eat, eat, eat. And if he doesn't get what he wants then he slimes my shoes. Ick.

My slug directly disproves your point. It's stubborn, selfish and attention seeking. I hate my slug.

Re:Oh

[ta bu shi da yu]

P.S. slugs are much worse than toddlers when it comes to putting on their jackets. At least the toddler gets around to it. Slugs just like totally ignore you. When was the last time you saw slug wear a jacket? Never? Thought so.

Re:Oh

[Hurricane78]

Same as with children.

-- Hannibal

<ducks/>

Re:Oh

[Anonymous Coward]

You can raise your own "young-offender" spoiled little brats that will be the downfall of civilization. My kids will respect their elders and get along with their peers and be respectable members of society. If you don't like my methods, proven to work for thousands of years, tough shit. They are MY kids and I and my wife are the only ones responsible for raising them.

Ignorant Godless liberals... why do you think the kids are out of control now a days? Can't be your defective parenting ideas.. no, can't be that.

The Bible says, "spare the rod, spoil the child" Why can't you guys understand that, oh I know, because that means work. It's not easy raising kids, but it is if you let them have everything they want. Losers. You cannot rationalize with a 4 year old. May God have mercy on your soul. Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to Jesus.

Posted anon for the impending troll mods and so I don't have anymore libtards stalking me.

Re:Oh

[CAIMLAS]

One thing toddlers have on slugs, though. Mine didn't die the last time I put salt on it.

Re:Oh

[commodore64_love]

Hannibal never ate children. That was just Roman propaganda.

Re:Oh

[Keeper Of Keys]

That was some fun little experiment.

Re:Oh

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmm salted children...

*drools*

Re:Oh

[moortak]

give it time

Re:Oh

[rts008]

Try more salt next time...start with a dump truck load, perhaps?(this technique also muffles those annoying screams)

Re:Oh

[binarylarry]

Yep, smack is much more dangerous and expensive.

Not planning for the future?

[drolli]

Hmm sounds like me. I also don't do what i am told and i don't plan for the future.

Re:Not planning for the future?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm sounds like me. I also don't do what i am told and i don't plan for the future.

Not quite. I think living in your mother's basement is a perfect plan for the future.

Re:Not planning for the future?

[Anonymous Coward]

Also sounds like my ex wife. It's not that she planned to have arguments, but everything I said and did was stored for future use against me.

She also stored details of my bank accounts, income and capital assets which she was surprisingly adept at recalling during mediation.

Re:Not planning for the future?

[rastos1]

Also sounds like my ex wife. It's not that she planned to have arguments, but everything I said and did was stored for future use against me.

- ... Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. ...
- Come on officer. You behave like a toddler!

Re:And that's different how?

[djupedal]

You're right - certainly... and I completely agree.

I believe the speaker just became tripped up when they went for an explanation, however.

What they meant to say was "Uggbga gholps belam gonitoa slhudipp-ti." - Which of course clearly shows that the toddler's train of thought was not only reasonable but well framed and acted upon.

Sounds pretty intelligent

[Anonymous Coward]

So they don't believe what they are told until they verify it themselves? That would make them more intelligent than most adults. Children are being told lies all the time, I can't blame them for being skeptical.

Re:Sounds like a good system

[Vectronic]

I'll take that into consideration... In the meantime...

http://www.onion.demon.co.uk/theonion/other/babies/stupidbabies.htm

Re:And that's different how?

[cortesoft]

So basically your kid is like a programming language with poor looping support

Re:Lacking in Sardonic Tone

[flyingfsck]

The one thing I remember is that a jersey is something you wear when your mother is feeling cold.

Re:Thank you Einstein

[masmullin]

"It takes a village to raise a child" was intended for fat American kids, where it takes an entire village to lift the buggers out of their stroller.

Cosby summed it up: it's BRAIN DAMAGE

[mfnickster]

I think they should name this study in honor of Bill Cosby's "I dun-no!" sketches.

Lol!

"What did I just say?"

"You said.. for to not for to drink the drink."

"Well, why did you do it???"

"I dun-no."

"Well, that's BRAIN DAMAGE!"