# How much do babies learn from their births? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260 "2017-07-14T16:50:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/1 "2017-07-14T16:50:12Z")
Moms are screaming … is this the place where unhappiness resides? Mind games - do we try to influence our closest from the beginning. John Lennon (aka Boy George) give me your best! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/2 "2017-07-14T17:06:44Z")
I think this is better suited to IMHO than General Questions. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/3 "2017-07-14T17:11:53Z")
I swore I’d never do that again. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/4 "2017-07-15T16:43:36Z")
one reason people don’t remember things that happened when they are very young is their brain is a lot different then. it’s called state dependent memory. [State-dependent memory - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-dependent_memory) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/5 "2017-07-15T16:56:49Z")
Entry from Steven Wright’s diary: Day One. Still tired from the move. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/6 "2017-07-15T17:05:37Z")
> [@komolono](#): > > John Lennon (aka Boy George) give me your best! I’m not clear on what either of them have to do with the subject, but are you under the impression that they are the _same person_? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/7 "2017-07-15T17:26:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’m not clear on what either of them have to do with the subject, but are you under the impression that they are the _same person_? I’m not clear on anything. It seems the OP isn’t interested in communicating clearly himself. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/8 "2017-07-15T17:35:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > one reason people don’t remember things that happened when they are very young is their brain is a lot different then. it’s called state dependent memory. > > [State-dependent memory - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-dependent_memory) It’s also called “The neonatal hippocampus isn’t fully developed, so newborns don’t make and retain long-term memories.” They aren’t even particularly good at short-term memory for a few days. One of the reasons no one remembers anything that happened before about the age of 2 1/2, is the development of the hippocampus. It’s also why toddlers’ memory for things like faces is very unreliable. They recognize their parents, but they don’t recognize people they haven’t seen for a few weeks, or people they’ve only seen a few times. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/9 "2017-07-15T19:12:44Z")
when I was just born. I was crying, because there was a bee quite close to me and I knew that bees can hurt you. I heard my mother talking to her friend, but not noticing my trouble. Not a month old I thought, what a stupid woman she was. Then I remembered that I knew her before my birth… I don’t know whether this was a dream dreamt a long time ago or a memory… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/10 "2017-07-15T19:39:39Z")
In my earliest memory, I went swimming during an earthquake, then got trapped in a giant wall of jelly. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/11 "2017-07-15T20:46:52Z")
Looks at join date. Wanders off scratching head. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/12 "2017-07-15T21:05:08Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Looks at join date. Wanders off scratching head. Don’t look at the posting history–you’ll hit brain. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/13 "2017-07-15T21:10:06Z")
> [@komolono](#): > > when I was just born. I was crying, because there was a bee quite close to me and I knew that bees can hurt you. I heard my mother talking to her friend, but not noticing my trouble. Not a month old I thought, what a stupid woman she was. Then I remembered that I knew her before my birth… > I don’t know whether this was a dream dreamt a long time ago or a memory… lol ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/14 "2017-07-15T21:27:02Z")
It’s said that Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, took notes during his own birth. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/15 "2017-07-15T21:49:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s said that Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, took notes during his own birth. Yeah, well, the Beyonder built his own artificial womb and gave birth to himself! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/16 "2017-07-15T22:38:35Z")
Parents cover their face with their hands and baby thinks they’ve gone away. Parents stick their thumbs between their fingers and babies think they “got your nose.” Babies are dumb! Why would anyone think they learned anything from being expelled down a short, narrow fleshtunnel at 30 mph? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/17 "2017-07-15T22:41:07Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Parents cover their face with their hands and baby thinks they’ve gone away. Cite? > [@](#): > > Parents stick their thumbs between their fingers and babies think they “got your nose.” Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/18 "2017-07-16T04:25:53Z")
I remember the taste of my own poo. (again?) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/19 "2017-07-16T14:04:46Z")
**Darren Garrison** the “face with their hands and baby thinks they’ve gone away” bit is related to the development of “object permanence” which typically develops sometime between 6 to 9 months. Goes along with stranger anxiety and separation anxiety, the ability to think of things when out of sight. Yes babies learn for experiences from birth on, sensory input shaping brain development. That does not require remembering it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260/20 "2017-07-17T12:03:53Z")
> [@komolono](#): > > Moms are screaming … is this the place where unhappiness resides? > Mind games - do we try to influence our closest from the beginning. > John Lennon (aka Boy George) give me your best! Which of these four are the actual topic of this thread? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-babies-learn-from-their-births/791260.md?page=2)