As a personal coach, I spend a fair bit of time chatting with my clients about events that took place in their childhood. I do this because it helps give me critical insights into the events that have shaped a client’s behaviour.
I have been asked, how early do I go back and my answer is always, ‘as early as possible’.
Recently published research into newborn babies (referenced below) indicates that we pick up on the melody of ambient language during the third trimester of our mother’s pregnancy.
Researchers recorded the cries of 30 French and 30 German babies aged from 2 to 5 days and discovered that they cry in tonal patterns that match their mother’s language.
The paper concludes that the babies can’t hear all of the phonetic details of their mothers’ speech, but they can perceive the overall patterns or phrases and sentences.
If this is the case, then it is fair to assume that language isn’t the only thing we pick up from our mothers whilst still in the womb?
What other things do you think babies learn from their mothers before they are born?
Newborns’ Cry Melody Is Shaped by Their Native Language, by the University of Wurzburg and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany and the Ecole Normale Superieure/National Center for Scientific Research in France, in the journal Current Biology.
About the Author
Chris Edwards is a Communication Strategist and Executive Coach. He is the youngest City2Surf Legend - testament to the focus and tenacity that has powered him over the line year after year.
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