Have you ever wondered what your baby thinks?

So tiny, so helpless, so tender... Surely you have ever wanted to know what is going on in your baby's head when he or she gesticulates or makes an involuntary expression or movement, when you find him or her looking at a fixed point or at his or her hands or feet, when you see him or her laughing or getting serious. Yes, you are not the only one, many of us have fantasized about the possibility of really knowing what our little one is thinking.

And science, neurology and psychology also have the same concerns, so here are some of the most common theories on this subject.

First, let's start by giving you some context: babies' neural synapses are quite prolific up to the age of six. Between the ages of three and six the neural connections are made faster and flow much better, their mind is agile and constantly evolving. So 90% of his neural connections occur at that stage -from newborn to three years old- and the remaining 10% until the age of six.

My baby doesn't communicate yet, but he 'thinks', is this statement true? Let's say that, halfway through, what happens in your baby's brain are proto-thoughts, normally associated to sensations, since he does not yet have the possibility of associating or relating them with images, ideas, words, so these first thoughts are almost always 'tied' to bodily sensations, cold, sleep, heat, hunger, discomfort, desire to go to the bathroom.

In the first months of the baby's life, the increase of stimuli begins to bring him connection around cause-effect, it is between the fourth and fifth month that his brain begins to see these things more clearly. And around the sixth month their memory starts to pick up, they are already able to associate pleasant and unpleasant emotions and memories to externalize them with gestures, smiles, faces of disgust, more 'at will' than in the previous months. They begin to move more by brain connections than by mere instinct.
Here it is vital to incorporate toys that stimulate these responses, rattles that when shaken sound like a motorcycle that relates movement and noise, lights and sounds, among others.

From the age of one year on, relationships start to be given by associating words and images, seeing a dog and saying 'wow' or relating farm animals with their onomatopoeias, mom and dad when they are pointed at, water, light, are just some of the most common phonemes with which the baby begins to develop this cognitive part. He will also move by imitation, so you can incorporate more games, such as blocks where he can fit pieces, repeat movements or actions such as putting a doll to bed, putting a hat on, etc.

From the age of three, whether or not he is in school, he will already have a more robust vocabulary and will be able to point out letters clearly, numbers, animals. His thinking is more creative than logical, much more imaginative and fanciful, however, he will already know how to follow and comply with some instructions. Their attention span tends to be shorter, so it is important to make the most of their window of concentration.

It is not until the age of 7 that he will be reasoning as close as possible to what his adult brain will be, this does not indicate that his learning window is reduced, but rather speaks of his mature neural development. It is important at this stage and in all of them to monitor our child's behaviors very well, to show specialists if you see any delay or a different process in their learning. It is in the early years of children where certain thought disorders can be prevented and provide the child with the tools for a full development.

Do not hesitate to talk to your pediatrician, teacher or school psychologist.