Child 1. Happiness
Nov 12, 2025
Denny Marichal, Director at the Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, sheds light on studying toddler brains in natural settings. They delve into how toddlers experience joy through games like peekaboo, emphasizing emotional intensity. The conversation explores the critical role of caregivers in shaping emotional development and the societal pressures on parents to ensure constant happiness. Insights on historical interpretations of happiness challenge modern obsessions, prompting a rethinking of what it means for families today.
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Peekaboo Teaches Deep Learning
- Peekaboo is a complex learning conversation that teaches expectation, surprise and object permanence.
- India Rakusen shows simple play contains deep cognitive and emotional learning for toddlers.
Brain Plasticity Shapes Childhood
- Toddlers' brains massively overproduce synapses and then prune them based on experience.
- Elizabeth Tottenham explains early plasticity makes environment hugely shaping for future development.
Long Childhood Enables Social Learning
- Early brain plasticity extends across decades, enabling a long childhood for learning.
- This extended plasticity supports emotional and social skills, not just motor or language abilities.
