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Script Below:
Hello! Welcome back curious parents!
The changes that happen between your baby’s first breath and their first birthday are truly amazing. As we’ve explored before on the show, in no time at all, babies grow from being helpless little beans reliant on reflexes, to being full blown toddlers who are learning enough about the world to be able to understand words and use them meaningfully… Whoa.
But how do they actually learn about the world around them? Is there some kind of infant instructional manual? As usual, this is a BIG question and one that whole fields of science are trying to answer. Let’s be a bit more specific – how does learning to move and play and, well, interact with the physical world help babies learn?
Today in the HELLO Lab, let’s explore how active, hands-on experiences are crucial for early learning (with an emphasis on communication).
You may have heard that babies are “like sponges.” They soak up everything that comes their way. This is a helpful, but overly simplistic view of things. Because babies, unlike sponges, don’t just sit there and passively absorb stuff.
It’s thought that babies learn best through active or what scientists call embodied learning experiences or “embodied cognition” – learning that happens through having a physical body that moves through the world¹,²,³,⁴,⁵,⁶*,⁷,⁸
Little humans need to do things to learn on a deep level. They explore and actively interact, over and over and over again, to figure out how the world actually works²,⁴,⁵,⁹,¹⁰,¹¹,¹².
When embodied learning happens, that’s when little ones start to uncover meaning in their everyday lives long before they can tell us through words⁵,¹³,¹⁰,⁸.
How do babies have “active” learning experiences? As we know, babies are like little scientists and learn to connect the dots on all kinds of data – sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and all the different sensations they feel as their bodies move through space⁷,¹²,⁶*.
To see this in real time, let’s step into the world from your baby’s point of view.
A TALE OF TWO BABIES …. AND AN APPLE
This kiddo is watching a video showing her pictures of a nice, juicy apple. She can see what an apple looks like in 2D and the voice on the video tells her what she sees is, in fact, an apple.
But she is learning about an apple based on what she sees and hears only. She’s only really using two of her senses, and there’s so much more info she could be getting.
But, this kid is actively learning about an apple. How so?
For starters, she’s able to actually hold the apple. Now not only can she see its shape, but she can feel its roundness and weight in her hands. When she drops the apple on the floor, she learns that the heaviness of the apple produces sound. Like a thud!
When she adorably tries to roll the apple on the floor, she learns that although it has a round shape it moves differently than, say, a perfectly round ball¹,⁴,⁵. And as she has more active learning experiences, the more she will start to connect action words like “roll!” to the apple’s movement⁴,⁵,⁷,¹⁰.
When she rolls the apple gently, it doesn’t go too far. But when she uses a bit more force, she might feel how her muscles push the apple further along¹²,¹⁰,⁸.
Now she might see her mama sniff the apple, or even take a bite out of it. Crunch! She learns that apples are food – that they can be tasted, and eaten. The sound the apple makes when her mom bites into it gives this baby crucial data about the crunch and juiciness of apple eating¹²,¹⁰ … Ok, now I’m getting hungry.
Finally, this baby takes a bite herself. She tastes that apples are both sweet and maybe a little tart too. She feels its texture change as she chews it. Delicious!
As we can see, this kiddo, compared to the first one, had an active or embodied learning experience. This means she learned so much more about an apple than she could have learned from a screen alone. As a result, she more fully learned the meaning of apple by experiencing its shape, texture, weight, movement, sound, smell, and juicy taste¹⁵,¹²,⁸.
But there’s more to it than that. She’s not just learning about the “apple” by itself; she’s learning about the act of rolling round objects in general, she’s experiencing tartness maybe for the first time; and she’s experiencing the association between the texture of the apple and the crunching sound it makes when she bites into it. That’s a whole lot of learning. The richness of active or hands-on learning encourages the baby’s caregiver to use a greater variety of words– bite, chew, crunch, juicy, compared to a 2D experience.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The more we study this stuff, the more we see how important embodied, active learning experiences are. Kids don’t learn by “memorizing” words or looking at images on a screen, they learn by actively engaging with the world – moving their bodies, touching, smelling, hearing, seeing, and tasting – sometimes all at once. When it comes to early learning, the mind and body are great lab partners.
Words – and language itself – aren’t just abstract concepts in your kid’s head, of course not. They’re built through movement and play—science-backed tools to make the world more meaningful and memorable. And honestly? We could all use a little more fun (and apples) in our lives.
Thanks for watching! Until next time.
What are some ways you build an active or embodied learning experiences for your little ones? Let us know in the comments below. And, stay tuned for our next episode where we explore how digital screen time impacts early communication development.
Research References:
1. Adolph, K. E., & Hoch, J. E. (2019). Motor development: Embodied, embedded, enculturated, and enabling. Annual Review of Psychology, 70(1), 141-164.
2. Dove, G. O. (2023). Rethinking the role of language in embodied cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1870), 20210375.
3. Fugate, J. M. B., Macrine, S. L., & Cipriano, C. (2019). The role of embodied cognition for transforming learning. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 7(4), 274–288.
4. Glenberg, A. M., & Gallese, V. (2012). Action-based language: A theory of language acquisition, comprehension, and production. Cortex, 48(7), 905–922.
5. Glenberg, A. M., & Kaschak, M. P. (2002). Grounding language in action. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(3), 558–565.
6. Pulvermüller, F., Hauk, O., Nikulin, V. V., & Ilmoniemi, R. J. (2005). Functional links between motor and language systems. European Journal of Neuroscience, 21(3), 793–797.*
7. Iverson, J. M. (2010). Developing language in a developing body: the relationship between motor development and language development*. Journal of Child Language, 37(2), 229–261.
8. Smith, L., & Gasser, M. (2005). The Development of Embodied Cognition: Six Lessons from Babies. Artificial Life, 11(1–2), 13–29.
9. Mahon, B. Z. (2015). What is embodied about cognition? Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 30(4), 420–429.
10. Meteyard, L., Cuadrado, S. R., Bahrami, B., & Vigliocco, G. (2012). Coming of age: A review of embodiment and the neuroscience of semantics. Cortex, 48(7), 788–804.
11. Negri, A., Castiglioni, M., Caldiroli, C. L., & Barazzetti, A. (2022). Language and Intelligence: A Relationship Supporting the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis. Journal of Intelligence, 10(3), 42.
12. Horoufchin, H., Bzdok, D., Buccino, G., Borghi, A. M., & Binkofski, F. (2018). Action and object words are differentially anchored in the sensory motor system – A perspective on cognitive embodiment. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 6583.
13. Glenberg, A. M., & Gallese, V. (2012). Action-based language: A theory of language acquisition, comprehension, and production. Cortex, 48(7), 905–922.
14. Adolph, K. E., & Hoch, J. E. (2019). Motor development: Embodied, embedded, enculturated, and enabling. Annual Review of Psychology, 70(1), 141-164.
15. Fuchs, T., Etzelmüller, G., & Tewes, C. (2016). The embodied development of language. Embodiment in evolution and culture, 107-128.
*Please contact us at thehellolab@gmail.com if you have difficulty accessing any articles.