Madeleine's First Months of Life

"Madeleine's First Months of Life" by Brian Hall discusses the development of reflexes, language, and imagination throughout the sensorimotor stage of development. This article also discuses Madeleine's reactions to her environment. Upon birth, Madeleine had just a few reflexes, such as the ability to suck on objects placed in her mouth, grasp objects tightly in her hands, and move her limbs around. As she developed she gained the ability to recognize sounds, especially her mother and father's voices and see for longer distances. Madeleine also began to interact with her environment, especially when placed in front of a mirror by her father. In the first month of life she would recognize her father's reflection in the mirror, but by the second month of life Madeleine was able to recognize her reflection in the mirror and preferred to do so. Hall thought that this was a result of familiarity and simplicity in her face.

Madeleine's beginning speech consisted of "the easiest sounds to produce; the vowel sound ah; the labial consonants p, b, and m; and the tongue taps t and d." It was also at this time that she began tapping objects or creating a rhythm to vocalization. As she continued her language her autonomy increased. By nineteen months, Madeleine developed words to represent objects. For example, "Ba-bo" meant diaper to her and "Ch" meant chair. She also began to say "Daddy" instead of "Dada." Madeleine also communicated to those changing her diaper through her laughs and movements. Also, during a diaper change she insisted that the person changing the diaper also change her baby doll's diaper. If a step was missed she would yell the missed step until it was completed. For example, one day when Hall was changing a diaper, he missed the step of cleaning the doll's bottom. Madeleine immediately said "Bukreh!" Hall then took the diaper off and cleaned the doll's bottom.

Also, during sensorimotor development, Madeleine began to use her imagination. While playing with a wooden car in the living room she would often pretend that it was the car her parents drove around town by saying "Brrm!" as she pushed it across the floor. By sixteen months she was used her imagination with her baby doll. At meal time she would force her doll into a cardboard cylinder, which represented a highchair, and then feed the doll in a similar manner of which she was fed. By doing this she pretended to the be the caregiver to her doll as her parents were to her.

Upon reading "Madeleine's First Months of Life" I was able to reflect back to my toddler days and remember how I often imagined things. For example I always had an imaginary friend everywhere I went. Her name was Stacey. Everything I did, Stacey did. Everything I got, Stacey got. By having "Stacey" as an imaginary friend I was practicing the same idea of "caretaker" as Madeleine. It was my responsibility to make sure "Stacey" had everything she needed, as my mother and father did for me. Also, "Stacey" allowed me to never be left alone, something I was extremely afraid of.

As an elementary school teacher I will have children who use their imagination in multiple aspects. I will also be able to see how their imaginations change and develop throughout each school year as they grow and mature. Also, I will be able to assist my students in language development by teaching them new words, correct spelling, and correct grammar. I will also continue to education of communication with others. It will be my responsibility to increase my students ability to imagine things and communicate with others. Also, I will be able to assist my students in learning how to interact with the different environments. I plan to teach my students how to act with adults versus with their friends; how they should act at home versus how they should act a school. This will help them to better understand that there are different environments in our world and each environment has different behavior. It is my ultimate responsibility as an early childhood educator to continue students language development, imagination, and environmental interactions.