Cognitive Development Through Daily Reflections
Words by: Rachel Li
Remember those times in the tub with colorful toys and the warmth of the running water? Bath times are special moments when parents and children can engage in joyful conversations and giggles. So, in the course of our study, we’ve looked into the unique experiences among parents bathing their young children and the creative ways they often use that time to connect and interact. Whether it be to teach them how to hold their breath underwater or to sing nursery rhymes, one common question arises: “What did we do today?”
In a regular routine, such as during bath times, children and parents are given a unique opportunity to engage in conversation. The question “What did we do today?” invites memory recall and the chance for the child to practice speaking and listening, which are essential to language development. While seemingly an easy question for adults, children are challenged to reflect on their day’s activities and articulate a response. In this post, we explore some moments from real bath times that might foster children's skill formation. Note that all names and identifying details have been changed.
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1 Communication and Memory
Each day’s bath time signals the end of the day, fostering new and exciting conversations for children to shape their response to “so, what did we do today?” Children’s memory abilities are put to the test to best recall their daily activities from their perspective.
With their parents nearby, bath times are an optimal time for children to practice talking! Upon the question, children gain practice expressing themselves while recounting the day’s events. A favorite form of daily reflection is storytelling, since children have fun becoming the stars of their own day!
Through speaking and listening, children learn to recognize and connect words with certain activities they’ve done or anticipate doing. Bathtime verbal reflections add a personal touch to their mental dictionary, building new vocabulary. As children encounter new words and positive encouragement from their parents, they might become more willing to share their thoughts freely, building stronger self-confidence and social awareness.
We’ve seen moments from families—such as the one below—where bathtime questions expose children to new words such as the ‘zoo’!
*MOM: Where are we going to do tomorrow?
*CHI: Um.
*CHI: Megan.
*MOM: Yes, we are going with Megan who else?
*CHI: Sharon.
*MOM: And where are we going to go?
*MOM: Megan and Sharon.
*MOM: And Mom.
*MOM: And Kelly.
*MOM: And we’re going to the.
*MOM: Zoo.
*CHI: The Zoo.
*MOM: Zoo.
*MOM: What do they have at the zoo?
*CHI: XXX.
*CHI: Big House.
*MOM: Big House?
*MOM: Well, it's a place where all the animals live.
*MOM: Many animals.
Other moments from families during bathtimes have exposed new words regarding the food they ate during day.
*CHI: Momma eating.
*MOM: What did we have for dinner today baby?
*CHI: XXX.
*MOM: What?
*MOM: Chicken.
*CHI: XXX.
*MOM: We had chicken avocado.
*MOM: And sweet potato and asparagus.
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2 Adapting to Challenges
Bath time is a routine! The routine-like bath time provides a unique opportunity for children to work through challenges and understand their experiences. Daily reflection might give children a chance at an early age to better navigate their likes and dislikes while giving them space to grow. They learn to recognize their continuous growth and daily happenings as they experience the structuredness of bath times fitting into their daily schedule, reinforcing a sense of perseverance.
The bathtime environment is not always easy, and it might cause children to make mistakes and not be at their best to retain their memories. One of our lab’s ongoing interests is in understanding how children might adapt their learning strategies to meet the demands of their environments. As bath times can be potentially chaotic with the excitement of water and the presence of other family members, children learn to take charge of their emotions while navigating through bathtime meltdowns or other challenges. They develop stronger cognitive abilities to adapt to changing environments that foster emotional regulation.
Here’s an excerpt from a family’s transcript:
*MOM: You’re a very tired girl tonight.
*MOM: You didn’t take a nap at all.
*CHI: Nap.
*MOM: Yeah we need to make sure we eat enough in the late morning.
*MOM: XXX.
*MOM: What’s that?
*CHI: No no no.
*MOM: No no no?
*MOM: Okay Daisy do.
*MOM: XXX.
*MOM: You like being in the bath?
We’ve also seen other chaotic moments in bath times, such as the slippery soap!
*MOM: Megan’s soap fell down.
*MOM: Uh oh.
*MOM: All done.
*CHI: It’s okay baby.
*MOM: It’s okay baby.
*MOM: It was an accident
*MOM: It was an oppsie daisy
*CHI: Oppisie Megan.
*MOM: Oppsie daisy.
*MOM: Opps.
*CHI: All done.
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3 Family
Often, children spend most of their childhood with their parents and siblings, uncles, aunts, and other relatives. In our study, we’ve observed how children practice communicative competence and social recognition when prompted to reflect on whom they’ve interacted with throughout their day.
Here’s a family’s recording excerpt of their child recalling the visit of family members!
*Mom: Yeah who did we get to see today?
*CHI: Um Justin too.
*MOM: Okay you can see Justin too when we go home.
*Mom: But who did we see here in Puerto Rico.
*CHI: Um Melody too.
*MOM: You can see Melody too when we go back home.
*MOM: You can see.
*CHI: Auntie Jessica.
*MOM: You can see Auntie Jessica and Justin and Melody and Alice and Megan and Sharon.
*MOM: Who do we get to see here in Mexico.
*CHI: Um um Papa.
*MOM: Yeah we seeing Papa and who else is here in Mexico?
*CHI: Um Kelly too.
*MOM: Kelly’s here.
*MOMI: Momma’s too.
In the above dialogue, the child is able to recall her Auntie Ann and Papa when her mom prompts her to think about who they saw today. Asking children to recall specific people during bath times is a great way to strengthen children’s concepts of the people in their lives. It might even allow them to start to make sense of relationships between people, a cognitive skill sometimes called relational reasoning, which is helpful down the road for things like math!
Childhood is often not spent alone! The time spent with aunties and uncles greatly contributes to a child’s well-being as they grow within an environment filled with love and support. Early interactions with others allow children to be aware of the care family members provide and even grant family members the opportunity to become viewed as role models. Through bath times, children practice visual imagination and memory recall, putting a face to the name!
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A daily reflection is more than just a question and answer. The act of reflecting at an early age allows a child to develop long-term skills in communication, goal-setting, and problem-solving. All of these activate a child’s prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which are crucial regions of the brain for emotion regulation, learning and memory, and other cognitive processes.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, one thing’s for certain when ending the day: bath times! Children get excited by the anticipation of playful splashes as they hear the water pouring and rubber duckies swarming the water. But this time is more than just fun and games; it’s a time when children’s memories and perseverance are put to the test! 💗
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Speakers & Notes
*CHI = The child of focus in our study
*MOT = An adult female speaker presumed to be the child's mother
XXX = indecipherable speech
All names changed for anonymity.
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