All Babies are Created Equal: Books and The Bump
by Helen Coronato

If you were to walk past a hospital nursery, you’d find striking resemblances among all the newborns. And I’m not just talking about the cute hats. You would see babies sleeping, crying or waving their arms and legs spastically. What you won’t see is a newborn sit up and ask for something to drink, or pass a note to the cute baby in the next bassinet, or complete a list of things to do.

That’s because, despite our personal bias, all babies are born with the same communication skills. None can speak, read or write; these are all learned skills. But babies are hard-wired with the capacity for learning much faster than we usually give them credit for. Despite their helplessness, newborns can communicate much more effectively than we may think.

We don’t wait until our newborns hit a certain growth milestone before we begin speaking to them. As soon as they appear, and oftentimes before, we tell them how much they are loved, who we are, and what we’ll be doing throughout the day. Since we start talking right away, it follows suit that we can start reading right away.