Dad The Observer

A psychologist watches his children grow up.

Developmental psychologist Charles Fernyhough is the author of A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle of his Daughter's Developing Mind. See full bio

November 21, 2009

The psychology of Lego Star Wars II

Babies need to acquire knowledge about the limits of their own agency, and they do this by acting on the world. In this post, I suggest that this is a version of the problem that we all face when trying to establish our identity in a new context, such as a video game. Read More

November 7, 2009

'Accents' in the womb? A brief note

Making the news this week have been some findings that newborn babies imitate aspects of the 'accents' of their parents' language. Read More

October 27, 2009

The psychology of Lego Star Wars I

Children become effective collaborators when they can represent the goals of their social partners and keep track of how those goals change. Humans are possibly unique in their willingness to share goals with others, and this motivation to collaborate appears early in childhood. New research shows early understanding of joint commitments to collaborate with others. Read More

October 20, 2009

The Grandad they never knew

I've been thinking a lot about memory recently. In the last few days, I've been mulling over the reaction to my article in the London Guardian, in which I discuss a conundrum faced by many parents: how to negotiate children's memories of family members who are no longer here. In the piece, which you can read in full here, I describe how I have talked to my children about the grandfather who died before either of them was born. Along with the obvious props such as photographs and a little video footage, I have tried to bring Dad alive for them through the funny things he did and said.

September 15, 2009

Don't keep it to yourself

Isaac, five, is doing some homework at the kitchen table. He has been given some letter shapes to trace, and he is concentrating hard, working on the flicks and flourishes that link one letter to another. He is relaxed and happy, and enjoying the chance to show off what he has been learning at school. His little hands still find the pencil a handful, and the complexities of joined-up writing make this demanding work. I am not watching his hands, though, or the fine motor actions that drive his pencil lead across the page. I am watching his lips. Read More

July 24, 2009

May I have your attention, please?

A clearing of the throat will usually do it. In the old days, they would prefix a comment with something like 'I say,...' (these days, it is more likely to be a slackerishly inflected 'Hey,...'). A basic rule of conversation is that you don't start imparting your wisdom until you know you have got the attention of the intended recipient. Unless you've prepared the ground in this way, your words are likely to fall on deaf ears. When do children learn about this essential convention? Read More

July 2, 2009

What is it like to be a small child? III

In the last of this series of posts, I want to talk about some contemporary research in developmental psychology which offers clues to the experience of a small child. Read More

June 19, 2009

What is it like to be a small child? II

Cover via Amazon

In my last post, I promised to say more about those explorations of young children's experience that have taken scientific research as their inspiration. To my mind, some of these popular science treatments have been as thoughtful and imaginative as their counterparts in the world of fiction. Here are a few of the books that have made the biggest impression on me. Read More

April 30, 2009

What is it like to be a small child? I

In my last post, I talked about my search through the world of fiction for clues about the experience of a small child. I suggested that we can probably learn more from scientists on this topic than we can from fiction-writers (although, as a novelist myself, I feel that I'm rather letting the side down by saying that). In this post, I want to mention three main problems that face us in attempting imaginative reconstructions of the consciousness of an infant or toddler.

April 13, 2009

Where did all the toddlers go?

When I was trying to imagine my daughter's psychological development from the inside, I struggled to find any convincing fictional portrayals of young children's consciousness. In this post, I ask why writers apparently fail to take toddlers seriously, and what their absence from fiction tells us about the way our culture treats small people. Read More

Books by Charles Fernyhough

A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle of His Daughter's Developing Mind

Child Development Basics

The speedy physical and psychological changes that children undergo from birth through adolescence often leave parents wondering how best to care for them at each stage. From how to talk so kids will listen to when to back off and allow them to fail, PT's experts weigh in.

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Books by Charles Fernyhough

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