How Babies Think

Emma Watkins is the host of Babylab. Image supplied.

Reporter

BabyLab Season Two is here and delves into the world of how babies think.

LiSTNR’s successful BabyLab podcast, hosted by Emma Watkins, launches its second season today in a new partnership with the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development at Western Sydney University and its infant research centre, MARCS BabyLab. 

The branded podcast series will see Watkins break down the questions that parents may have about how babies learn to communicate. Questions explored in BabyLab season two include: where does the first word come from? Are screens good for learning? Does music improve communication skills? 

Is there a benefit to bringing up your baby to speak more than one language? Image: Creative Commons.

Watkins speaks to both parents and experts, including Dr Genevieve Quek and Professor Jorge Serrador, to learn about the fascinating world of communication and babies. 

Professor Sue Hespos, Leader of the MARCS BabyLab at Western Sydney University, says the BabyLab podcast is an exciting new initiative that translates world class university research on child development into fun, bite-sized parenting ‘hacks’ for modern paremts wanting to help unlock their growing baby’s learning and language development. 

“As one of the leading infant communication and child development research centres in Australia, we are proud to share our latest research and findings with parents and caregivers of young children,” Professor Hespos says.

“Here at the MARCS BabyLab, we specialise in scientific, evidence-based studies that answer the very same questions that everyday parents are asking about raising their children. We have been conducting world-class research since 1999, discovering all the incredible things going on inside a growing baby’s brain and solving modern day parenting challenges, including the positive and negative aspects of screen time and understanding the many benefits of raising a bilingual child.” 

BabyLab host Emma Watkins says the work that has been done in the child development space is important: “Through this podcast I hope to make this research accessible to parents as we embark on a journey to answer the essential questions that inevitably arise from the beautiful, complex, fun and challenging world of raising babies.”

Season two of BabyLab launches today with nine episodes in the series, dropping every Wednesday. Listen to the first episode above or find the trailer here.  

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