Left neglected

Been reading this fascinating book.  It is going slower than I expected, but he gives me a great deal to think about.

I was reading some today when I snuck out to Paris Baguette to grab my favorite raisin roll and coffee while my wife was undergoing self torture in her sister's Pilates class. My attention was caught by a young girl who looked as young as one and a half but appeared functionally older. She was playing with her cup, half filled with water, and holding various utensils in either hand. She broke apart a piece of fruit placed it in the cup, then fished it out with her fork in her right hand while stabilizing the cup with her left hand. It was the stabilizing of the cup that sort of got my attention. It is a very important job otherwise the cup will fall over.

I imagine the girl was in her mind ignoring the left hand and concentrating on the fishing out technique with the fork in the right hand. It reminds me of this study The girl was doing quite a few marvelous play experiments while her young Mom was intently texting on the phone. Hopefully, the mom interacts with her child in a more nurturing way most of the time.

But, I should talk. I was a great one for ploppin my kid down in front of the VCR.