Psalm 8:2 – Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. (ESV)

Bianca, a staff member at my residence, sent me a picture of her baby, Emma, who arrived early in November, 2022. Even though Emma was sleeping only two hours at a time, her mother told me how wonderful she was, and that Emma's father was thrilled to see his baby every time he came home from work. Emma is off to a good start!

I was reminded of how much and how quickly babies learn from the adults around them.

We often wait to hear a baby's first words — "Mama" or "Dada" or whatever. In speaking about this with a young doctor, Jacob told me that the first word that he ever said was "truck". Obviously, his parents had repeatedly commented about his love of playing with trucks.

In discussing this subject with a senior manager at my residence, Alberto said that his young son didn't speak until he was three. His older sister took care of him — including doing his talking! His first word was "Google". Again, being a bright young child, he listened to his parents, and even at his young age, learned about this newly developed search tool.

While there are many lessons that we can learn from the young people saying "truck" or "Google", one of the most important lessons is that babies listen and learn from those of us who are older.

What a responsibility that we have to be careful what we say! How sad it is when we hear a youngster defiantly saying "Mine!" and being unwilling to share with a playmate.

Even more ominous are the current trending of "goblin mode" and "gaslighting". Google them and you won't like what you read!

I believe that it is much safer and better to follow God's wise direction:

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (KJV)

As we interact with the babies in our families, let's be careful to choose our words wisely and be good examples both for them and their parents.

Prayer: Dear Father, help us to listen, to learn, and to help to train others to follow You. Amen.