Baby Altruism

Altruism in babies occur as young as 18 months of age (or younger) says study reported by the Associated Press

Here is my chance to brag. I'm going to share a memory about my baby that touched me then and touches me still.

My husband and I rented a house up in Northern Ontario so it got pretty cold in the winter. The house was pretty large but in order to conserve energy we turned the heat down at night making the house cool in the mornings.

As a baby my son would wake up pretty regularly at 6 am so I would go get him, bring him into bed with daddy and off I would go to make his bottle. He had started walking late in his eleventh month but his 'altruistic' moment came late into his twelfth or early in his thirteenth month.

While heating up his bottle I was standing by the stove in my morning coat sans slippers. As I looked down I saw my little one holding up my slippers to give them to me so I could put them on my feet to keep them warm.

I was overcome with joy and did the motherly thing, scooped him in my arms, praising him and of course, I started to cry. I thought for sure his daddy had encouraged him to bring me the slippers. Since my son couldn't talk too much at the time I had to confirm with his dad that he didn't encourage him to do it.

Even my husband was intrigued as he watched The Dufus (my ex's pet name for him) watch me leave the room without my slippers, get out of the bed, pick up the slippers and walk out to the kitchen to give them to me. I was astonished that he had shown such sophistication at such a young age but I didn't realize this was considered a human evolutionary trait, according to the study above.

That moment will always stay with me mostly because it underscores who he is as a young adult. I can't wait to see how he'll be as a full grown man!