He is a ______ man who can face hardship, pain and er.

Psychologists now know how wrong that father was. From the moment of birth, a baby has a great deal to say to his parents and they to him. But a decade or so ago, these experts were describing the newborn as a primitive creature who reacted only by reflex, a helpless victim of its environment without capacity to influence it. And mothers accepted the truth. Most thought (and some still do) that a new infant could see only blurry shadows, that his other senses were undeveloped, and that all he required was nourishment, clean diapers, and a warm bassinet.

Today university laboratories across the country are studying newborns in their first month of life. As a result, psychologists now describe the new baby as perceptive, with remarkable learning abilities and an even more remarkable capacity to shape his or her environment--including the attitudes and actions of his parents. Some researchers believe that the neonatal period may even be the most significant four weeks in an entire lifetime.

Far from being helpless, the newborn knows what he likes and rejects what he doesn’t. He shuts out unpleasant sensations by closing his eyes or averting his face. He is a glutton for novelty. He prefers animate things over inanimate and likes people more than anything.