Babies Movie Analysis

Babies

Babies, a popular 2006 indie-documentary, tells the story of four adorable infants as they progressed during their first year of life. Ponijao, from Namibia, Bayar, from Mongolia, Mari, from Tokyo, and Hattie from the U.S.A were the four children selected by filmmakers. Because each child chosen expressed a different cultural background, this allowed viewers to analyze on a broad scale the development of children and how it is relatively similar all over the world, with some minor disparities influenced by environment and parenting style. In this essay, I would like to compare and contrast each child using three major areas of psychological development as a point of reference; those being: the gross and fine motor skills, socio-emotional

With that being said, it was unusual to see a child such as Bayar develop at a much slower rate than others. The fact he was delayed in walking (a gross motor skill), may have been attributed to the fact he didn’t have much social interaction. Fortunately, the other three children, whom were more lovingly nurtured, appeared to follow a more basic expectation of development. For instance, we can see at around 7-9 months, Mari is starting to firmly play with her toys using the pincer grasp. In like manner, we see a subsequent film shot of Hattie, also using the pincer grasp to eat a delicious banana. As for Ponijao, we saw her implementing the gross motor-skill of crawling, also at the 7-9 month mark; and by the end of her first year, she could walk on her

There’s a noticeable difference between the children who were raised in a more privileged atmosphere versus those in abject poverty. I couldn’t help but notice that the children with more wealth, also had both parents present; whereas, both parents of Bayar were neglectful and although Ponijao had much love, it was only from women. Ironically, even though living conditions were more brutal (not to mention, the terrible hygiene!), I couldn’t help but notice how much more often Ponijao and Bayar would talk, laugh, dance, and appear overall happier. While money, good healthcare, and a more secured home might promise life longevity, I concluded from the documentary that: an environment that gives kids an opportunity to learn from independent experiences, appears to give social and emotional health to children, even if are in