First Step

Having seen where we started, now I think it is appropriate to grow a little. 

There was always a very nice uncle, aunty, neighbour, sister, brother,........ when we started realising the faces. Babies smile when they look at a familiar face. They stop crying when they are in the care of their familiar face. And how do we develop those familiarity and initial affection? It starts in a very ambiguous (to me atleast!) way without a reason and moves on to a stage where this affection and familiarity is a factor of few things - They love the uncle who bring choclate and toys, they love the person who takes them out, they love the person who supports them (e.g, when a little one is not interested in taking bath, anyone who rescues and promises not to give bath becomes one of those 'affectionate' person. Apologies for a very ugly example - still I see babies who are averse to taking bath). 

There is always someone who takes effort and buys the toy that we were looking for. Most of the time it is our very parents - sometimes, this is also extends to a wider group of friends and relatives of our parents. Why babies like the person who buys toys and choclates etc. Is it that they understand what the child is looking for (searching for!?). Most of the time you'd have seen that the moment the baby gets what he/she wants - be it a choclate or a toy, etc, they vanish from the scene to enjoy their new possession. They disassociate the person from the possession.

In one of the recent movies (Tamil MA), there was a scene when the boy explains fathers affection to his teacher. He says, "my father used to lift me and go in a circle (thattamalai) fast thinking that I always liked it. He never asked me whether I liked it or not. I also kept quiet". 

As time grows, they start getting wiser and associate very easily to the person who provides. The person always gets a preferential treatment - a special hug and smile! Why is this? Has the object lost its attraction or there is a hope of getting something new or a way of showing gratitude for giving the happiness at one point in time?

Has the search now got little broadened beyond the immediate parents?

A quick question to the viewers - Do you think expectation and search are the same or independant to one another?