Underestimating Kids

Two articles of studies concerning young children have caught my attention on the Science Daily Web site. In both study I question whether up to this point as a society we have underestimated young children's learning capability. In the first study, Children As Young As Three Can Navigate Successfully Outdoors, Study Shows, children as young as as 3 years of age were able to decode landmarks to find positions ouside. Scientists thought such skills were developed at alater age.

In the other study that piqued my curiosity, New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners, researchers learned that young children may develop language not at the rate of one word at a time. Instead, young children in the study seem to sort though information for patterns to form language.

I'm wondering whether we have been assuming that young childern's learning is linear and as a result we try to force that pattern on them and may have not credited them for learning; perhaps we have even limited their learning.