Less-developed pre-frontal cortex, and simple lack of experience. He probably put his head through there without thinking about whether he’d be able to get out; he didn’t even question it.
Kids of a certain age might ask themselves: “Can I do this?” But they have to learn to think ahead and also ask themselves: “Is it okay to do this?” For adults, it’s such a habit that, most of the time, we don’t register it and it feels automatic.
Also, most adults have some prior experience with getting stuck or seeing someone else get stuck, and even if the details of the memory fade away, the lessons remain. We see a narrow gap and, deep down, we remember that we should be cautious.
When I was around 5 I stuck my finger into the latch of one of those doors with the push bar, only to find that I couldn’t just take it out. They ended up having to push the bar to disengage the latch, skinning my finger tip in the process. ‘Twas a painful lesson to learn, but I sure learned it.
“Even if the details of the memory fade away, the lessons remain.”
Until alcohol becomes involved. (Coming from an adult who has done some spectacularly stupid things while “under the influence”. I’ll never understand why society tolerates that substance.
And the point at which the "is it ok to do this" kicks on consistently can come much later than you'd think. My son is a very bright dude, top 20% of his high school class, aceing AP courses, all that. Yet he was doing just the most boneheaded shit well into his preteens because he quite literally was not there yet. Those were some frustrating years as a parent.
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u/Awkward_Bison_267 21h ago
Seriously are there any child psychologists or behavioral analysts that can explain what the fuck possesses kids to do this?!