"What makes me even crazier is that I know they can listen. I know this because they do all the time, mostly when they aren't supposed to. I can't tell you how many times I've been having an adult conversation with my husband and/or friends and my two children-who haven't listened to a word I've said all day-suddenly have very thoughtful and detailed questions"
"So kids do listen. And most importantly, they eavesdrop. In fact, they eavesdrop a lot. The question is, what do they learn from eavesdropping? Research suggests that children begin eavesdropping even as babies. And for the most part, it's a good thing, as they learn some important information this way. For example, they learn new words. In one classic study, 2-year-old children in the United States were presented with a new word."
Children often ignore direct prompts yet attentively overhear adult conversations, screens, and messages. Eavesdropping emerges in infancy and provides access to vocabulary and procedural information. Overheard interactions can teach new words and actions without direct instruction. Cultural practices frequently rely on observation and overhearing as central learning mechanisms. Experimental and observational evidence shows that children extract useful information from adult talk and social contexts they are not explicitly addressed in. Eavesdropping supplements direct teaching and constitutes a significant route through which children acquire social, linguistic, and practical knowledge.
Read at Psychology Today
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