Like nature's earth, air, fire, and water, there are likewise four elements of storytelling. The similarities end there, but those elements are: character, setting, plot, and backstory. Quite recently, you've become increasingly familiar with setting.
Before, your crib was merely some random location bedazzled with bright, geometric patterns, rimmed with generation-old teddy bears, and topped with a melodic, gently swaying mobile. It was a place where your mom and dad spoke in low voices, and would sometimes place an index finger to their lips, or a pinky finger between yours. Soothing, sure. But for all you knew, those terrycloth ursine creatures and church-going whispers from your mom and dad could've taken place anywhere, at anytime.
Before, your bathtub was merely some random location filled with a clear, lukewarm fluid, rimmed with unscented shampoos and soaps, where a small rag would scrub between your baby-fat rolls. It was a place where your mom and dad kept enthusiastic but diligent vigil over you, quick to readjust your seating if you slid down or to the side. Again, soothing. But those two-in-one cleansers and reverb-enhanced voices from your mom and dad could've taken place anywhere, at anytime, for all you knew.
But now, you're more forward thinking. When your mom and dad place you in that rectangle of carved wooden bars, or in that slowly, slightly darkening concave of liquid, you decide on whether that setting--that particular element of storytelling--will suit you for the next fifteen minutes, the next couple of hours, the next full nighttime. Your crib is no longer some random location where mom and dad put on their solemn voices. It's a place where you now know you're being put to sleep. And if hunger or a dirty diaper is going to interrupt the serenity of the upcoming span of time, you yell out until your mom and dad finally, finally understand. Your bathtub is no longer some random collection of compressed hydrogen and oxygen molecules, but a place for playful cleansing, playful splashing, and playful talking with mom and dad.
You're learning where you are and what happens there. You're learning what settings silence your mom and dad, and what settings make them smile and splash.
