bluephinBuilding Brainy Babies
September 15th 2006 01:53
Everyone wants their child to be good at something, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to others. I want my son to grow up to be a good sport and understand that it’s not always winning that matters, it’s the journey along the way that helps to define us.
Other parents want their children to have an appreciation of fine music. Some wish their child to be as avid a reader as what they are.
It’s normal to want your child to be good at something, anything. As children they experience enough disappointments in life that it can help them maintain focus and confidence if they know they are skilled in a particular area.
But at what point does wanting your child to excel become unhealthy for the child?
Recently, there was a story on A Current Affair which showcased products for babies that will help them to become brainier. One particular product was a DVD that a child would watch a couple of times a day. It would show a picture of a particular item, like a shoe, and would then show the word for the shoe. Supposedly this helped to increase the child’s ability to learn. The products were backed by psychologists which would suggest that there is some merit in what they claim to achieve.
In the long-term though, do these products mean that your child will be brainier than the majority of kids at school?
The foundations for reading and literacy are built from a very young age – the process starts when you begin reading to your child. When your child starts Kindergarten, the formal education begins and they are taught phonics, word blending, sentence structure and the like. Are the children who are watching these dvd’s being taught how the sounds blend or that sometimes the ‘e’ is silent? Or are they simply memorizing the words by rote?
Mum and Dad have thought it’s a good idea to let Junior watch the brainy babies DVD. They sit him in front of the television screen (I thought we were supposed to be getting kids away from the television?) twice a day for twenty minutes each time. His eyes flicker as pictures and words flash onto the screen.
After a few sessions, he sees the word ‘shoe’ and yells out ‘shoe!’. Mum and Dad are in awe - what a clever baby we have! He’s a genius! They ring grandparents, friends and neighbours to share the news that there boy is on his way to being an Einstein. But did Junior really understand the word? Or was he just copying what he had heard so many times before?
For five years, before Junior starts Kindergarten, he watches these dvd’s and continues to be called a little genius as parents and grandparents fuss over him. He feels so proud that mummy and daddy think he’s so smart. Then he starts school. Suddenly, there are thirty children in a classroom, all with varying levels of intelligence. Some are smarter than he, others a little less advanced. Either way, they all start at the same place. Learning the ABC’s and how they blend together to form words.
Would the transition from being Mum and Dad’s little genius to being middle-of-the-range at school damage Junior’s self-esteem? Would Mum and Dad feel disappointed? Is there any point to these DVD’s and products if he still has to go ‘through the ropes’ at Kindergarten?
I honestly believe that there are some very gifted children out there who, without help from dvd’s and computer programmes, are naturally blessed with an innate understanding of a particular topic. These children should be encouraged and their love of knowledge nurtured.
But children are babies for such a short period of time. When they start school it feels like the previous years have evaporated as quickly as a bead of water on a rose petal. They begin bringing home homework, report cards, readers and notes from the teacher. They spend 8 hours a day in a classroom for the next 13 years of their life and there will be times when they hate it. Why subject them to another five years?
The pictures used in this article are taken from Wikipedia and are used here under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Other parents want their children to have an appreciation of fine music. Some wish their child to be as avid a reader as what they are.
It’s normal to want your child to be good at something, anything. As children they experience enough disappointments in life that it can help them maintain focus and confidence if they know they are skilled in a particular area.
But at what point does wanting your child to excel become unhealthy for the child?
Recently, there was a story on A Current Affair which showcased products for babies that will help them to become brainier. One particular product was a DVD that a child would watch a couple of times a day. It would show a picture of a particular item, like a shoe, and would then show the word for the shoe. Supposedly this helped to increase the child’s ability to learn. The products were backed by psychologists which would suggest that there is some merit in what they claim to achieve.
In the long-term though, do these products mean that your child will be brainier than the majority of kids at school?
The foundations for reading and literacy are built from a very young age – the process starts when you begin reading to your child. When your child starts Kindergarten, the formal education begins and they are taught phonics, word blending, sentence structure and the like. Are the children who are watching these dvd’s being taught how the sounds blend or that sometimes the ‘e’ is silent? Or are they simply memorizing the words by rote?
Mum and Dad have thought it’s a good idea to let Junior watch the brainy babies DVD. They sit him in front of the television screen (I thought we were supposed to be getting kids away from the television?) twice a day for twenty minutes each time. His eyes flicker as pictures and words flash onto the screen.
After a few sessions, he sees the word ‘shoe’ and yells out ‘shoe!’. Mum and Dad are in awe - what a clever baby we have! He’s a genius! They ring grandparents, friends and neighbours to share the news that there boy is on his way to being an Einstein. But did Junior really understand the word? Or was he just copying what he had heard so many times before?
For five years, before Junior starts Kindergarten, he watches these dvd’s and continues to be called a little genius as parents and grandparents fuss over him. He feels so proud that mummy and daddy think he’s so smart. Then he starts school. Suddenly, there are thirty children in a classroom, all with varying levels of intelligence. Some are smarter than he, others a little less advanced. Either way, they all start at the same place. Learning the ABC’s and how they blend together to form words.
Would the transition from being Mum and Dad’s little genius to being middle-of-the-range at school damage Junior’s self-esteem? Would Mum and Dad feel disappointed? Is there any point to these DVD’s and products if he still has to go ‘through the ropes’ at Kindergarten?
I honestly believe that there are some very gifted children out there who, without help from dvd’s and computer programmes, are naturally blessed with an innate understanding of a particular topic. These children should be encouraged and their love of knowledge nurtured.
But children are babies for such a short period of time. When they start school it feels like the previous years have evaporated as quickly as a bead of water on a rose petal. They begin bringing home homework, report cards, readers and notes from the teacher. They spend 8 hours a day in a classroom for the next 13 years of their life and there will be times when they hate it. Why subject them to another five years?
The pictures used in this article are taken from Wikipedia and are used here under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Best way to make your little bundle of joy a smart bundle of joy is through lots of parent/bundle of joy interaction. I think this will better help a growing baby to learn about... learning in general. You can't teach these little tots what to learn just yet, they still are in the process of learning to learn, and what better way than lots of games of 'peekaboo' and the like?
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
'My little baby! What sharp teeth you have!'
Comment by Damo
Parents of high achievers are not necessarily better parents than parents of low achievers. It could be that they are lucky. It could also mean that their definition of success is not entirely correct. Most parents are doing the best they can for their kids future. Most parents want their kids to be happy. That kind of success cannot be measured
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Natural meaning the things that are around them everyday that are natural to this earth - sand, water, trees, animals etc.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Sitting down in front of a TV will do more harm than good.
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Espie
Gifted Parenting
Freelance For Life
I'm a parent of a gifted child and frankly I never used any of those products. When I taught her how to read I did it with phonics instead of the whole language approach. I believe that comprehending is better than memorizing. I also think that some parents are unaware that they may be pushing their kids too hard. As parents our role is to guide our kids and to give them the freedom to explore their own interests,
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
As I said in the post that there are some children who are naturally gifted and your daughter would be one of them. You're right - comprehending is better than memorizing.
I agree with your last statement to - we are here to encourage our children to follow their own paths of interest.
Thanks again for your kind words!
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
They may be somewhat misguided on that front and decide they want to be a garbage man or something, so I think there is definately some guidance that has to be involved.
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
It's not wrong for wanting your child to reach his/her potentiol, and if lets say after a while they still have their hearts set on being a garbage man, well, I suppose that is now their choice, but I will forever hate them for it and hang my head in shame
Comment by Johanna
PCOS Mum