Tuesday, October 21, 2008

It is natural for parents to want the best for their child - to prepare him for the challenges that life offers or for the child to "shine". This good intention can go awry and the child might feel "pushed" rather than "encourage" to learn. There was a time that a phenomenon movement called "superkid" came to be. Parents, capitalizing on the immense learning potential of babies and young children drilled their very young kids. One could find flashcards held in front of six-month-old infants, toddlers drilled in spelling and preschoolers taken to computer lessons, or tennis lessons, to tutoring lessons.

The question now is Did these educated preschoolers really get a head start in life? Many developmental psychologists are convinced that the educational benefits of such drills are temporary. Youngster taught to "memorize" all the correct answers can become afraid to think for themselves. I saw a one-year-old girl in YouTube reading words on a flashcard shown by her dad. I am familiar with the method used by the dad - it's basically sight reading. Did the 12-month old girl really understand what she was "reading"? Of course not! Pressured children often learn to fear failure at an age when they should be constantly testing ideas. Worst, such children might feel that they are loved for their achievements, not for themselves. Let the children have their free hours of childhood exploration.


Posted by desperateblogger On 10/21/2008 05:48:00 PM 2 comments

2 comments:

  1. Nice post. I have been wondering whether I'm too lazy with my son because other moms I know have been "educating" their toddlers while I just let him play.

    ReplyDelete
  2. betchay: just let your son play. he's learning that way. =)

    ReplyDelete

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