Education - When is Too Young to Start
Like any parent, you want your child to do well in life. To have all the opportunities they need to truly excel and set themselves up for a comfortable life. A big part of this revolves around education.
These days, we are bombarded with infomercial after infomercial with flash cards for babies, miracle learn to read tools for young children and stories boasting amazing reading abilities in babies that should barely be beyond colours. So if you don't take an interest in the formal education if your child early, are you holding them back, are you a bad parent? Of if you do, and you push them too hard too early, are you really giving them what they need?
What is too early to start education? The only real answer is if you're only just in maternity wear, it's probably too early!
When it comes to educating your child, when to start is not as simple as your other parent tasks – selecting children’s clothes, changing nappies and reading stories -- there are pros and cons for when to start, some of these include:
Pros- people are at their most receptive to learning before the age of five. If you think about it, this is when we learn to walk, to talk, to interact, and to communicate in a variety of other ways.
- the earlier you start, the more likely learning will become a normal and accepted part of routine.
- children generally enjoy learning at young ages because they are curious and hungry to know new things.
- children are very open to a variety of learning methods. They pick things up through sight, sound, smell -- all the senses -- as well as experience -- practical learning.
- learning can become a part of play, and in doing so, a part of normal life. Use toys, images, video and other fun pieces to make learning not just a book related activity, but something fun!
- the earlier you start, the more likely learning will become a normal and accepted part of routine.
- children generally enjoy learning at young ages because they are curious and hungry to know new things.
- children are very open to a variety of learning methods. They pick things up through sight, sound, smell -- all the senses -- as well as experience -- practical learning.
- learning can become a part of play, and in doing so, a part of normal life. Use toys, images, video and other fun pieces to make learning not just a book related activity, but something fun!
Cons- starting too early, and focusing too much on learning can detract from your baby's childhood.
- too much focus on book learning can mean your child may not develop the social skills integral to all parts of life.
- if you focus too hard on learning and education, you risk damaging your relationship with your child, pushing them too hard and making them think all of their value is in the results of their learning.
- too much learning too early may turn your child off from focusing on learning later, especially as learning often comes easier at a younger age.
- too much focus on book learning can mean your child may not develop the social skills integral to all parts of life.
- if you focus too hard on learning and education, you risk damaging your relationship with your child, pushing them too hard and making them think all of their value is in the results of their learning.
- too much learning too early may turn your child off from focusing on learning later, especially as learning often comes easier at a younger age.
When it comes down to it, there are pros and cons for starting education early. The decision lies with you and what you think is best for your child.
Like anything, balance is always a great approach. Carefully thinking about the different parts of your child's young life -- play, social interaction, learning, quality family time -- and ensuring each integral part gets its share of time, is important. Of course, it is important to remember while formal learning is crucial, all these other aspects are also valuable parts of teaching your child how to become a strong, responsible and intelligent adult./image: teachingtoddlers.info/
