With the birth of a baby, a young mother has not only a feeling of happiness, but also many issues related to the development and upbringing of the child. A popular topic now is early development. Many mothers defend the position about its benefits, others, on the contrary, consider it a waste of time or even harm for the baby. Is early child development really necessary and what benefit or harm can it bring?
Numerous studies have shown that the period from birth to six years is the most fertile for the formation of the prerequisites for the further activities of the baby. At this time, his physiological and mental characteristics are formed, he grows and learns the world around him. Is it worth it to load it additionally and speed up events?
Difference between early development and learning
First, let's figure out what early child development means. It should not be confused with early learning or the formation of the prerequisites for successful learning in the future. Development is a natural way, during which the baby learns the world around him, the people around him, learns objects and methods of action with them. Earlier, training is carried out according to certain methods and is aimed precisely at the formation of skills: counting, writing, knowledge of languages at an age when most children do not yet know how to do this.
Early development and learning: benefits and harms
Early child development was used successfully long before the appearance of this term. Our grandmothers and grandfathers taught the child to do housework from childhood. The younger ones did the job they could, helping the older ones. In the process of such work, the kids learned a lot of new and interesting things about the world and people, learned to carry out the simplest household tasks. All this was accompanied by verbal explanations, which also had a beneficial effect on the general development of the child.
The fashion for early education has appeared quite recently. Although the parents have always had a craving to "boast" their children. How nice it is to proudly tell your friends that your baby is already walking, reading at the age of three, knowing a foreign language at the age of five, and by six he is almost ready to fly into space. But does the child need it? Pediatricians and psychologists unanimously say: no.
First, purposeful early development and training overloads the baby's fragile nervous system. Imagine how hard it is for him to focus on the material that the teacher of special courses gives. Due to the overload of the newly developing nervous system, the child may experience sleep problems, frequent mood swings.
The second major problem of early development is the replacement of some abilities with others. The baby's brain develops gradually, from the ability to simply recognize the mother to control their own actions and emotions. It is impossible to demand from a child who, due to development, wants to run and play, knowledge of all the letters of the alphabet. He just won't be able to remember them. Although sometimes you come across diligent and diligent children (or mothers?) Who know the letters, but at the same time do not know how to play the simplest games. The process of intellectual substitution in this case will act unconditionally and, alas, negatively.
To develop or not
When considering whether or not to choose early child development, give preference to the golden mean. Start from what is currently interesting to the baby himself. Talk to him a lot and often, explain how everything works around. Do not insist on any kind of activity, even if all the children of friends already know how. After all, the main thing that a child needs is mother's hugs and love, then everything will definitely work out for you and your baby.
