Over the last couple of months, CBC's Ideas has produced a series of shows about the brains of infants, and how best to educate your child. The major themes that come up include: people learn the most up to the age of 5 or 6, what kinds of learning are the most fruitful, whether cultivating a genius is even possible (or important), and how overall health of the parents affect the child.
Some of these topics resonate with me, of course, given that my daughter is a year old. For example, the discussion of whether educational videos (such as those made by Baby Einstein) hep or hinder brain development is fascinating to me. We don't have a TV but we do have a mini-DVD player on which we play some DVDs for Hadley. I can't comment on how it's affecting her brain directly but I have noticed tat she gets "hooked" and the more she watches, the less she is willing to engage in any other activity that previously she enjoyed. So we cut her off a while ago. And she doesn't miss it.
There;s also the major theme of parents wanting their children to grow up to be geniuses. This does not interest me in the slightest. Sure, I love seeing Hadley reach little milestones, like being able to say words and recognise images, but I don't want to judge her against other children. Maybe it's because I was labeled a genius as a child, or maybe it's because I just want Hadley to be herself.
Today someone said that Hadley was advanced and I felt my throat constrict. I hadn't realised but it's as if I have an aversion to her being a high-acheiver or a prodigy. This will require some more introspection.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Labels can be harmful in themselves. Buying into a label and running from one are just two sides of the same coin. What really matters is breadth and depth of exposure. You can lead a horse to water, as the saying goes, but intelligence cannot be forced. What blooms is what was there to begin with coupled with life experiences in a nurturing and supportive environment.
ReplyDeleteIf Hadley appears to be advanced to someone, take the comment with a grain of salt. The term 'advanced' must be examined. Advanced in what did the person mean: gross motor coordination, abstract reasoning, language acquisition, short term memory, spatial awareness, etc. etc.? What is the quality of this suggested advancement: slightly above average, superior, statistically significant? As well, you must examine the person him/herself. Was this a casual comparison with one's own child or the kiddies at the playground? Consider the person's education/training: ECE, teacher, clinician, academic? You get my point.
The bottom line is to remember that Einstein is not reborn every day, and even the great man himself was far from perfect. No one is perfect in every way. Having a special talent or ability is a blessing to be grateful for and treasured every bit as much as the ordinary bits that blend so beautifully together in each of us.
Thank your lucky stars that she wasn't referred to a dolt!