Apprentice, Athlete, Scholar, Poet – Part 5

As parents, you get to be detectives, solving the ever-changing mystery of what will make your baby smile. And the clues you unearth are also the best clues to the developmental tasks that are important for your baby to learn next. Children tend to be most excited about skills they are on the brink of mastering.

The Parent Detective

As parents, you get to be detectives, solving the ever-changing mystery of what will make your baby smile. And the clues you unearth are also the best clues to the developmental tasks that are important for your baby to learn next. Children tend to be most excited about skills they are on the brink of mastering. If you try to engage your baby in an activity that is beneath her developmental level, she will quickly get bored. If you try to interest her in something that she is not yet ready for, she will become upset. Remember that babies don’t tend to cry when they fail, but rather when the activity isn’t at the right developmental level. Your fun task is to find that zone of moderate challenge–the fun zone. Provide fun situations in which she can teach herself through playful exploration.

There is no need to try to force kids to learn in order to achieve their maximum potential. Forced teaching hinders development. These principles apply equally to “gifted,” “average,” and “special needs” children. You don’t create an Einstein by pushing a child. Relax. Enjoy him. Connect with each other on the cutting edge of his development. We provide a loving, nurturing, gently stimulating environment, and his own development unfolds like an acorn becoming an oak–just as it was doing before he was born. Marvel as the inner drive to grow propels him forward. Have fun!

Read More from the Apprentice, Athlete, Scholar, Poet:
The Apprentice
The Athlete
The Scholar
The Poet
The Parent Detective