No one wants to put pressure on young children. Is it good that we just let kids be kids?
There are parents who do not want to rush children’s growth. Let them read when they are ready, let them count when they want to or let them walk when their bodies are capable. “I don’t want to stress my children too early. Let kids be kids.”
Any parents in this world would want the best for their children and nobody wants their children have to go through any stress in such a young age. As a mother, I am 100% with this. I sent my children to Montessori school for this reason, let the child lead how they learn and respect their interest.
We know that a kid is a product of its environment.
Take this story from NY Post. Marina Chapman, a poor 8-year-old girl who was left to be raised by a troop of monkeys in the Bahraich region near the Nepal border. “The child was found walking on all fours and screeching at humans like a simian”. The girl has problems with adapting to human’s world. Of course because our children are raised in a civilized world, they will not end up like her, but can you imagine the impact of the environment on our children's development if left unmonitored?
Brain study shows that nearly 90% of your baby’s brain development happens before the age of 6.
That means, when the brain is growing and forming neuron networks, they are hungry for inputs to make those connections and bridge between left & right hemisphere. Only in these years, they are at the age of being more receptive to new knowledge than ever. It is so easy to feed them with meaningful information because they don’t form any preference yet. They will store everything until their brain decides which one is useful to keep (which comes with other exposure later in life). For young children pre-K, learning happens so naturally and easily. The older we get, the harder it is for us to acquire new knowledge. So if we give children the right materials and pace during these 6 years, it is a gift to them. We don’t stress them out. It is adult’s expectations that stress them out!
Our main goals from early education is (1) to help their brain make as much connection as possible by introducing general knowledge bank (which will sound the same to them, they don’t classify that “Solar system” is easier than “Periodic table” like adults); and (2) build up their confidence so that children will not fear if they see the same topic in their high school because such information was stored in their brain during early education sessions. Children will dive in and have better techniques to remember information by then.
In order for kids to show certain skills, their bodies need to grow strong enough to perform it. Kids can speak when their lungs are well developed. Kids can write if their hands are strong enough to hold and manipulate pens. You may teach your 3 years old “2 plus 2 is 4” while their 1 year old sibling is sitting in the background. Once that younger sibling turns 2 and can speak, they will surprise you by uttering “4” before the older sibling. Kids can learn from infants or even in the worm, they just don’t know how to show it yet. We must trust that they are learning.
It is the parent's responsibility to guide children and to give them the best learning environment.
They rely on adults like us to expose them to the right things. Brain’s muscle growth can be stopped or slowed (like in poor Marina’s story), but it can also be speeded up (like Albert Einstein). It is such a loss for the children if we know about this approach but not act on it. You know that babies only have 6 years from birth to absorb new knowledge with ease. What are you waiting for? Our programs are designed to meet your child’s growth needs based on their physical strength and cognitive competence. Your children will be grouped with kids at the same similar level. They are challenged enough to keep them engaged, but they are not bored with too easy tasks. Call us today to help you unleash the hidden potential in your children.
