Development of Intelligence
The childhood learning process
Children do their most important learning during the first years of life. Experiences in these early years provide the foundation for all their intellectual growth to follow.
A child's education starts before birth because brain development is influenced by the mother's diet. Once the baby is born brain stimulation occurs with every experience a 'little one' encounters.
The brain grows and develops on the basis of these first experiences as well as with the characteristics passed on from the parents' genes. Every parent wants to give their children the best possible start in life. So understanding how the brain develops can help to guide the choice of toys and activities that contribute to learning.
So what is it all about?
Neuro-linguistics research (the study of how we learn language) has shown that the two different sides, (hemispheres) of the brain are responsible for different ways of thinking. The left brain hemisphere is responsible for logical thinking usually where there is a 'correct' response. Number, language, music, regular patterns, shapes and colours are all handled by the left brain.
The right brain hemisphere is responsible for creative thinking and imagination and human responses are most likely to be emotional or concerned with feelings. Painting, drawing, sticking and colouring, water and sand play and most messy activities and improvisation contribute to developing the function of the right brain.
Whilst most of us show a preference for one thinking style over the other, the ideal goal of any parent is to stimulate both learning styles, helping their child become a well-rounded 'whole brain' thinker! Nature helps us with this because between the two sides of the brain there is a 'strap-like' section called the 'corpus callosum'. Neurologists believe that the function of the strap is to co-ordinate the two sides of the brain so that individuals develop their 'whole brain' function.
There are so many toys on the market. Are some better for learning than others?
Toys are intended for children to play with. Any play activity is useful so toys can be divided into those with entertainment value and those with educational value - called Edutainment resources. Many manufacturers now identify the learning possibilities of a toy on the packaging.
What should I look for in an educational resource?
An educational resource is one that enables a user to develop specific skills. Opportunities to play are vital for children in their early years. A parent looking for the potential in objects and materials for safe play will identify many learning opportunities in the home.
A plain cardboard box is a valuable learning resource because it can be turned into a dinosaur, a car or a rocket, a house or a shop; to decide on the model is a left brain activity. If the box can be cut, glued, painted and added to by using the imagination and creative skills it has equal value as an activity to develop the right brain.
The skills that a child learns are different at each stage of development. When buying a toy the age of the child will be a key consideration. From birth to eight weeks baby becomes still and listens; from 9-12 months baby will point to things and show a preference for some activities, colours and sounds. At this stage a well produced DVD may offer more effective whole brain development than a book.
Recent research by Professor Karmiloff-Smith, a world-leading scientist specialising in baby development who works at the London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital says "babies have to use their eyes and brain to track movement in images from DVDs, but static pages in a book provide no stimulation. Her scientific research shows that interacting with moving images encourages them to optimise each stage of development so DVDs produced with baby learning stages in mind are appropriate for the age and stage. Normal television and video however, cause babies to become mesmerised as they struggle with too rapid eye movements and poor colour differentiation.
It may be a controversial idea but good quality DVDs are apparently better than books between the ages of 3 and 5 months.
By 12 -18 months babies repeat words with meaning. Research shows that pausing between new words or concepts helps very young children concentrate attention on the learning task. A DVD that presents everyday objects with a clearly spoken statement of the word and meaning clearly functions as an educational resource. This is in direct contrast to television programmes in which images move rapidly and have a mesmerising effect that may pacify a baby but is unlikely to promote learning.
Brainy Baby has ten DVD's within the learning library which are geared specifically towards 'Whole Brain' development so he or she can become a well rounded little person. Every award winning Brainy Baby programme features live multi-ethnic children, animals, toys and more. This is crucial as studies have shown that children learn better when they see things they can relate to from their 'own world' - not silly characters and crazy cartoons.
