Where you begin in teaching your child will depend on two key factors: the age of your child, and the subject(s) you are most interested in teaching.
In the wombIf your baby hasn't been born yet, the
Stimulating the Senses article in BrillBaby's
Prenatal Education section is for you. Talking, singing and reading to your baby are some of the most important things you can do before she is born. All these activities will help her get to know you that bit better, easing the transition from the womb to the world.
Indeed, at any age, talking, singing and reading aloud remain some of the most important ways of providing stimulation for your baby as well as strengthening the parent-child bond. And let's not forget physical affection: hugs, cuddles and kisses all help a child feel secure and loved. Such positive early experiences, when they happen consistently, profoundly affect brain development in ways that help shape a person's mental, emotional and physical health for life.
0-4 monthsIf your baby is newborn or under 4 months old, an effective way to stimulate his brain is with infant stimulation flash cards. Newborn babies cannot see very far, and as their eyes develop, their attention is most drawn to high-contrast colors such as black, white and red. Patterns in high contrast are easier for newborns to see and so will hold their attention for longer.
Infant stimulation cards are available for free at the BrillKids
Download section.
From birth, you can encourage your baby to begin crawling by placing her on her tummy on a regular basis. Babies at this age are more mobile than you might think, although they will not crawl very far at first - only a few centimeters at a time. You can use a crawling track (of the type developed by
Glenn Doman) to facilitate crawling at any age. To make the experience more interesting for your young baby, stick some infant stimulation cards to the inner walls of the track from time to time.
4 months and upIf your baby is 4 months old or above, then the teaching world is truly your oyster. There is a great deal to choose from - and this is the main reason that so many parents feel overwhelmed. Where you begin really depends on what appeals to you - or, if your child is old enough to express his preferences, what appeals to your child. Remember that there is no right and wrong answer, and that you can always adapt the lessons as you go.
One or more negative thought patterns may be holding you back from embarking on a teaching program with your child. Here are some of the doubts that parents typically harbor…
Should I really teach my child at such a young age?What if I'm no good at teaching?How do I know which subject(s) to teach first?How do I find the time/money to make/buy teaching materials?Now, let's address these concerns one by one:
Should I really teach my child at such a young age?In our society, five years old is considered the “normal” age to begin formal teaching, although preschool (usually from age three) may also provide opportunities for enhanced learning. If you decide to teach your baby, you may meet resistance from family, friends and neighbors, all of whom may not be familiar with the practice.
If you are having doubts or finding it hard to respond to the skepticism of others, BrillBaby's
Early Learning: For + Against section and the articles
Top 8 Myths of Early Reading and
Top 8 Myths of Early Math are for you. Almost certainly, you will also benefit from meeting like-minded parents, and you can do so in the
BrillKids Forum.
What if I'm no good at teaching?It's not necessary to be a teacher in order to teach your child. Methods of teaching all come with clear guidelines, but the most important thing will be for you to follow your child's lead and adapt your lesson schedule accordingly. To ensure you approach teaching in the right way, make sure you are familiar with the
fundamentals of early learning.
In many ways, the fact that you are your child's parent practically ensures that you will be her best teacher. And unless you plan to homeschool, there is only this time - very early childhood, before formal education begins - when you can be the principal teacher in your child's life. Not only is your child hungry for every kind of learning, but the teaching you do in these first few years will strengthen the parent-child bond and give you greater insights into your child's innate talents and personality traits.
How do I know which subject(s) to teach first?Many parents feel overwhelmed by the monumental task of teaching every important subject that exists. The important thing to remember, however, is that there is no deadline when it comes to your child's learning. It isn't necessary to teach your baby everything under the sun. Rather, teaching is an excellent way to spend quality time with your child.
Firstly, start with the subject or activity that you want to do the most. Your baby will love anything you decide to teach him, provided it is presented in an exciting format. So start with whatever interests you. If something doesn't appeal or seems hard, don't do it. If that means you never cover a certain topic that another parent is covering, that's fine. You and your child will almost certainly be excelling in another area.
Secondly, introduce one thing at a time. This piece of advice is more for you than for your baby (who can handle amazing amounts of new information). Since children learn by repetition and thrive on routine, it's important to be consistent with your lesson plan. Try to do too many new things at once, and you risk being overwhelmed and failing to deliver consistent lessons. This will only make your child unhappy and confused, and impede the learning process.
Introduce a new subject or activity once you have settled into a routine. Your child will enjoy the familiarity of her lessons and will come to expect them - just as she expects meal times, nap time and bath time. You're ready to add a new subject when teaching the previous subject(s) feels as natural to you as brushing your teeth.
How do I find the time/money to make/buy teaching materials?Once you have decided what to teach, you will need to make, buy or download the teaching materials for your lessons. This is not as difficult as you may think. For early followers of Glenn Doman, who has been teaching parents how to teach their babies since the 1960s, it was necessary to spend copious hours handmaking flash cards. Today however, there are more free resources available to parents than ever before. For example, the BrillKids Downloads section has a range of
Flash Card Printouts,
PowerPoint slideshows,
Infant Stimulation Cards,
Children's eBooks, and
Activity Sheets that you can download for free.
What methods are there for teaching babies?Before you can decide what to teach your child, you need to know what's out there. This used to involve trawling the internet and/or library, but not anymore!
The team at BrillBaby has done the work for you and collected together information on all the best teaching programs available!
Here's a summary of what's on offer...
Glenn Doman Method
A physical therapist, Glenn Doman is the founder of the
Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a nonprofit organization that teaches parents how to maximize the potential of their brain-damaged or normal child. The Doman program for normal children covers everything from reading, math and encyclopedic knowledge to physical excellence. Lessons are presented at speed using flash cards to facilitate
right-brain learning. Following the program takes commitment, as some subjects require repetitions of six times per day. More information can be found on BrillBaby and through Doman's books, which are available from the
Gentle Revolution Press.
Shichida Method
Makoto Shichida is a veteran researcher of preschool education methods, and another proponent of right-brain learning. The
Shichida Method of accelerated learning for young children is available through special schools in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Outside the Shichida schools, specific details of the program are hard to come by. It is expensive to attend a Shichida school, and waiting lists are long.
Signing Time and Baby Signing Time
The TV program
Signing Time (ST) offers what is probably the easiest way to teach your child American Sign Language (ASL). With its high production values, wonderful original music and engaging host (Rachel Coleman), ST makes learning to sign fun for preverbal babies and children of all abilities – as well as their parents. ST is designed for kids aged one and up, with Baby Signing Time designed for babies aged zero to three. For more on the benefits of signing with your baby, go to the
Signing article on BrillBaby.
Your Baby Can Read
Infant researcher Robert Titzer taught his daughters to read as babies using personalized books and videos. His success led him to create the Your Baby Can Read (YBCR) DVD series that teaches babies aged three months and up to read dozens of whole words. Although YBCR does not teach phonics, Titzer says his elder daughter intuited the rules of phonics by herself by around 18 months, simply through sufficient exposure to the written word.
TweedleWink
Produced by Right Brain Kids,
TweedleWink is a comprehensive program of right-brain learning targeted at children between ages zero and six. Subjects include classical music, math, science, reading, poetry and perfect pitch. Flash cards, DVDs and CDs are available for purchase from the
Right Brain Kids website.
The Little Reader Learning System
Ideal for babies and young children,
Little Reader is the most effective learning system for teaching your child to read. Suitable for children aged three months and up, Little Reader will guide your child over the course of 1 year from reading single words to complete stories. The system comes with a daily curriculum for 12 months - including over 3,000 words in 180 categories, with over 3,000 pictures, 6,000 sound files, and 460 videos.
Native Reading
Computational biologist Timothy Kailing’s book,
Native Reading, describes how to teach children aged one to three to read. The method involves making clear the correlations between the written and spoken forms of language. Kailing thinks this is not so much teaching as facilitating the natural learning process, and says that children learning to read at this age do so nearly subconsciously.
The Little Math Learning System
Produced by BrillKids,
Little Math enables you to deliver flash card-style math lessons on your home computer. Very young children have the innate ability to perceive quantity – that is, to see instantly that there are 56 triangles (and not 55), or 99 squares (not 100) being shown. By tapping into this natural ability at a young age (starting before age two and a half), your child can learn to perform instant mental calculations and become a confident mathematician for life.
