|
Baby
Talk
Development
of Intelligence in Children:
The First Three Years
by Linda M. Levine, M.Ed.
Reprinted
in Future Reflections from The Circuit,
a publication of the South Dakota Parent Connection.
From
the Editor: One way to test the value of information
from professional literature about blind children is
to compare it to the information in literature about
basic child development. If it is consistent, then it
can probably be trusted. If it is inconsistent or even
contradictory, then it should be questioned. This isn't
the only measure parents can use to judge what they
read about blindness and the needs of blind children,
but it's a good one.
For
this reason I believe general child development articles,
such as the following, do have a place (once in a while)
within the pages of Future Reflections. Once I got past
the title (in my experience, discussions of intelligence
tend to stir up more controversy than they enlighten),
I was impressed with the sound observations and good
sense recommendations. A few of the suggestions are
dependent upon vision, but most are not. Furthermore,
the author doesn't make a big deal about the process.
There is no hype about how difficult it is for children
to learn, or parents to teach. What a refreshing change
from what one reads in so much of the professional literature
on blindness and children!
In
any event, for its own intrinsic value, and for the
value it may have as a litmus test for blindness literature
on this topic, here is "Baby Talk—Development of
Intelligence in Children: The First Three Years:"
"When
do I teach my child about numbers and colors?" "Will
my child learn anything by just playing?" "My child
has Down's Syndrome. Can I help her learn?"
Parents
are anxious for their children's intelligence to develop
quickly and well. The good news is that parents have
the unique opportunity to raise the intelligence level
of their children during the first few years of life—and
have a wonderful time doing it. But it can be hard to
know what kind of stimulation and how much stimulation
to give.
Experts
disagree as to just what intelligence is, but they guess
that between 50 percent and 80 percent is inherited.
That means that your efforts, plus your baby's own interest
in what is happening, will have a lot to do with your
child's intelligence. Motivation plays a key role in
the way a baby learns.
The
first two years of life are important ones for the baby's
growing brain. When babies are exposed to sights, sounds,
textures to feel, smells, and tastes, more connections
are made inside the brain.
Children
need both the active involvement of parents and the
opportunity to try to explore on their own. Stimulate
your baby but don't overdo it; it's easy to be so eager
that you do all the playing and the baby does all the
watching! Children who are pushed too fast often have
problems with certain types of thinking skills. Excessive
spankings or other harsh punishment can also harm a
child's intellectual, physical, and social development.
Children
learn by playing
Playing
is natural, enjoyable—and
may be the most important way children learn to adapt
to the new world. For adults, learning something new
means work. But for the child, learning is usually exciting
and fun. Toddlers love to help wash the car, sweep the
floor, or pull the weeds. This "help" can be fun or
infuriating for the adults, but the toddler is learning
about how things work in the world.
Playing
with real objects and imitating adults is an effective
way for young children to learn.
Children
need lots of time to play with real objects before they
understand the meaning of letters and numbers. Don't
think of teaching your child so much as guiding your
child toward discoveries about how things work, where
things fit, and why things act the way they do.
Just
what is intelligence?
Think of intelligence as a kind of road. Each child
inherits a certain potential for developing intelligence.
The stimulation a child receives during the early years—provided
by adults and through the child's own interests—helps
develop the potential and helps determine where the
child's intelligence winds up along the road.
A
child might be at the "developmentally delayed" point
in the road, at the point called "above average," or
someplace in between. Children whose intelligence develops
more slowly are just at different points on the road
than are children whose intelligence develops more quickly.
Children
with mild, moderate, or severe intellectual delays need
stimulation to go further along the road. Children with
severely delayed intellectual development may need the
same kind of sensory experiences that infants and toddlers
thrive on. Sensory experiences are where intellectual
development begins.
Children
explore and understand the environment through their
senses. Young children learn best from experiences that
involve more than one sense, so provide many objects
that can be tasted, seen, smelled, heard, felt, and
played with.
Gentle
touches, patting, tickling, and rhythmic movements are
naturally stimulating for baby and for children whose
intelligence is developing at a much slower rate. Stroking
with a soft baby brush, cotton ball, or piece of velvet,
or gently massaging arms, body, and legs are good ways
to put children in touch with their own bodies. You
can also stimulate your baby's senses by giving interesting
things to look at or listen to.
Babies
need to look at slowly moving objects, a variety of
patterns, and bright colors. They need to hear adults
talk to them and sing to them from the moment they are
born! They need to hear sounds of things like clocks,
rattles, music boxes, and cars. Long before they can
talk, small children understand what is being said to
them.
The
miracle of language development is intertwined with
the development of intelligence.
What
about memory?
Memory gets stronger as babies become toddlers. Being
able to remember what took place in the past allows
children to gather information, to compare it with old
information, and to make new connections. The toddler
who says "Nana" as the car gets to Grandmother's house
is showing good long-term memory. It's a big step when
children use memory to relate what is happening to what
has happened in the past.
Parents
often think of early intelligence as knowing the names
of things. This skill—concept
formation—results
after children have had many experiences and can link
those experiences to a name. At first, all four-legged
animals might be called "doggies." As children get older
and focus on concept formation, the animals become cats,
dogs, cows, and horses. It takes time for the thinking
processes to mature, but how exciting it is to watch
it happen, a bit more each day!
What
can I do to help my child build intelligence?
Create an atmosphere for learning and be sure your child
is interested. Let the child lead the activity; stop
when the child is bored, tired, or frustrated.
Repeat those activities that your child wants to do
again. They may be boring for you but enjoyable for
the child.
Encourage your child. Assure your child that making
mistakes is a normal part of learning.
Encourage active play. Running, jumping, and other active
play is better than sitting in front of the TV or watching
adults play.
Keep a variety of toys and books on low shelves where
your child can reach them. Introduce new toys one at
a time. Too many toys can overstimulate a child.
Help your child use the senses—hearing, seeing,
touching, tasting, and smelling—to
explore objects. Focus on one sense at a time.
Talk a lot as your child explores. Talk about what is
happening and what you are doing.
Provide toys that allow baby to see cause and effect.
Pushing a button to make a cat appear is not as stimulating
as hitting a pan with a spoon and seeing it move, or
hearing the noise.
Provide activities at the child's developmental level.
Allow the child to choose which toys to play with.
Work as a team with your child's teacher or therapists.
Share ideas and solutions. Together, you can help your
child live up to full potential, at school, at home,
and in life.
For
more information see Dodson, F., and Alexander, A.,
1986, Your Child: Birth to Age Six, New York, Simon
and Schuster. Healty, J. M., 1987, Your Child's Growing
Mind, New York, Doubleday.
|
