First few years crucial for kids' development
17 October 2011
Last Monday, I went to my six-year-old boy's kindergarten to get his report card. The first sentence his class teacher said was, “Your boy is very smart.” I asked her why she said so. She said that whenever she told him that he had made some mistakes in his homework, he would correct it automatically, without coming back to ask her what his mistakes were.
She also commented that my son is not only smart, but also has very good motor skills, and his body is so soft and skilful when he performs gymnastics.
He couldn't be more different from my eldest boy who is not as smart as his brother, and has poor motor skills.
I still remember when he was in Year One and on one occasion I let him take some food packed in a plastic bag to school. When he came back, the food still remained in his school bag. I asked him why he did not eat the food and he said he did not know how to untie the plastic bag.
Based on my experience in raising my sons, I note that the following factors can affect a child's intelligence:
1) Take away the pacifier and let the baby explore the environment observed by an adult.
All my sons crawled a lot when they were learning to move around. I even let them crawl up and down the staircase freely. However, my eldest son was taken care of by my mother-in-law who is very worried about hygiene. As a result, he used the pacifier more because she was afraid he would put something in his mouth and he missed out on training his fine motor skills. The action of putting food in the mouth, which he wasn't allowed to practise, involves hand-eye coordination.
Many years ago, I attended a talk by a counsellor who said he had met a young boy who could not walk properly as the parents loved him too much and were scared he would fall down. Hence, they always carried him and didn't allow him to crawl. It is really sad to hear this kind of story.
2) Train kids to use chopsticks from as young as possible.
I did not expose both my elder sons to use chopsticks when they were young. One day, when I saw my cousin's three-year-old daughter using chopsticks to eat I was so amazed. I told my youngest boy that if he used the chopsticks to eat his meal, he would be smart. Since he is very “kiasu” (competitive), he decided he would learn to master the chopsticks. When we use chopsticks, many of our fingers will be involved. The movements of our fingers will stimulate our brain.
3) Let kids play building blocks.
My youngest son, like his second brother, loves to play with building blocks,especially Lego. Hence both my younger sons have good fine motor skills and they are more creative than my eldest son. You may ask me why I did not let my eldest son play with blocks. Well, I exposed him to those toys too, however he didn't seem interested and preferred reading.
4) Breastfeed our kids.
Cow's milk is for calves to drink. We should breastfeed our baby as long as possible. I only breastfed my eldest son for 1 1/2 month as I had to leave him to work away from home. However, I breastfed my youngest son for 10 months. Comparing both of them, my youngest son is healthier, smarter and more secure. Actually, I planned to breastfeed him as long as I could. However, at 10 months, he bit my nipple. As it was so painful, I pinched him and warned him not to bite me in future or I would not give him breast milk. Guess what? The next day he refused my breast. I thought he was not feeling well. The days after he still refused my breast. At that moment, I realised that I had made such a big mistake by pinching and warning him. He was scared of my punishment, so he decided to give up breast milk. Don't you think he is smart?
Pauline Lee Chew Poh
This article was copied from www.parenthots.com
