This is one of the most common questions and concerns we hear from parents. With society's increasing demands on a child's learning and knowledge, some parents look for ways to give their baby every extra bit of edge and advantage possible. While it is of course a wonderful idea to boost your child's development with lots of play and interaction, how much is too much? Just how much should you push your baby to learn?
The debate about early learning
Experts are decidedly mixed about the push for early learning and how much of it you should pursue for your baby. From organized classes with flash cards all the way to regular play groups where children are encouraged to interact with a variety of toys and each other, there are a huge number of options and opportunities to consider.
Some parents put together an organized plan for pushing and promoting their baby's learning. Their plan might include using flash cards to promote learning shapes and colors; foreign language immersion to promote bi-lingual development; art, dance, and music classes to promote hand and body coordination; and even etiquette classes to promote good behavior and comfort in social situations.
What is perhaps most surprising is just how early some babies are enrolled in these types of classes. In larger cities it is not at all unusual to find classes such as these available for babies as young as just a few months of age. Most experts agree that this is an extreme approach to helping babies learn, one that costs a great deal of time and money, and that provides questionable advantage to your baby.
The traditional approach to early learning
A more traditional approach to early learning is to simply create as many opportunities as possible for your baby to have different types of experiences. Play with your baby while some vibrant children's music is playing in the background, or let your baby experience the touch and feel of sand in his or her fingers. Go for walks, paying attention to the colors and textures of the environment around you. Let your baby hold a leaf, help your baby lift a sippy cup to his or her lips, or take your baby to a petting zoo.
Most importantly, the traditional approach to learning includes a great deal of involvement by parents. Take your baby different places with you, and talk to your baby as much as possible. Even a very young baby learns valuable lessons and gains early speech development simply by listening to you talk. Clap hands together, hold your baby while you dance around the room, let your baby splash in the bathtub water - anything you can think of to expose him or her to different sights, sounds, textures, and the like.
Which approach is better?
The answer to this question depends on whom you ask. There are parents and experts who firmly believe a structured, organized approach to learning gives a baby the best chance of success later in life. On the other side of the equation, there are also many parents and experts who just as firmly believe your baby gets plenty of learning and development simply by being exposed to many different things through interaction with parent.
The bottom line is that your baby was born to learn. During this time when the brain is growing and developing rapidly, the best thing you can do for your baby is to provide as much variety and interesting stimulation as possible. This helps your baby's brain establish the many trillions of connections it needs to be effective later on.