Can a Child's Ability to Learn be Increased? Yes!

What we do with our children affects both her feelings and her intelligence.   In the past, many educators believed that intelligence was almost totally fixed at birth and that a child’s capacity to learn was determined by heredity. It was believed that we should strive to teach a child all we could within the limits of her capacity, but that we could not increase the basic capacity significantly beyond the limits inherited at the time of conception. Modern research now overwhelmingly confirms that a human being’s intelligence—or her ability to learn—can be increased. The way parents interact with their child has a significant impact on her ability to learn. Environmental factors—or factors outside the child’s own self—have much more to do with nurturing intelligence than was formerly believed. The results of this research bring great hope and great responsibility to parents.

This places great importance on the home, which is where it should rightly be.  Parents are the best teachers and and whenever possible, the home is the best opportunity for very young children to learn and grow, if parents will take on the responsibility.  A powerful intellect is one of the best legacy that we can give our children.

For the next while I want to focus on the first five years of life.  Why?  Because by age five, the basic character of our children are well established. The core of his character includes his ability to empathize, communicate, reason, make choices, assimilate information and solve problems.  If we consistently and lovingly teach our child we will give him a rich emotional and intellectual reservoir from which to draw for the rest of his life.

So what should you focus on teaching your child in her early years? I have found that while it is essential to follow your child’s interests, there are some important things she will not show interest in on her own simply because she does not know they exist.  Therefore you can slowly, lovingly, and purposefully teach her things that will be of most value to her now and later in life.

In other words, we don’t have to wait until your child requests that we introduce her to math and reading. You know that it will be valuable for her to know the alphabet, so you can begin exposing her to it now by means of the well-known alphabet song. She will learn to sing the song because she likes singing the song with you, not because it is part of her personal long-term learning goals. But you have long-term goals in mind for her, and you can set her feet on the path to achieving them before she even knows that there is a purpose for what you are teaching her. In addition to capitalizing on your child’s natural interests, part of your responsibility is to build your child’s interest in things you know will be of value to her..

What should you focus on helping your child learn? What things will be of most value to her? There are several key building blocks upon with which all other learning and education stand. First and foremost, a young child must learn that she can trust her caregivers and that she is of value to them. (We will discuss this more in the chapter on nurturing your newborn.) After your child feels secure in your love, there are several other mind-building activities you should focus on as you nurture and educate your child in her early years. Here is a list of five major areas of focus:

1. Building your child’s ability to communicate
2. Developing your child’s ability to reason
3. Building your child’s ability to discern differences using sight, sound and touch
4. Improving your child’s large and small motor skills
5. Teaching your child numbers, colors and letters