Information Overload!

[rose08]

Ok i know this may be a stupid question but will our children be getting an information overload if we try to teach them reading, maths, and music...plus another language. I read on here that a lot of people are doing it but what is the best way to go about it. How many sessions of each thing a day and when is the best time to do it? My daughter is 11 months old. Is that too young for some of it?
I really want to teach her as much as she can and wants (i dont wanna be a pushy parent) but i just cant comprehend how to do all this.
I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks

[rose08]

Sorry i forgot to ask if any other stay at home mums have any tips for organising sleeps and feeds around learning. When the best time is to teach them eg. straight after a sleep when they are fresh or during a feed.  Sorry for all the questions but just want to be as informed as i can so i can give my daughter the best start to life.

[DadDude]

Rose, I think that's a very valid question, and I worry sometimes about that myself.  Not that I see evidence of "overload" in my own little boy, or that I think we are doing "too much" (I don't think so), but sometimes I do wonder.  His Mama says he has trouble going to sleep because he's talking about what he learned during the day (he's 2 yrs 10 mos).

Surprise surprise, I don't have any deep thoughts about this myself, but I'd be curious to hear what others have discovered or thought...

[jemjem]

That's my thought also.  That's why I reduce the sessions for our math and reading program.  I, myself, sometimes think about my son's lessons even if I am in the office.  I can still see pictures in my mind.   

[nhockaday]

I think it's fine as long as you and your child are enjoying yourselves. As far as how much, how often; that's really up to your schedule and your child's interest. Start out doing a little, and then if she's interested, add more. Slow down when she isn't enjoying it anymore. And remember, some days will be different than others. Try different times of the day for lessons. Every child is different. Some are more receptive right before or after they wake up, some during mealtime. You have to experiment and find what works for you both. Follow your child's lead, and eventually you will have a (flexible) routine.

[Kyles Mom]

I totally disagree that such a thing can happen, specially in the genius mind of a baby.
Firstly when we adults are eager to learn, does it feel like we are overloaded? I don't know about others but not for me and i have seen the same case as me in my husband and my sis-in-law, and my brother and my best friend even! they crave for more information!!!

Secondly the first thing I learnt after getting pregnant with my son and doing research is that the brain cells of the baby from birth till 3 years grow at such a rapid rate that even if we are to compare it with out entire life's brain cells will not be the same, and we should feed as much information to them before these cells become useless due to "negligence".

Thirdly babies LOVE learning, and it gives them their parents full attention which is another thing they crave for... and they will show if they cant tell thay they don't want it anymore

never underestimate your baby's brain power. They are too smart than you can ever imagine!

Feed all the information on all the topics you can and see the wonders of your child!

[trinity papa]

GD and shichida says the brain is like a sponge and can absorb. Treat it as a video recorder, except it takes a few takes. Only warning is ......"Rubbish in, Rubbish out" any form of flashing media, like cards, dvd, should be fine, except there is research that says the child needs to see your mouth action, and dvd or cd alone is insufficient. 

I can tell my child to do things which i have not taught her, like please take the fruits to mama, or please pick up the green circle and yellow star and put in your toy box with out pointing she does it, .... just doesn't speak ....dah .....

[rose08]

Thanks everyone,
All your information was helpful. I just wanted to see what people thought as it is always good to make an informed decision when starting something.
Once again thanks

[purplefungi]

GD and shichida says the brain is like a sponge and can absorb. Treat it as a video recorder, except it takes a few takes. Only warning is ......"Rubbish in, Rubbish out" any form of flashing media, like cards, dvd, should be fine, except there is research that says the child needs to see your mouth action, and dvd or cd alone is insufficient. 

I can tell my child to do things which i have not taught her, like please take the fruits to mama, or please pick up the green circle and yellow star and put in your toy box with out pointing she does it, .... just doesn't speak ....dah .....

That's interesting. Maybe there is more to flash cards. It makes sense, though, for the child to do better if he or she can see the mother or father speak.

[Nikita]

I too worry about information overload.  What I worry about is becoming too focused on teaching one topic or a few, like reading, maths and sign, to the exclusion of encouraging a more well-rounded child, offering learning in less academic pursuits that are still important, like social skills, independent and logical thinking, dancing, singing and sports...
I find that to get them ahead in reading very early you have to particularly concentrate on that one endeavour, and limit other things. Your Baby Can Read dvds say Dr Titzer had Aleka reading at 9 months by only letting her watch his videos he made for her, and not other TV. Plus he would have practised flashcards with her alot.
So it stands to reason, the more variety is introduced to the child the longer it will take to cotton on to a skill, but is that a bad thing? At that age, isnt it be better to be jack of all trades and master of none, then do well at one subject to the exclusion of others. I'm not saying to just do what most parents do and just let them play... but give them a broader lot of learning experiences so they can show they're interests. Like I've bought some baby learnign ballet and hip hop dvds for my 16 month old, as she likes to dance, and if she starts copying the dvds and actually learning steps, I'll know she should be in dance classes.  But that is still good for her brain growth!

[DadDude]

I find that to get them ahead in reading very early you have to particularly concentrate on that one endeavour, and limit other things. Your Baby Can Read dvds say Dr Titzer had Aleka reading at 9 months by only letting her watch his videos he made for her, and not other TV. Plus he would have practised flashcards with her alot.
So it stands to reason, the more variety is introduced to the child the longer it will take to cotton on to a skill, but is that a bad thing? At that age, isnt it be better to be jack of all trades and master of none, then do well at one subject to the exclusion of others. I'm not saying to just do what most parents do and just let them play... but give them a broader lot of learning experiences so they can show they're interests. Like I've bought some baby learnign ballet and hip hop dvds for my 16 month old, as she likes to dance, and if she starts copying the dvds and actually learning steps, I'll know she should be in dance classes.  But that is still good for her brain growth!

I don't know--we didn't start teaching our boy to read (unless you count learning ABCs) until about 20-22 months (I forget exactly when we started doing it actively).  Now I'm sure he's reading at 2nd grade level, one year later.  We vary the subjects we "study" greatly (see this post), but we emphasize literature (i.e., storybooks) above all.  The great "secret" of converting your not-teaching-to-read time into teaching-to-read time is: when you're reading books, move your finger under the words (or over, if your hand gets in the way of the pictures) as you read.  It seems to be pretty common experience that kids can pick up a lot about reading this way.

I think it's definitely better to be "jack of all trades" at an early age.  One thing Doman got right, IMHO, was the importance of building lots of connections between facts, which entails just getting lots of facts "on the table" so to speak.

[rose08]

Due to all your information I believe that it is possible to teach my daughter all these things at one time. The way i see it is that as long as she is enjoying it...it should be ok. And when i get my daughter watching her slideshows or viewing her flash cards for reading i cant pull her away. When i tell her it is time to stop she gets really upset.

I havent started with maths yet but I believe that she will love that as well. She is extremely curious at the moment and is in to everything i am. So if i am looking at slideshows on the computer that is what she wants to do it works perfectly.

Like what Nikita said about introducing her daughter to ballet then if she shows interest will take her to classes, that is what i also believe. I will try and introduce my daughter to a range of things so i know things she likes doing and then can give her a chance to do those things.

I always was interested in music but was never given the chance to learn it until i was 15. Now i always wonder how good i might have been if i had started at a younger age. I dont want my daughter to have those sort of regrets when she is older.

Note that i am not intending to be a pushy mother eg. living through my child. I just want her to have the opportunity to be whoever she wants and is meant to be.

I'm sure most of you want the same for your child which is why you are here.

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