educating an infant

[little_O]

DD is 6.5 months old. She is an extremely switched on baby (i know i am probably biased ). I feel like i need to be doing more to stimulate her brain.
On her 6 month check she is got full points apart from getting into the crawling position, but she is doing that now.

We read to her every day, a few times a day. I have the "your baby can read" system and she loves it. So she watches those dvd's, does the book and the flash cards which she loves. I do counting with her, she plays all the time too and she is learning really fast.

I just feel like i am not giving her brain enough stimulation still. She likes to feed herself now, even with the spoon and shes not too bad, so i let her do most of it herself now.

What else can i do? Any ideas? Is there something else i should be doing, or exposing her to? Or i am i being a panicking first mum lol?

[Heaven]

No definitely not. You don't need to do anything. The most important thing for them now is just exploring their world, being with you, and learning how to use their body.

[FabFiona]

Joining the local toy library can help with these things. You don't need to do much, but having different toys to explore each fortnight together can help keep your little one stimulated.

[MrsFabuloso]

At her age you certainly don't need to be doing anything else, other than talking to her, and playing and letting her see what you're doing. Kids love the simple things in life, they love the company of the people they love and that is it. They often take more from that than any classes or educational things people provide for their child.

[lady_neon]

I read a great article the other day about kids, toys and learning. The gist was kids don't need heaps of toys, but involving them in everything you do - babywearing while you hang out washing, do the vacuuming, taking dogs for a walk, going to the shop, going out to dinner, general socialising and every day life - is where they learn the most by watching. You know, monkey see, monkey do? The article explains it much better than I can lol. But it really did make a lot of sense.

[Cherished]

little_o I was going to say pretty much what Heaven said. Just being with your baby is enough, baby will watch and learn from looking at 'life'. We also got your baby can read but honestly we found it really boring and way too slow for ds who is also very alert and keen to learn/explore everything and always has been. I too felt like I wasn't doing enough with him.... If I could go back I would not waste my energy trying to stimulate him and worrying about it. If there is every round 2 I'll be far more relaxed!

[Santosha]

In my humble, but reasonably well informed opinion, less is more. Just sit back, commentate what you do, what she does, explore and enjoy the world together and follow her lead. I wish I'd done this more with DD. I was so anxious to fill every minute with things that stimulated her as she too was a very aware baby. It kind of blew up in my face though, as she came to assume that she couldn't find her own fun and was very dependent on me for input and structure.

Then I found this wise woman http://www.janetlansbury.com/tag/play/ and have followed these ideas more (certainly not to the letter, but it's been my general guide) with DS. He is just as physically, verbally and cognitively capable as DD was, but the difference has been that both he and I are more relaxed and confident. He is a very content, aware, curious, independent little guy, and while I'm sure his temperament comes into play, I feel sure that it's also because he has consistently received the message: you are enough. He doesn't have to do more or learn more or achieve anything. He can just explore and learn and play at his own pace and anything that takes his interest is a worthy learning opportunity. At 16 months he has at least 100 single words and is starting to use adjectives and two-word phrases. He runs and climbs, feeds himself well, stacks blocks... meets all 'milestones' beautifully. And he didn't need anything but basic toys and our wild and wonderful garden to explore to get him there.

[little_O]

Thanks girls. Good to know I'm just being paranoid

She does do everything with me, she's such a gawker and loves to interact and take it all in. I think sometimes I can see her brain going 100 million miles an hour and fear I'm/we're not enough. That she wants more and needs more things to learn.

She is also quite independent and likes her own space and time to play/explore by herself. Guess I'll just keep going how we are.

Sigh. Isn't it all fun working it all out lol!

[~TT40~]

=) this has reassured me. i often feel im not entertaining enough for Spock. and she gets bored. but i do bw her when doing hpusework and often just say out loud what i am doing. also i just sit on the floor with her while she plays with her toys (another thing is none of her toys do anything, except a few rattles they are main stuffed toys or blocks.)
thanks for the reassurance =)

[onthefly]

you don't need to do anything except be with her, make her feel safe and loved and talk to her. Everything else is just gravy.
In fact, if you read up on research into infant brain development, you'll find the best things you can do are: cuddles, talking, doing things together and stuff like that. Not reading or learning or "educational" stuff. They need space to learn their own way, to choose what they interact with and how. She's only just getting mobile, but this will come in time. The more stimulus you give them, the harder it may be for them to learn to amuse themselves. Less form is better when it comes to toys and things.
Sounds like you're doing great

[Gigi]

i would avoid the dvds, avoid tv for first two years if you can. Talk to her all the time. She will learn so much by being with you, listening, observing. Be guided by what she is interested in. Take it slow, let her lead the pace. There is so much pressure to fast track babies, toddlers, children. It is $$$$$ led pressure, to get you to buy stuff that babies don't really need.

Pegs and fridge magnets, folding bits of cloth e.g facewashers, playing with opshop scarves, these are some of the sensory seeking things my slightly older bub enjoyed more than any plastic battery operated noisy toy from a shop. She would literally spend 20mins just opening and closing pegs.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Yes, there is something else you should be doing, IMO.

Letting your daughter discover things for herself without you telling her them. I'm not being a judgemental parent, I'm just going to say this: atm, you are teaching your daughter there is a right and a wrong answer (to flashcards, numbers etc). You are not encouraging creative solutions. Why not spend two hours letting her investigate how reflections work? You just need a mirror she can peep in and out of. She can come up with hypotheses and test these. While it isn't formalised and written down, she's still discovering and learning. What about splashing water (ie discovering the properties of fluids)? Dancing and singing to the radio? When she's a little better and wants to practice fine motor skills, how about seeing how to build a big tower from plain wooden blocks (she will figure out that wider at the bottom makes it more stable)? Baking? Making up your own stories and endings to them - offer your daughter a choice of what happens next, let her tell YOU what's right and wrong in her world?

I have a very switched-on child. I teach senior school children and his maths ability, at age 5, is above some of the children I teach. But I don't push it. He loves basic algebra, but discovered it himself. Worked it all out and told me. I'm really pleased for him. He loves reading, and will try to read my books (although he does quickly lose interest!). But I didn't need to push him, or start early beyond answering his questions about letters. This is also the child who asked a policeman if sharks always are baddies who eat people, if aliens are goodies or baddies, if red dinosaurs get along with other dinosaurs and if Wolverine the superhero could beat a red dinosaur. (Policeman asked if he had any questions during a school visit, poor chap.) Please let her learn through play and not about pleasing other people, that her ideas can be wrong and that her academic smarts are the most important thing about her.

And yes, this is from the mother who explained how soap works to her 6 month old, demonstrated dissection skills while preparing the vegetables for dinner and talked about the importance of tides in the sea shore habitat. But I did that for me, I didn't expect Liebling to get anything from it beyond hearing different words/sounds and having me talk to him about something that didn't drive me batty.

[little_O]

Yes, there is something else you should be doing, IMO.

Letting your daughter discover things for herself without you telling her them. I'm not being a judgemental parent, I'm just going to say this: atm, you are teaching your daughter there is a right and a wrong answer (to flashcards, numbers etc). You are not encouraging creative solutions. Why not spend two hours letting her investigate how reflections work? You just need a mirror she can peep in and out of. She can come up with hypotheses and test these. While it isn't formalised and written down, she's still discovering and learning. What about splashing water (ie discovering the properties of fluids)? Dancing and singing to the radio? When she's a little better and wants to practice fine motor skills, how about seeing how to build a big tower from plain wooden blocks (she will figure out that wider at the bottom makes it more stable)? Baking? Making up your own stories and endings to them - offer your daughter a choice of what happens next, let her tell YOU what's right and wrong in her world?

I have a very switched-on child. I teach senior school children and his maths ability, at age 5, is above some of the children I teach. But I don't push it. He loves basic algebra, but discovered it himself. Worked it all out and told me. I'm really pleased for him. He loves reading, and will try to read my books (although he does quickly lose interest!). But I didn't need to push him, or start early beyond answering his questions about letters. This is also the child who asked a policeman if sharks always are baddies who eat people, if aliens are goodies or baddies, if red dinosaurs get along with other dinosaurs and if Wolverine the superhero could beat a red dinosaur. (Policeman asked if he had any questions during a school visit, poor chap.) Please let her learn through play and not about pleasing other people, that her ideas can be wrong and that her academic smarts are the most important thing about her.

And yes, this is from the mother who explained how soap works to her 6 month old, demonstrated dissection skills while preparing the vegetables for dinner and talked about the importance of tides in the sea shore habitat. But I did that for me, I didn't expect Liebling to get anything from it beyond hearing different words/sounds and having me talk to him about something that didn't drive me batty.

She does do a lot of these things. Hope I haven't come across like some over achiever type mum. I know exactly what you mean about her learning from her own experiences, that is mainly what she does, apart from flash cards and me counting. I think I just worry that she needs more. It's comforting to know that we are on the right track.

Sometimes I worry I allow her to be her own teacher too much, and she needs more from me. She only has simple things to entertain herself with. A ball, a plastic mirror, a rattle. She's discovered her feet, her toes, the mirror, the door, the trees, shadows, water. I feel like very little has been necessary of me teaching her.

Her mind is a little sponge and I want her to fill it as much as she can. These are such precious years for us, and I want what's best for her.

Just over thinking things I guess

[onthefly]

Sometimes I worry I allow her to be her own teacher too much, and she needs more from me. She only has simple things to entertain herself with. A ball, a plastic mirror, a rattle. She's discovered her feet, her toes, the mirror, the door, the trees, shadows, water. I feel like very little has been necessary of me teaching her.

Sound perfect

[nickle730]

Hey liitle_o, In a rush, so don't know how well I will express myself here! When I had my first DD, I believed (like many) that it was my job to fill her up with information. I thought that she was an empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge, a sponge waiting to suck up all of what I could teach. Here is what I have learned - a child is capable, naturally curious and full of so much innate knowledge. They just need the opportunity to explore their world and to express themselves and their knowledge in many different ways.

We sent our older two kids (Miss P is booked in!) to a kinder which runs a true Reggio Emilia program. There are quite a few Aussie kinders purporting to be RE, but not all of them do it very well! Reggio is based on the principle that the child is capable. They are not an empty vessel, but a font of knowledge and information waiting to be released. I found that I struggled with some of the principles of RE with DD1 - ahhh... the risk taker! How could my 3 year old possibly assess risk? But she could, and she did and she learned from it (and not once did she sustain more than a scraped knee)!

So many things which, given the opportunity, my child taught me instead of the other way around.

Reggio follows the principle of play based learning. Instead of hot housing kids with the three R's, it encourages curiosity and the lifelong learner. So if the child asks 'would a red dinosaur beat a blue dinosaur in a fight?', Reggio would respond with 'do you think a red dinosaur would beat a blue dinosaur in a fight?' and 'how could we find out?'. The child will suggest a way to find the answer - we could make two dinosaurs and they could have a fight, we could go to the library and research it, we could go to the zoo and ask them at the zoo - they would know. And the child then continues their learning and investigation until they are satisfied with the answer (which in the case of fighting dinosaurs could be a while!). But you know, maybe we'll discover that the red dinosaur is a T-rex and the blue dinosaur is a trycerotops - and find evidence that the T-rex always wins. It's not necessarily about the answer, it's about the journey and the love of learning, becoming a life long learner.

Not sure I've really expressed very well what I want to say, but the crux of it is that your DD doesn't need to be filled up with flash cards and learning DVD's. She just needs the opportunity to explore and discover and express her natural curiosity. If you allow her to, she will amaze you with her own knowledge and ability. There is plenty of time ahead for her to learn algebra and scientific equations - right now it is about encouraging her to become a life long learner, building her confidence and her self esteem as a learner (and you will discover that sometimes, if you let her, she will be your teacher).

I would really encourage you to explore Reggio Emilia philosophies. Even if you don't choose (or have the opportunity) to send your child to a RE kinder or school, the principles will challenge your own belief of the image and capabilities of your child.

[~TT40~]

And yes, this is from the mother who explained how soap works to her 6 month old, demonstrated dissection skills while preparing the vegetables for dinner and talked about the importance of tides in the sea shore habitat. But I did that for me, I didn't expect Liebling to get anything from it beyond hearing different words/sounds and having me talk to him about something that didn't drive me batty.

i do that! i know she cant understand me. but helps me continue the coversation and her hearing the words etc.. i say things like: if we go outside and its hot ill say 'isn't it hot today! thats because the sun is blazing in the sky..' and then i chatter away to her about what the sun is while i hang out the washing etc..

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Brilliantly said, Nickle. I love the Reggio Emilio philosophy of learning and ensuring that everything is relevant and real to the child, as well as the importance of realising that everything is a learning opportunity. I've found that Liebling can risk assess really well too, when given a bit of guidance (is that a safe thing to be doing? why is that?), as sometimes he doesn't think before he does, just like the rest of us. I hate teaching children who have been so switched off to learning; there is no provision for them and they're amazed when I can point out that what they are doing might be relevant and why this is. Then dismiss my point, because nothing else about school is relevant so this can't be. It's so soul destroying.

TT - that's why I also spoke to Liebling in French when he was little. He wasn't learning French - I was keeping up with my skills and he was hearing different sounds. He never spoke French to me or showed signs of understanding what I was going on about (same as when I was explaining the role of the xylem in plant roots) - but now he loves his French club and has just had a stirling report. I'm sure it's because he could hear the different sounds, because he was used to hearing them (the biggest problem older learners have with language is the lack of exposure to the sounds of another language, that's usually the biggest barrier to overcome). I'd love to see how he gets on with German (I started learning this while pg), but there isn't a German club locally for his age.