As far as we’re concerned, we only needed to worry about school when we hit the age of five. It seems as if times have changed. Nowadays, as soon as your baby can raise his head, you can already send him off some place where he can learn through play. Even before babies turn one, you can already give them a variety of activities.
Apart from play schools that offer classes for infants and toddlers, there are now preschools with lessons designed for babies. Music and movement programs are encouraged for these tiny tots. The ages between zero to eighteen months are a child’s formative years. The way babies learn about the environment is highly sensorial. They learn through touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. As a parent, you need to nurture these. As these are also attachment years, and not everyone can actually afford infant development programs, parents can easily learn by caring for them and talking to them. Touch therapy plays a crucial role in the way they develop.
Babies have their parents as their very first teachers. As an adult, you are the foundation builder of learning. You take full responsibility in reading up and being aware of the needs of your infants. Reading to your baby while inside the womb and exercising while pregnant have a positive effect on your baby as soon as you give birth. You also can let nature take its course and allow him to grow as naturally as possible. The playschools that mushroom all over are there only to supplement your important role in child rearing. There are basic foundations to your child’s learning and these are meeting their basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, fostering social and emotional development, developing relationships, and supporting cognitive and brain development.
You need to create a responsive environment to lay these foundations. There should be routines that he should experience, and more importantly, a loving and nurturing group of people who will take care of him to the best of their abilities. There needs to be positive experiences during mealtimes, diapering and toileting, bedtime and naptime, bath time and getting dressed. Make play count and use toys to enhance his experience. You need to set up a type of environment that helps in the holistic growth of your baby. While these schools give children exposure to kids their own age, it’s also optional. These are just stages to more formal learning in the years to come.
Enrolling them in programs is fine, just remember to go easy. They’re still too young and you should let them enjoy being children at first. Play is a vital part in their growth and development, and something that you can do on your own as well. You not only provide essential developmental benefits, you also give them opportunities to bond with a person or with a group. Make time to play with your child, no matter how young they are. As a family, you need to experience what learning and living are all about.