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A Genius In the Making: The First Two Years

Discussion in 'Toddlers' started by lakshmi13, Nov 13, 2011.

  1. lakshmi13

    lakshmi13 Gold IL'ite

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    Editor's Note: Dear lakshmi13, Congratulations! Your post has been selected as best of forum. Thank you so much for sharing this post with us. For viewership by a larger audience we have it as an article here.

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    All parents consider their infant to be a born genius. Indeed, it is true. Children are born as geniuses but parents do not recognize the area of strength of their little genius. The end result, by the time they do start recognizing, it becomes late. Controversial it may be but it is true that the child can be nurtured into a genius if his or her strengths are recognized and nurtured within the first five years of his or her life. The major hitch in the entire setup is that for parents, being a genius means being academically strong and of course, good grades. What parents fail to realize is that all children are born with some talent or the other. if this talent is recognised and nurtured, you have a genius who'll make you proud.


    How To Recognise The Talent In Your Genius In The First Two Years

    Now comes the most important question that I am sure all parents and parents-to-be would ask; how do you recognise the talents your genius has????? Well, its very simple.Answer these simple questions and I am sure you will be able to find out what interests your child andc what is his or her strong areas.



    1. What Atracts Your Child The Most? First find out which sense stimulates your child. Is the child attracted to sounds or shows greater interest in pictures? Does the child like smells and scents or reaches out to touch or put things in the mouth? Is your child fond of being rocked about or likes to be held in a particular position? The sense organ which is the most active in your child helps determine his or her learning style.

    2. What Interests Your Child The Most? It is also important to note what inerests your child in the day-to-day activities. Does he or she like songs or rhythmic movements? Is your child fond of other company or likes to play alone with you and/or the father as an exception? Does the child wish to spend time outdoors or likes being inside the house?Is your child interested in throwing or catching things or likes to open it to know whats inside/ The interests of the child reveal the area of intelligence that govern the overall approach of the child towards learning.

    3. Whom Does The Child like to Spend Time With? The person with whom the child likes to spend time and the things done in the company of that individual can also reveal a lot about your child's interests and likes.

    4. What Are The Things And Activities Your Child Doesnot Like? If you note down what your child dislikes doing and which things frighten or upset your child, you will be able to identify the weak areas of the child. At the same time, the opposites of these dislikes would point towards the strong areas of your child.




    Things You Can Do Daily With Your Genius In The First Two Years

    The first two years of a child's life are crucial for identification of your child's strengths and weaknesses. Once you answer the earlier questions, it will become easier for you to recognise the strong areas of your kid. Besides, certain activities you can do with your child which would go a long way in making your kid a genius in every sense of the term.




    1. Spend Time Reading. Reading is a great way to boost the brain. In the first two years of life read aloud to your child. Show picture books and board books while pointing out as you read. This helps develop a liking for books in the child. Besides this, your child's visual sense also gets stimulated if it is your child's weak areas. In today's busy world, even 15 minutes of shared reading does wonders.

    2. Cook with your Child Nearby. cooking and baking is fun as long as all safety measures are adopted. When you keep your kid next to you while cooking, the child not only gets the benefit of the aromas released by various spices, the child learns to recognise things around the house. Whenever you cook, make it a point to tell the child what you are doing everytime. this way of cooking stimulates his sense of taste and smell, and he receives the impetus to be an early talker.

    3. Take Your Child Out For A Walk. Make it a point to take your child out for a walk. This way, the child no longer exhibits fear of others. While walking, make sure you point out to the birds, vehicles, trees and houses to your child. This helps develop an attraction towards nature.

    4. Hug, Kiss And Pat Your Child.Keep hugging your child every now and then. It brings about a sense of security in the child. Pat your child after every jig or dance you do with your kid. Your child starts loving music and rhythm. And finally, always kiss your child "Good Night". This helps your child sleep without fears and makes the child eagerly look forward to the next day.




    What Kind Of A Parent Are You?

    A child is like wet clay. It is up to you to shape the child into a piece of art, decoration, building stone, or leave it to harden. It is time to realize that children are born extraordinary, it is the parents who remove the extra and make them ordinary or add extra to make them extra extraordinary. Which kind of a parent are you?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 30, 2014
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  2. pari85

    pari85 Bronze IL'ite

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    hi Lakshmi,

    its a nice post nd loved the way u noticed everything so minutely :)
     
  3. lakshmi13

    lakshmi13 Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Pari

    Thank you so much for liking my post. Looking at the present education scenario where greater emphasis is on academics only, I feel that as parents it is our moral duty to encourage our children's talents rather than forcing them to score high marks.. I passed out my tenth in 1996 with 85% in board exam. Those days, children scoring more than 80% were expected to take up Science stream and prepare for Medical and Engineering entrance exam. I had no aptitude for the sciences, instead I wanted to take up humanities and pursue my studies in Psychology. Many of my relatives and so-called well wishers of my family said that I was a fool to opt for the same as there was no scope for a successful career in psychology. Thankfully, my parents respected my decision and encouraged me to take up humanities. Today, I feel very contented as I am a child psychologist, specializing in exceptional children. when I look back I feel very grateful to my parents for being supportive, recognizing my potential and encouraging me in my pursuit. I am a mother of a three year old daughter and I wish to give her the same support that I received. With my background of child psychology, it is my humble endeavor to reach out to mothers like me so that together we can bring out the best in our children. Wherever we all maybe living, after all, in the years to come, it will be our children who are going to contribute to the world we live in. :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2011
  4. priya4prabhu

    priya4prabhu Silver IL'ite

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    Awesome post which has lots of info...
     
  5. Shanvy

    Shanvy IL Hall of Fame

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    Good post lakshmi.

    Specializing in exception children in india?? I am very much interested in knowing what are the facilities available in india. I know few kids who fall into the exceptional genre but we as parents do not have much info on facilities available in india.
     
  6. lakshmi13

    lakshmi13 Gold IL'ite

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    Hi All

    Thank you for your views. the term "Exceptional Children" is generally misunderstood. Majority of people feel that an exceptional child means a mentally challenged(retardation/cerebral palsy/Down's syndrome etc) or a handicapped child (deaf/dumb/blind/ physically handicapped etc.). In reality, all children who are born are born exceptional. The term "Exceptional" also includes Gifted children, children with Learning Difficulties, Twice Exceptional or 2e children, Autistic children and those suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Presently in India, all major schools have a School Psychologist/ Counsellor whose main job is to identify and train these children. Besides them, there are Child Psychologists who can evaluate a child's exceptionality (be it an anomaly or a giftedness) and suggest measures to encourage the same.

    There is a theory which states that all infants and toddlers are aware of what is being said to them. When parents babble and speak in baby language to the child, the baby smiles or laughs. According to the theory, the child smiles not because of the way the parent speaks but because he/she feels why cant my dad/mom speak properly!!! It is also said that if people could understand an infant's language, they would get answers to all their questions because the baby has answers to all queries till he/she starts speaking in his mother tongue after which he forgets. The debate regarding this is still going on and lot of research work is in progress. Another aspect of this theory is that it is because of this forgetting that we adults can generally never recall any incident from birth till five years of age. The only ones we do recall are those which have probably had a lasting impact on our brain or which our parents/ relatives would have told us.

    To come back to the topic of exceptional children, if a child is detected with an abnormality like cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, autism, ADD, ADHD, retardation learning difficulty etc.,within the first two years of life and if the remedial measures are initiated within the first five years, the abnormality reduces to a minimum so much so that the child becomes capable of not only looking after his/ her needs but also becomes financially independent. In case of gifted children also, if the talent of the child is spotted within the first two years and encouragement in that area is given within the first five years, the child does turn out to be a prodigy, the child loses his/her talent in the years to come. It is, therefore, up to the parents to decide how they want their child to grow up.

    It is sad but true, in today's stressful world, majority of parents want their child to excel in academics even at the cost of neglecting the child's talents. There are some parents who enroll their child for anything and everything like tennis, painting, dance, music, jazz, martial arts, etc., not realizing that their child's real talent is being sidelined and not much effort is being made in that direction. The final outcome in both cases are frustrated unhappy children who become rebellious under stress and pressures put on them. These are few of the factors which have made even children of kindergarten attempt suicide.
     
  7. amruthakithu

    amruthakithu Senior IL'ite

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    1. Spend Time Reading. Reading is a great way to boost the brain. In the first two years of life read aloud to your child. Show picture books and board books while pointing out as you read. This helps develop a liking for books in the child. Besides this, your child's visual sense also gets stimulated if it is your child's weak areas. In today's busy world, even 15 minutes of shared reading does wonders.

    Hi Lakshmi...

    Good article on "A Genius in the making"...enjoyed reading the article.

    As you said keep reading atleast for 5 mins daily, i always keep reading kid's bedtime story book by making her sit in my lap or she ll be playing around and read it...but one problem here is, she gets irritated whenever i start reading...she just comes to me and throws book from me.

    At this point of time, should i mean that, she is not interested or she is not interested at that particular point of time? not only this book, she hates all kind of books.

    But in general, she listens a lot and captures the things very fast. She is 2.4 yrs old.

    Regards
    Amrutha
     
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  8. chandchak

    chandchak New IL'ite

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    Thats a great post.

    I am a mother of a 6-year-old girl kid. She is intelligent and sharp. No problem with her academics and other extra curricular activities. She is the first grand child for my parents and the only girl kid. So lot of attention goes to her. We noticed that she is growing very selfish and very attention-demanding. She wont tolerate even if my hubby pays attention to me. We find her getting irritated at the smallest things and keeps crying for small things. She is not very helpful also. We are worried abt her. If we shout at her then only she comes back to normal. We are expecting our second child very soon and are worried how she would behave with the sibling. Of course we are preparing her for the sibling and she is kind of ready and excited too. Could you please tell me how to change her attitude. How should we handle her at the times of her irritation?
     
  9. sowraj

    sowraj Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi lakshmi,

    One of my close relation's son 6 years old is not concentrating in his education at all.. he is active plays and a normal child in all other ways but when it comes to education and academics he is not interested to studay.. after a lot of coaching and making studies fun for him still he is not doing his exams well.. he simply writes the question again in the answer and says didnt understand.. he confuses evrything for additon does subtraction.. we try all innovative ways to teach him... otherwise he loves watching TV and plays in computer... loves car and simply plays all the time... not just his academic book she does not read any othe rbook too.. and now this is concerning us a lot.. do we take him to any child pshycologist??? do you any one here in Chennai who can counsell him and also the parents on how to make him concentrate on his education. Please help.

    anyone aware of this http://www.panacea-cdc.com/contactus.html
     
  10. lakshmi13

    lakshmi13 Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Sowmya,

    Your relative's child is perfectly normal. The fact that he is active, plays computer games and watches tv are proof enough that he neednot visit a child psychologist. It is only that he is a MOVER, i.e he learns through more physical activities and less of visual or auditory cues. Let me make it simple. Each of us are born with one predominant sense organ. Those who learn by seeing things are called LOOKERS. Those who learn by hearing about things are called LISTENERS and those who learn by doing and experiencing things are called MOVERS. The child is a MOVER that is why he doesnot like to sit in one place and learn. If you note the games he plays on computers and the kind of cartooons he watches, I am sure majority would be action oriented.

    Firstly, I do not know which board the child's school is following. In case it is affiliated to CBSE the strain on the child for academics will be less due to implementation of Continuous Comrehensive Evaluation from Class I. So you can stop worrying about academics. In case the school is affiliated to Tamil Nadu State Board or ICSE, then also you need not worry. Since the child is otherwise active, few things that his parents can do is enroll the child for some kind of physical training like martial arts/ tennis/ swimming etc. Such physical activities would not only satisfy his desire for outdoor activities, it will also help increase his concentration. A child who can play computer games well is undoubtedly brainy. Once he is involved in outdoor activities, he will pay more attention to his studies.

    Do they have a park nearby? If yes, tell them to fix up a time to let the child play in the park for one hour in the evening after finishing his homework. Ask parents to set up a time table for their child. The child should have the activity he loves only after the time slot for homework or studies. Initially the child may resent and not do the homework. In such cases do not take him to the park. If he completes it, even unwantingly, take him to the park. In case there is no park nearby, ask one of the parent to take him out for a walk. It serves dual purpose; walking is a good exercise for adults and the child gets an opportunity to come out of the house.

    Tell the parents to encourage their child to participate in sports, physical activities and extracurricular activities in school. The more the child participates, the more he is recognized by his teachers and classmates. This itself is a morale booster for the child to do well academically. Also ask them not to compare their child with others or taunt him for not studying. Instead, tell them to encourage the child's talents. Academics will follow. Today the requirement is not for an academically brilliant but otherwise inactive individual. People who are academically average but very active and participating succeed in life.

    Hope you like the suggestions,
    Lakshmi
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2011
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