The Importance of Early Education

Most parents have some idea of the importance of early education. Well before a child starts school, he or she is learning and growing. A baby is born with a brain containing more connections and cells than it can ever use. The brain actually begins pruning the extra cells around the time the child is starting school. This means that the most valuable time for learning is before formal education begins.

What This Means

The importance of this simply means that from the moment your child is born, or possibly even before, he is learning. You are his teacher, and if you fail to be, something or someone else will be. Of course, teaching does not mean creating a baby genius, but educational toys, songs, and games as well as simple conversation are wonderful to aiding in baby’s development.

What Works

The most important aspects of early education are number systems and vocabulary. It has been shown countless times that children with a fundamental understanding of counting and how numbers increase are hugely successful in academic mathematics. Simple games that require counting spaces or picking up a certain number of balls or cherries build countless skills while having fun.

Vocabulary is just as important. Again, studies have shown that children who are spoken to in a normal voice have greater vocabulary and a better ability to understand written and spoken words. Vocabulary is the foundation for all reading and writing, so by simply talking to your child throughout the day and taking the time to explain what words mean, you are substantially aiding the educational process.

What to Avoid

Despite clever advertising, television and movies do not truly make a child smarter. It can help facilitate learning, but parents must follow up a program by reinforcing what is said or shown. Classical music, while soothing, has not been shown to raise IQ points, but can certainly be used as the backdrop to other learning. Games and television are never as good a few quality moments of interaction. Electronics can’t offer the give and take that parents can, and they really do not have a place in a child’s life until he is considerably older. Parents are responsible for building their child’s foundation, and it is not a job to be taken lightly.