Children don’t come
with owners’ manuals. Oh,
how I wanted one when my first daughter was born twenty-
four years ago. After
listening to Jane Healy, Ph.D. speak a few weeks ago about
her new book, YOUR CHILD’S GROWING MIND, I may have
finally found that “owner’s manual”.
In the
last decade, so much has been researched about brain development
and learning. In
YOUR CHILD’S GROWING MIND, Healy provides a wealth of
practical information that includes real examples. Creativity,
motor development, memory, learning to read, write, and speak,
science, math, intelligence, social skills, and more are affected
by brain development. Although
much of what happens with the brain is based on natural progression
(don’t tamper with this), heredity and other uncontrollable
variables, substantial growth (or lack of growth) is contingent
upon environmental factors. That’s
where parents, teachers and significant others play such an
important role in helping to shape a child’s mind. Healy
provides information about critical periods in brain development,
what to expect from the child, and ideas to enhance maximum
brain growth and connections. Here
are some examples of what you’ll read.
…simply
listening to Mozart will raise your child’s
IQ has been debunked, future musical
development will profit by exposing your child to many types
of music, since
there may be a critical period in the first year for developing
a good sense of pitch.
Explaining
things to children won’t do the job; they must have
a chance to experience, wonder, experiment, and act it out for themselves. It is this process throughout life, that enables the growth of intelligence.
Interesting
and challenging play materials in children’s homes
after the first year predict
later IQ and school achievement in reading and math….the
fact remains that simple open-ended toys are still best.
Children who are good at pretend play also get along better socially.
…one of the best predictors of your child’s
first grade math achievement is how many board games and card games you have played together.
As I read through the book, I found countless recommendations that fit with our store philosophy and selections. Although
the adult’s role in this process of “brain building” goes way beyond toy selection, we’d
like to assist you with that one small part. You
can also find YOUR CHILD’S GROWING MIND at Creative
Learning Toys-naturally.
