Teaching our babies about the world around us is so important. It is how their little minds learn! It is our job and duty to teach them all that they can possibly learn, especially at an early age, when their brains are eager to learn. According to edutopia.org, this first critical period of brain development begins around age two and concludes around age seven. It provides a prime opportunity to lay the foundation for a holistic education for children.
Children are more likely to experience abuse and neglect during their first three years of life than at any other age. Because a child’s developing brain is most flexible during the earliest months and years of life, this time period sets the foundation for lifelong health and well-being. Therefore, it is essential to train up a child with intentionality. The more you pour into your child, the more you will get out of him or her in return! The more you are excited with teaching, the more excited your child will be to learn.
As new parents, my husband and I knew that we wanted to be intentional with raising our daughter, so as soon as we found out we were pregnant, we immediately started to put that into action. Being intentional means, done on purpose, deliberate. Which is what we set out to do!
We started to read to her while she was in my belly and when she was born it surely did not stop. We have consistently poured into her with reading, teaching about her body parts, her name, ABC’s, animals and their sounds, nature, numbers, sports, really everything that we know, we are pouring into her. When we realized that a child is technically a little human that will soon be an adult in this world, we learned that baby talk and holding back valuable knowledge was not the way to go. Babies are not babies long at all. Iyah just turned two years of age; she is a little human that is ready to soak up all the knowledge that is coming her way and it is our duty to make sure she gets it all!
Before you start to baby talk to your child, think about what you are teaching them. Look around, there is no one else talking baby talk around them, so why should you teach them goo goo ga ga? We beg to differ. This is why we spoke correct English to our daughter. The more you train your child at an early age, the more positive results you will get from that child.
In return, the child will be confident, assertive, brave, and have courage.
As parents, it takes hard work and dedication to be intentional with our children. But it is our responsibility. If we don’t do our job in teaching them, then the world will. And sometimes, that means a lot of hard lessons that could have been prevented by nurturing them and teaching them ourselves.
Please enjoy the cute little video of Iyah learning her body parts!
Are there any lessons that you taught your child early on that you are pleased with?
Feel free to share, so we can all benefit! We are in this parenting thing together!
Thanks for reading
