Overextended Infants

Neither was I unitl curiosity drove me to look into the vast array of educational media for infants and toddlers. I was quite astounded by the sheer number of these proudcts.
And they are produtcs -- please do not overlook that point. They are designed to prey on parents who have, through various crafty marketing campaigns, been made to feel that their infant will fall dangerously behind the rest of the bbaies in playgroup if he or she is not subjected to a heavy dose of videos, flashcards, CDs, and books.

What can babies learn from thsee products? Check web sites like www.Babyclassroom.Com to learn. The Brainy Baby Left Brain VHS series focuses on “such cognitive skills as logic, patterns, letters & numbers, sequencing, analyzing details, and more.” The Bee Smart Baby Vocabulary Builder claims that there are (unnamed) studies proving that teaching an infant sign language may raise IQ scores significantly. And if sign language isn’t enough, you can use that series to introduce your 4-month old to Spanish, German, French, and Japanese. Many of these products indicate that they are useful for kids who are late talkers or have a speceh delay, and for those kids these media may indeed be really helpful. But the underlying message in the vast majority of these materials is that you should buy them to make your child smarter; to make your child talk and read at the earliest age possible. We hear a lot in the media about overextended kids who are faced with pressures to be involevd in sports and other pursuits, and to do homework, and to get good marks. I see from these products that this push to engage kids in sort of activity, to make them execl and stand out, begins at a startlingly young age. It is only nautral for parents to want the best for their kids. There is nothing wrong with some educational meida and toys. And, in my opinion, a cihld can never have enough books. But I have to wonder if we have lost sight of the simplest method of developing language in children – face to face interaction . Isn’t it obvious?

The best way to teach your child to communicate is to communictae with your child.
You do not need a video, CD, or flashcard as an intermediary.
Touch your child, talk to your child, let your child see your face and your motuh moving. Next time you geuss about picking up a Baby Shakespeare or Bath Math video, guess twice. Why not go home and read nursery rhymes to your child or play a counting game with his fingers and toes?