Brain works

It has been a long while hasn't it? Well, I hope it is not too late to wish all of you a Selamat Hari Raya. It is a little hectic these days especially with Izzul to 'help' out around the house. This time around, as the heading suggests, my post will touch base on child's brain developement and their intuitive liking towards learning.

My post this time is to discuss and understand the function of the child's brain. We aldults have always assumed that newborn baby's capability limits to only eating and sleeping. But in actual fact, a newborn baby does much more that we are aware of.

I shall stress again that the brain grows explosively from conception (yup, even before you even know you are pregnant) to six years of age. The growth of the head reveals this clearly.The head grows from 0cm-35cm in circumference from conception to birth and it continues to grow. Most of the growth will take place before six years of age.From the moment of birth, the growth of the brain is on a descending curve. It grows a little less than it did the day before.

During the period of greatest growth, the baby is able to take in raw information at a rate which is truly astounding. Parallel to the growth of the brain, this process of receiving information will also slow down day by day. In other words, the earlier we provide with stimulation and opportunity, the more he will be able to take in stimulation and use the opportunity to the fullest.

This process can be slowed due to the environment that inhibit the opportunity of the child to explore and discover, which a baby naturally does through seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. But most important is this process can be catalysed and enhanced. All we need to do to speed up the development is to provide visual, auditory and tactile stimulation with increased frequency, intensity and duration-in recognition of the orderly way in which the brain grows.

The brain grows by use.
The brain grows by use.
Not that your brain literally grow in size, but its the brain cells that grows in active participation.

Just like your biceps, the brain grows by use. Those who use their biceps very little have small, undeveloped weak biceps. Those who use their biceps at an frequently will have develop well-toned biceps.
So the 2 points that I am driving at is:
1) Baby's brain is like an empty hard disk, ready to take in any data or information. What they know and learn will determine highly on what is his/her environment. Why not use this platform to input as much as possible. Caution: The right technique should be used if you would like to maximise learning at his age.
2) We are able to think better with frequent use of it and does not play on wear-n-tear. From this, we can engage our baby in stimulating activities frequently but with short time frames.

To know more register with IBG:http://www.izzulbabygift.com/

An insight from a special teacher

Below is a comment left at my wife's post by a teacher after she read my previous post. I would like to share with you this insightful thought.

"Hey Mas. Mariam here lah. Wah your son dah besar so fast, so cute!!

Hmmm, cun resist wen it comes to such topics lah. Ha. Anyway, make long story short, personally i feel: Yes, input, good stimulation & exposure are very impt. but so is the method. Must understand the language of the child, how they feel towards learning, etc for they cun fend for themselves wen parents throw lotsa info to them (tho they can absorb a lot).Diffn children have diffn learning capabilities & diffn ways of learning. Main thing is to have fun & enjoy each other's company. The time spent for any activity is to promote gd bonding between child & parents, showering wif lotsa love & praises, NOT stress (so no expectation, etc esp after investing so much $, wanting to see results--that's what most parents feel). In fact 1st few years are very crucial and shudn't be seeing any results lah that's why it's called "investment". But of cos, never compromise Discipline. Must lay the basic foundation & draw the line between love & pampering. Heez, i can go on...but guess better stop here.
Slamat Hari Raya to you & family!! Maaf Zahir Batin. :)
*p/s: btw,i'm no longer wif shichida, currently i'm wif a new company @littleneurotree. Hehe"

Life's greatest and most stimulating game - Learning

Parents get more pressured as the literacy age dips down lower. As parents began to discover the critical correlation of reading and brain development, they began to search ways to have what they think as "the head start" from the rest.
Initially when I started with no knowledge whatsoever of teaching babies to read, that was my first intention. To give my baby a good polish before entry to preschool. However, with knowledge, comes the truth.
"Baby Can Read" blog does not advocate flash card as the only method to teach your child. Neither do we believe in exposing your child too early into "formal education" system. Learning may take various forms for an infant. The important thing is to engage them in all ways, stimulate them with their sense and creative plays, allow them to explore and most importantly - have fun. When you have fun, your child has fun. Learning takes place.
We believe in "protecting" our child from the reading program solely because we believe learning is dreadful. How this could be true is only because of his or her previous knowledge of learning.
My wife was a little perturbed when I decided to write a blog on this. Not because she was not for babies reading. In fact, she loves introducing our baby to new words. But because of her fear that she will unconsciously place unnecessary pressure on herself to be a very good teacher. And she is well-aware that such thoughts are unacceptable and unhealthy.
To provide the assurance, it is important to keep one thing in mind: Teach joyously, don't expect anything in return. Just give.

"Learning is a reward, not a punishment;
Learning is a pleasure, not a chore;
Learning is a privilege, not denial " Glenn Doman.

How it all started....

Until today, it surprises me how we ever got started with the baby business. I am a Safety Officer by profession and my wife is a teacher. Both of us are trained in Mechanical Engineering. I believe initially we only had our son's interest at heart. Izzul was only 2 months when we were introduced to a reading program by a close cousin. He was extremely enthusiastic about this program and he sounded almost like he was their salesman! Well, you know how we are with salesman... we just nod our heads and reply, " definitely something to consider..." and we just let the episode slip.
On the same week, we were out shopping when we were stopped by THE real salesman for the reading program whom I have to say, did a darn good job coz I went home a couple hundred dollars poorer. To make the story short we met up with the salesman on several occasion to guide us on the reading program so that we can use it efficiently.
8 months later, I am still reading the books from the program to Izzul and Izzul enjoys looking at the pictures from the books, mumbling what seems to me like ancient greek (not that I know how that sounds like) and flipping through the pages.
On that day we decided to get the reading program, I might have been poorer for a while, but I saw it as a better investment than any insurance company can offer. In fact, we didn't stop at just the reading program, we seek further to learn about other ways we can maximise his learning.

Upon frequent discussion with the sales person, I later build the interest about baby learning capabilities. I think it was his sincerity in sharing his knowledge about babies that pulled me into this and decided to join him in promoting the baby reading program. A couple more workshops after, I got even more hooked into this.

If you are interested to more about the program you can email me at Ezril@izzulbabygift.com



Whats your comment?

Are you Smarter than your baby

You must be kidding me! My post this time is not to compare or insult your intelligence. I just want to emphasize how smart a baby is and how we as adults fail to acknowledge that babies are learning all the time - from his surroundings, from us, from the people around him, from the activities and things we let him explore.
As I have mentioned in my previous post, your child wants to learn. He can't stop learning. A 10 month old child left on the floor to play, observe what he does. He won't stop at being curious. He can't be disciplined enough to sit still much less confined in a given space out of his desire to learn no matter how hard we try. He wants to learn about anything in the room. If he puts his finger on your socket, tear your newspaper and even pull down your table cloth, he is learning constantly and naturally. I'm not advising to let your baby out of sight and let him taste danger and harm.. but be there to observe and guide and not deprive.

But naturally as parent, I too feel how tiring and cumbersome it is. Moreover the consequences can be rather costly. To us, it seems that the child is hyperactive and unable to pay attention - but the truth is he is paying attention to everything around him. He sees, hears, feels, smells and tastes. There is no other way than to use this five routes into the brain, and the child uses them all. Stuffing everything or anything into his mouth? That's part of learning. :)

Note: Your child is hungry for knowledge about the world around him, starting from the moment of birth. To feed your child's brain is important as feeding his stomach.

What do you notice about your kid? How quick he is able to pick some habits... How quick he is able to pick out your favourite word..etc. Share your thoughts.. we want to hear from you.

Welcome to Baby Can Read!

Hi folks,

Welcome to my Baby Can Read blog. I hope all of you are in the best of health. Baby can read is dedicated to parents who believe in early learning for their baby. A child's formal education normally starts at kindergarten age or earliest at 3 when the child attend pre-nursery. My question... What happens to the child before the age of three. What kind of learning are parents adopting for their child?
The first six years of a child is the most vital for his development. Therefore, we believe teaching should commence from birth onwards. In fact, learning takes place even when the baby is still in the womb. Thus came about the theory of classical music aids mental development and etc...
Anyway, primarily, my focus will be between the age of 0 to 6 years - the time in their life where they are almost like spongebob. They are able to absorb information like no adult can. A baby does not need to attend a language course in order to speak what we speak- bearing in mind that they have no prior knowledge whatsoever.
Parent should take the advantage of teaching their baby when he or she is most receptive to learning, able to acquire knowledge without effort and enjoying every moment of it. This is the best opportunity to develop their sensory-motor and intellectual skill to excel effortlessly.
Next Post: Are you smarter than your baby?
I have attached the link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yec7sD3SFrU
for your reference.