Rite Brain Studio

For the little Angel - Diaper Cake (Yellow)

2006-11-18T15:03:00.000+08:00

For Little Prince - Diaper Cake (Blue)

2006-11-18T15:00:00.000+08:00

For Little Princess - Diaper Cake (Pink)

2006-11-18T14:59:00.000+08:00

Simply Yours - Diaper Cake (Yellow)

2006-11-18T14:52:00.000+08:00

Simply His - Diaper Cake (Blue)

2006-11-18T14:43:00.000+08:00

Simply Hers - Diaper Cake (pink)

2006-11-18T14:34:00.000+08:00

Non-verbal communication good sign for babies

2006-10-17T23:03:00.000+08:00

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Garrett is only 11 months old, yet he can tell his parents when he is hungry or thirsty, when he wants to read a book, or if he has an earache.

How can he communicate at such an early age? Because his parents took things into their own hands, quite literally, and attended a training workshop that teaches sign language to the parents of hearing babies and toddlers.

Find out more from
http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060921/EDIT/609210373/1074/Local

research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Kids can't study, groove at same time

2006-10-17T22:59:00.000+08:00

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

There's some impressive new scientific research on your side when you tell your kids they can't possibly do their homework with the TV blaring, instant messenger crawling or MP3 player pumping. Unfortunately, explaining it will require you to get them unplugged from their iPods.

find out more from
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/living/health/15520223.htm

research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Why music lessons are good for the memoryBy

2006-10-17T22:57:00.000+08:00

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

By Mark Henderson

Learning to play an instrument may affect the way in which a young brain develops
MUSIC lessons may improve memory and learning ability in young children by promoting different patterns of brain development, a study shows.

After a year of musical training, children aged between 4 and 6 performed better at a standard memory test than did children who were not taught music.

Find out more from
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2366426,00.html
www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

We are Hiring!!

2006-10-15T12:36:00.000+08:00

We are recuriting Rite Brain Researchers for our site. No experience needed, if you are a a student, home based parents with spare time and Internet access. We are interested to talk to you.

Contact me at admin@ritebrainstudio.com

How to Apply Stick-On Image Card to A5 paper?

2006-10-09T21:24:00.000+08:00

Images Contributed by Rite Brain Parent, Mdm Choong

Step 1: Fold the dotted line on Stick-On Image Card

Step 2: Peel off the portion with text until the folded line (meant for the back of A5 card)

Step 3: Center the edge of the A5 Card along the inner folded line

Step 4: Gently lower the A5 paper towards the sticky paper and use your palm to press the A5 Card onto the sticky paper. This is to prevent air-pocket from forming.

Step 5: Peel off the remaining portion of the Stick-On Image Card.

Step 6: Gently glide your hand underneath the Image card and stick it onto the A5 paper. (This will be the front)

Step 7: Repeat Step 1 to 6 for the rest of the Image Cards.

How to use RBS animated Flash card if I am a non native speakers.

2006-08-26T08:29:00.000+08:00

Posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Is not usual practise to post email exchanges. But I have decided post this as I am getting allot enquires from non-native customers on how to use the animated flash card service. This article was reposted from my email response to one of my customers. I hope they are useful for parents who do not have much Glenn Doman and Shichia resources in their own countries.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi XXXX,

The flash program is designed for both native speaker and non native speaker. Here's the step for non-native speaking parents.

Flashing Sequence – How you flash the cards to your children.
Flash English animated flash card first and next follows by animated Chinese Flash card; the pause in between flash card should not be more then 5 seconds.

(1) Flash the any category E.g. Fruit categories in English. Your child will associate an image with a sound. E.g. an image of apple, your child can call out “APPLE”.

(2) Immediately after completing English flash card. Parent must flash the Mandarin flash cards. Your child will associate the picture for apple in English and also apple in mandarin.

(3) Repeat the flashing sequence until your child can call out images in both languages. This stage can take anytime from 3 months to 6 year, depending on the number of time your child is viewing the flash card.

(4) Parents are recommended not to spend more then 5-10 min per session. Each session comprises of multiple flashing sequence. If your child is not interested, it is time to stop. Please force him/her to view the card. You can always come back another time.

You can register yourself and get free 5 day access to the animated flash card to try out our service. Do give me any feedback as we strive to improve our service from customer like you.

--------------------------------------
posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Children learning to read when they are nine months old

2006-08-09T11:05:00.000+08:00

Article taken from http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=b35c1e90-0abe-421a-01b1-e9f383e38e27&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

Researcher by www.ritebraintudio.com

I owns this VCD series and it is one of many product that I like. Dr Titzer video is an excellent product but the only thing I dun like is that I am not a big fan of making my sons sit infront of TV for 1-2 hours per day.

I usually limit them 1 hr each day for TV time. 30 min each during breakfast and 30 min during dinner time. My family only watch TV when the children are asleep.

find out more on http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=b35c1e90-0abe-421a-01b1-e9f383e38e27&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Something fishy aids kid smarts

2006-08-09T10:55:00.000+08:00

Article taken from http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/bm/national/347772.html
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

This is old news, my grandmother already figure that from her grandmother. My wife Gynae once told us that there is an statistical link to OMEGA3 given to pregnant woman and their babies will have a 20% chance of having smarter babiesas compare to those without take them during pregancy.

My children had it good, back in old days fish oil and Omega3 come only in one mega fishy flavour. I image use to image my mom is a japanese WWII soldier that force feed fish oil to extract intelligent from me.

read more on http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/bm/national/347772.html

Lack of iodine affects kids' IQ

2006-08-09T10:53:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=9987
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

By Deborah Condon
Some Irish women are at risk of having children with a lower IQ and/or attention problems because they are not getting enough iodine in their diet, the preliminary results of a new study have warned.

According to a team of researchers at University College Dublin (UCD), Irish women of childbearing age are simply not consuming enough iodine. This could harm the development of their unborn foetus and impact on the IQ of their children 'and on the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)'.

read more on http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=9987
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Head-size no indicator of IQ levels

2006-08-09T10:48:00.000+08:00

Article from http://news.sawf.org/Health/17350.aspx
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Australian researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QMIR) who conducted a DNA study, have reported that genes that are thought to have helped humans evolve big brains don't appear to play any role in how intelligent we are.

Develop Your Child's Thinking Skills

2006-08-09T10:43:00.000+08:00

Develop Your Child's Thinking Skills
By Cheng Cheng Tan
Article taken from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/thinking-skills.shtml
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Edward de Bono, founder of the Cognitive Research Trust program, uses the PMI technique. PMI stands for pluses, minuses and interesting points. For any question that arise, note down all the PMI for that question. This helps you to decide on the better answer. Try it on any question. Remember you and your child get better with practice. The obvious answer may not necessarily be the best answer.

Kids have to learn how to decide too. They have to know that regardless whether it is a right or wrong decision, they have to be responsible because they made the choice. They have to be accountable too!! I am not saying they have to decide on everything but they should be given the chance to do so. Learning to make a decision is an art too.

Nobody can make right decisions all the time. However, we must have the courage to decide and be responsible for it. Surveys were carried out and found that managers who were promoted or not made roughly the same number of correct and wrong decisions. Those who were promoted simply dare to make the decision and take responsibility even though it is wrong. Those who were not promoted did not have the courage to decide because they were afraid to make the wrong decision.

Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Cheng Cheng is an Asian mother (Singaporean) with two boys age about four and five. I have learnt a lot from them, other parents and books. Find out more about how parenting can be fun and easy at http://www.raisingconfidentkids.com

Hidden Cost of DIY Printed Flash Card

2006-08-08T00:59:00.000+08:00

Why Use Rite Brain Stick-On(TM) Image Card?

Rite Brain Stick-On(TM) Image Card provides solution for parent who want an effective way to prepare their children paper flash card.

How it Works?

Parents pick and choose their preferred Image Categories from Rite Brain Studio Animated Flash Card Selection*. We will print the selected Image on Rite Brain Stick-On(TM) Image Cards and mailed to your door steps ready to be used for your children paper flash card.

Parent will apply the Stick-On(TM) Image Cards onto their blank paper flash card and the flash cards are ready for their children.

For parent who believe in protecting the environment for their future generation. They can also recycle their old paper flash card, by using Rite Brain Stick-On(TM) Image Cards. The Image card will give your old paper flash card a new lease of life by covering the old images with the new image.

Rite Brain Stick-On(TM) Image Card addresses the 4 hidden costs of DIY Paper Flash Card or purchase Flash Card.

Hidden Cost 1: Paper Cost
Based on research average Right Brain Parents will need at least 10,000 paper cards. About 70% of that 10,000 paper flash card will not be used again as your child has already knows the subjects. Assuming you spend about SGD 9 per 100 cards. At 10,000 cards, you will have to spend more then SGD900.

Hidden Cost 2: Printer Cost
Not all printers can print on paper with more then 250GSM. You will either have to buy a new printer or buy ready made flash card for your child.

You will have to spend about SGD 200 on a new printer and most home printers will be damaged quickily as it is not design to print paper more then 250GSM. You may need to invest on another new printer as it is cheaper to buy a new printer then to repair these days.

Hidden Cost 3: Ink Cost
If parent are to use original ink, your printing cost is about SGD$0.15 per print. That is about SGD$1500 for 10,000 DIY flash card

Using Re-fill ink or Ink Station will reduce your printing cost but you still have to invest on an Ink Mechanism at about SGD 150. Refill Ink & Ink station is un-reliable and requires constant maintenance. Each refill is about SGD$(10-50) per 1000 print depending on photo printing or normal printing.

Hidden Cost 4: Time
Parents have spent Hours just to research on what type of images to flash to their children. Based on our calculation, you will take you 2 hours to print about 250 pieces of 250-GSM A5 cards.

If you are printing 10,000 cards, it will take you about 80 hours of your life away from your child. If you are a working adult you will know how precious 80 hours are for your child. If you have more then 1 child then this 80 hours is equally precious for your family.

Do you rather spend those times with your child or printing DIY cards? Interested to find out more pls go to http://www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg/index.php?cPath=17

60 Days Random Maths Card

2006-07-25T00:24:00.000+08:00

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

I know I know.... sorry to keep everyone waiting. The long awaited 60days animated random maths card has been launched on my site. Parent who are interested can view them for free for 5 days.

After flashing 1-2 months of paper flash cards to my boys. It is just simply amazing to see that a 2 year old old is able to pick out the difference between 68 & 69 dots. If I flash him two cards e.g 78 and 23. if you ask him which is 23, he can also tell you which one is the right one.

My observation is that after flashing the cards, your child is able to know the logic between dots and numbers. Next they are able to understand the numberical differences between a large and small numbers. Given enough training, they could pick out the differences.

The usual paper card is quite expensive as it is not included in the basic fee for your child right brain development center. Beside having to spend additional money not all child is prepared to sit long enough for you to complete the flashing routine. It is also quite cumbersom for busy parent who have to spend about 30 minutes a day to plan for the next few days.

My animated Dot cards is to help parent who want to try out if your child like the Math Program. It also help parent to save time. Parent simple have to following the instruction and click on the link to activate the flash cards. Is easy and fun....

Enjoy....

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Chinese Logico

2006-07-22T16:28:00.000+08:00

Yippy... finally got my hand on this game. I will be placing them on my site for sale.

Here's the Product Information

It is a Chinese Logico consist of 5 program design for children of different age groups (3-4), (4-5), (5-6), (6-7) and a enhancement set for those above 6.

Each Logico set will comes with a Chinese CD for product Introduction, a Parent User Guide, a Logico Board and 3-4 program booklets.

The booklet are ring binded with both side printed with games. The user guide consist of a program structure and advise parent how to guide their child using the booklet.

The logico board is to house the booklet. On the left side of the board there are color button that be shifted to various position of the board. Based on the booklet game or story, your child will learn how to prioritise, sort, recognise color, numbers and sequences.

It is one of the best games, I have bought for my sons. You have to try this to believe it.

Any interest parties please go to www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg or contact me at sales@ritebrainstudio.com

Eye Movement Excrcise - Blowing Bubble

2006-07-22T15:58:00.000+08:00

by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

If you are looking for a expensive eye-movement excercise. You will be disappointed as I only have a $1 dollar solution for you. Your child regardless of any age, will enjoying looking at the floating bubble. The body-hand-eye coordination is a much better training then I know from those expensive Right Brain Center.

Is cheap, is easy and I have never seen any child that get bore with this game. No preparation, daddy/mommy just have to blow the bubble and let your child turn wild.

Tell your friend that you learn this FOC from RiteBrainStudio.

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Language link to 'bubble blowing'

2006-07-14T13:16:00.000+08:00

Article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5106294.stm;
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Infants who can blow bubbles and lick their lips are more likely to pick up language quickly, research suggests.

A Lancaster University study of 120 toddlers found the ability to perform complex mouth movements was strongly linked with language development.

They also found children who were good at 'pretending' an object was something else had better language skills.

The findings could help experts identify children who may struggle with language skills at an early stage.

At 21 months - the age of the toddlers in the study - children are learning new words at a faster rate than any other time in their lives.

In a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Dr Katie Alcock, lecturer in psychology at Lancaster University, carried out a series of tests to identify skills that might predict a child's ability to develop language.

She looked at the infants' ability to perform hand gestures and mouth movements and to carry out tasks involving puzzles and pretend play.

The children's language ability was also assessed through a parental questionnaire, word games with simple images, and monitoring during normal play.

As well as oral motor skills, she found that hand gestures such as waving or making shapes were associated with better language development but other movements such as walking and running were not.

Pretending

The researchers said they expected to find that children who had better cognitive development, such as being able to do a puzzle or match pictures and colours, would have better language skills.

But in fact, only the ability to pretend that one object was another object - such as pretending a wooden block is a car or hairbrush - was associated with better language skills.
Dr Alcock said: "Until children are about two they are very poor at licking things off their lips or giving someone a proper kiss.

"If they don't have those skills it's going to be a big stumbling block in learning to form sounds.
"Children who have speech and language problems before they go to school do tend to have problems with learning to read and write.

"It's important we give children who need it extra help as early as we can."
Dr Alcock added that children learn to speak at different times and most children who start late will catch up.

"The best thing parents can do to help is talk to their kids," she added.
Most researchers recognise the role that oral motor skills may play in the early identification of children with speech

Professor Stephanie Stokes
The team are planning to follow the children at three, four and five years to see how the skills that were found to be linked to language impact on later development.

Professor Stephanie Stokes, professor of speech and language pathology at the University of Newcastle, said: "Previous studies have shown that children who have well developed symbolic (pretend) play skills and a range of hand gestures at the age of 14 to 18 months have better language development at 28 months than children who do not show such early skills.

"An interesting finding from Dr Alcock's study is the relationship between oral motor skills (like blowing bubbles) and language skills.

"Most researchers recognise the role that oral motor skills may play in the early identification of children with speech, but not language impairments.

"It remains to be seen whether or not Dr Alcock will find that the children who did poorly on oral motor skills in her study have a speech versus a language impairment when they are assessed at four years of age."

Article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5106294.stm;
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

How to build better brain?

2006-07-14T13:13:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/sumc-htb062606.php
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Helping children in earliest years is most cost-effective use of public funds, authors say.

STANFORD, Calif. - With flashy toys, expensive classes and music compilations all promising to make your child smarter, it's hard to sort out the best way to help your child's brain thrive. A new policy paper helps put those worries to rest. The gist of the paper is this: what kids need is a secure relationship with adults who adore them.

"It's all about playing with your child," said Eric Knudsen, PhD, the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine, succinctly summing up a paper coming out in the June 27 advance online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A child's eventual ability to learn calculus or a second language, he explained, starts with the neurons that are shaped by positive interactions with nurturing adults.

The piece, written by Knudsen and three other members of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child including Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, PhD, doesn't just ease parents' toy-buying decisions - it lays out the scientific basis for why helping all kids have the best early experiences is good economic policy.

Their argument is based on work from the diverse fields of economics, neurobiology, developmental psychology and public policy. Working independently, the four authors each came to the conclusion that the earliest years of life forever shape an adult's ability to learn. Although much research has been published on the value of positive early experiences, this paper pulls those strands together into an integrated message that the group hopes will help guide public policy in the future. They've already influenced legislation in Washington state and Nebraska and have begun working with lawmakers around the country with a nonpartisan partner, the National Conference of State Legislatures.

BUILDING A BETTER BRAIN

Jack P. Shonkoff, MD, chair of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and an author on the paper, said that as more and more unskilled jobs move overseas, the United States needs a well-educated work force to stay economically strong. Getting that work force means making sure more kids are able to benefit from their education; that means making sure their brains are well-prepared to learn.

Find out more from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/sumc-htb062606.php
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Early Advanced Potential

2006-07-14T13:07:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/early-advanced.shtml; Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D

Q: My daughter just turned 28 months old. Here's her development stages in brief.

Sitting unassisted and using pincer - 4 months
Talking - 6 months
Walking - 7.5 months
Knew alphabets (lowercase and uppercase) and sounds they make by 18 months.
Sounding out words by two years.

I'm not even sure she's gifted. Will she may just level out? Right now I need support and information on learning materials for an advanced 2 year old. Any idea where I can get these or find out if there's a group of like kids?

Find out more from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/early-advanced.shtml;
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Is there already a "cure" for ADHD?

2006-06-26T22:44:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/adhd-section.shtml
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

There is currently no "cure" for ADHD. It is an excellent question because it highlights a common myth about medications for ADHD. While it is true that these medication can reduce symptoms, medications do not cure ADHD, they manage symptoms. They typically only work while the child is taking them and they have many side effects...see Dr. Honos-Webb's complete answer on Cure for ADHD here!

Brain food: Why the Government wants your child to take Omega-3, the fish oil supplement

2006-06-26T22:40:00.000+08:00

Articole from http://www.spiritualgate.com/articles/articles/295/1/Brain-food:-Why-the-Government-wants-your-child-to-take-Omega-3,-the-fish-oil-supplement

Research by: www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

A tiny daily capsule can have a dramatic effect on pupils who usually play up in class, improving behaviour and work. Now all youngsters may be given them.

Schoolchildren are to be given fish oil supplements to boost their brain power and improve their behaviour and ability to concentrate under plans being considered by the Government.

Find our more from http://www.spiritualgate.com/articles/articles/295/1/Brain-food:-Why-the-Government-wants-your-child-to-take-Omega-3,-the-fish-oil-supplement

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Teaching Baby to Read

2006-06-26T22:38:00.000+08:00

Article from http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=websites&id=4265738
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Over 50 percent of children in the U.S. public school systems are currently reading below grade level. Billions of dollars are spent each year on remedial reading programs in our public schools. Why is the system failing?

Research is clear that there is a natural window of opportunity for learning language that begins to close by age 4. Traditionally, in our public school systems we start teaching reading between ages 5 and 6. According to infant researcher Dr. Robert Titzer and a national panel of reading specialists, most of our reading problems would be eliminated if we started to teach reading earlier. Dr. Titzer has developed an interactive, multi-sensory learning approach that is teaching babies and toddlers all over the United States. His methods can be used with babies as young as 9 months old.

FInd out more from http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=websites&id=4265738

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Low iodine IQ risk to newborns

2006-06-26T22:36:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19511445%5E911,00.html
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

AUSTRALIAN mothers-to-be are not taking enough iodine during pregnancy, putting their newborns at risk of lower IQs.An Australian study published today in the Medical Journal of Australia has found most Australian pregnant women have a mild iodine deficiency.
The study has prompted calls for greater nutritional education for pregnant women.

Find out more from http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19511445%5E911,00.html

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Fish Oil To Be Given To Pregnant Women

2006-06-26T22:31:00.000+08:00

Artcile taken from http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7003942474
Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Joanna Wypior - All Headline News Staff Reporter

London, England (AHN) - A new study suggests that fish oil should be given to pregnant women in order to boost the child's behavior and performance before they are born and lowers the risk of the baby being born with cerebral palsy.

The fish oil supplements would not only benefit the unborn child, but the mother as well.
Researchers from the University of Alberta reveal that children of mothers who consumed cod liver oil daily after the 18th week of pregnancy and during early breast-feeding performed better in terms of IQ at the age of four, reports the Daily Mail.

"Adequate maternal levels of Omega 3 fatty acids appear to have a long-term positive impact on the central nervous system function of the child," the researchers report.

"The health and well-being of the child in the short and long-term appears to be improved by adequate amounts of Omega 3 during fetal and post-natal, development," they conclude.

It is thought that the last trimester of pregnancy is a key time for the intake of fish oil because there is a growth spurt in the human brain during the last three months which carries on into the first few months of a baby's life.

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Dyslexic Children Use Nearly Five Times The Brain Area To Perform An Ordinary Language Task As Normal Children

2006-06-13T10:07:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991006075536.htm; Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Dyslexic children use nearly five times the brain area as normal children while performing a simple language task, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of University of Washington researchers. The study shows for the first time that there are chemical differences in the brain function of dyslexic and non-dyslexic children.

The research, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Neuroradiology, also provides new evidence that dyslexia is a brain-based disorder. Dyslexia, a reading disorder, is the most common learning disability, affecting an estimated 5 percent to 15 percent of children

"People often don't see how hard it is for dyslexic children to do a task that others do so effortlessly," added Berninger, a professor of educational psychology. "There are learning differences in children. We can't blame the schools or hold teachers accountable for teaching dyslexic children unless both teachers and the schools are given specialized training to deal with these children."

To find out more please go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991006075536.htm;
www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Parenting: Small talk with babies is no little thing

2006-06-11T22:08:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06158/696102-114.stm; Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

From birth, babies can recognize their parents' voices. Hearing Mom or Dad can soothe a crying child who is experiencing new sounds, smells and visual stimuli -- for example, at a coffee shop.

As early as 4 to 6 months, children begin to babble, repeat sounds, and learn that they can get attention through vocal expression. This is the beginning of expressive language.

At 6 to 8 months, a child begins to develop receptive language, recognizing his or her name and common words such as mama, dada, bye-bye, bottle, or binky.

The framework for both receptive and expressive language begins early and is constantly reinforced through the child's imitating the parent's vocal patterns, and through playing simple games like peekaboo, itsy-bitsy spider and pattycake.

So you see, what may seem silly and without merit can and does have a long-term, positive impact on a child's development.

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Deprivation Can Lower Child's IQ

2006-06-11T22:05:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7003767949; Research by www.ritebrainstudi.com.sg

May 31, 2006 3:45 p.m. EST
Shaveta Bansal - All Headline News Contributor

New York, NY (AHN) - A combined study by UK and US researchers has revealed that children who experience any form of deprivation for more than 6 months after birth had lower IQ scores even after been removed from the deprived environment for seven years or longer.

According to a report by Reuters Health, the findings are based on assessments of 131 Romanian children who lived in extremely deprived and were adopted by families living in the United Kingdom and Canada when they were between 6 and 24 months of age, or between 24 and 43 months.

Those deprived children were then compared with 50 children who were born in the United Kingdom and adopted there by 6 months of age.
Previously published studies of the Romanian children showed that those adopted before 6 months old had similar IQ scores to those of U.K. children, while those adopted at later ages had lower IQ scores.

In the recent study, Dr. Celia M. Beckett, of King's College in London and team found that children adopted at later ages continued to exhibit significant intellectual impairment at even 11 years of age.

Beckett concluded, "more than six months in a very depriving environment is a risk factor for later development, but the risks are not increased when the deprivation lasts for more than 2 years."

www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Sibling Relationship - Teach Our Kids to Resolve Conflict Peacefully

2006-06-11T22:01:00.000+08:00

Article taken from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/sibling-relationship.shtml; Research by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Having more than one child. Sibling fighting tends to come with the parenting territory. It is born from rivalry or competitiveness between siblings and shows itself through mindless arguments, noisy squabbles, physical means, verbal put-downs and even long silences.
Kids have L plates on when it comes to resolving conflict with their siblings. They can learn better ways of resolving conflict than resorting to reflexive means such as hitting, shouting and generally playing the person rather than the "ball".

The key is to help children focus on the problem not their sibling. As a parent it is difficult to know how to respond when kids squabble, fight or argue. Do I ignore the squabble or do I become involved? Good question.

Find out more on http://www.brainy-child.com/article/sibling-relationship.shtml;

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Parenting from Perfect to Great: Five Parenting Tips to Avoid the Perfect Parent Trap

2006-05-29T22:28:00.000+08:00

Many parents today have fallen into the "perfect parent trap" -- they put too much focus on always doing the right thing with their children. This trap leads to stress and pressure in the family and causes parents to lose sight of what's really important. Dr. Kelly Pryde offers insights on the causes of the perfect parent trap as well as five key ideas on a more positive and realistic approach to parenting.

recently took my daughter to see Cheaper by the Dozen 2 with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. If you are unfamiliar with this series, the story is about the Bakers –- a family of 12 children –- and the challenges the parents (Martin and Hunt) face in trying to raise 12 kids while dealing with the challenges of everyday life (if you can even imagine!!).

At the end of the movie, Steve Martin's character comes to a realization about parenting and makes the comment: "It's impossible to be a perfect parent, but there are a million ways to be a great parent." I loved that comment as it reminded me how important it is not to get caught up in trying to be the "perfect parent." Here are some insights on what I call "the perfect parent trap" as well as some ideas on a more positive and realistic approach to parenting.

I don't think any parent intentionally sets out to be "the perfect parent," but I think many of us stumble into the perfect parent trap when we unknowingly set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. Unrealistic parental expectations most often come from two sources: 1) our own hopes and dreams for our children and 2) cultural messages about child-rearing. Let's take a closer look at these...

1) As parents, we all have hopes and dreams for our children –- we want them to be happy, successful, and have a good life. I mean, how can we look into those little faces and not want those things? Our hopes and dreams lead us to focus on doing what's best for our children. Although the intention here is a good one, the expectation is unrealistic as it is impossible to know or even measure what is "best." And if you can't identify or measure something, how can you ever live up to it?

2) There are tons of books and expert opinions available that offer advice on proper child-rearing techniques –- boost your child's self-esteem, validate her efforts, be authoritative, not authoritarian, etc, etc. The message we receive is that there are certain things we *should* be doing to shape successful children. The danger here is that anytime you feel like you should be doing something, you're indirectly telling yourself that what you're currently doing is not good enough.

The perfect parent trap gets set when we get caught up on one or both of these expectations. We tell ourselves: "If I do all the right things, I'll have the right kids."

Unfortunately, focusing on doing what's best, what's right and what we should be doing does not leave any room for mistakes. As a result, we end up blaming ourselves and beating ourselves up for things that don't turn out the way we think they should.

When my daughter was born I remember reading about so many things that I should and shouldn't be doing that I often found myself questioning what I was doing – Am I reading to her enough? Am I stimulating her enough? Should I be giving her more time on the floor each day? Should I be feeding her more? Should I, shouldn't I...? You can drive yourself mad when you constantly strive to do what's best.

When we try too hard to do what's right and what's best with our children, we lose sight of what's really important. We don't connect with them as deeply, we don't see or hear what they really need, and we end up acting out of fear of failure rather than unconditional love.

The reality is that parenting is challenging and child-rearing very often does not go the way we think it *should*. I have found (and continue to remind myself) that the key is to focus on all of the things that are working –- the successes you do have as a parent, the special moments with your children, and the fact that you have everything you need to be a great parent. Most importantly, if you strive to make choices that are motivated by love rather than perfection, there's room for mistakes.

Here are five parenting tips that you can use to avoid the perfect parent trap and move yourself from perfect to great:

Give yourself a pat on the back for something everyday. No matter how terrible your day has been, take time everyday to give yourself praise for something, e.g., teaching your child something new, effectively dealing with a temper tantrum, preparing your family a nutritious meal, or simply for making it through the day. Focusing on the things you're doing well is an important step towards being a great parent.

Pay attention to your goals and expectations. When you catch yourself trying to do what's best or what you should, ask yourself: "Are my expectations realistic?" "Am I acting out of love or fear of doing the wrong thing?" Shifting your focus to a more realistic and positive expectation will alleviate a lot of stress and pressure from both you and your children.

Limit your exposure to experts. By all means seek to learn and educate yourself as a parent, but avoid over-relying on expert information. The more you rely on expert information to make decisions, the more you will *should* yourself and be less likely to make decisions that make the most sense for you and your family. Learn to make decisions based on your own values and guiding principles.

Connect with your children. More than anything, children want and need your connection. Spend quality time with your children and listen to what they want so that your goals and expectations are in sync with their needs. You may be surprised to learn that what you think is *best* for them is not actually what they need.

Enjoy the moments. One of my favorite sayings is "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away." Take the time to set apart the special moments you have with your children –- these are the little things that really matter.

Dr. Kelly Pryde is the President and Founder of DreamKids -- a company dedicated to celebrating, inspiring and developing the potential of children from birth and up. A consultant, teacher and mother of two, Kelly holds a Ph.D. in Psychology with expertise in child development and learning. To learn more about celebrating and developing your child's potential, visit http://www.dreamkids.ca

Acceleration for the Young Gifted

2006-05-29T22:18:00.000+08:00

By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D. Article From http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/young-gifted.shtml

Posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Q: We have a gifted 5 year old boy. He is in kindergarten at a private progressive academic school. He taught himself to write at 3 and reads at about 4th grade level and comprehends at 2nd grade. He writes long stories and he is a spelling wizard. He has most math basics under his belt. Most of this stuff is self taught. He spends his free time writing his versions of Harry Potter. He is a little withdrawn socially but has progress a long way since entering Kindergarten. He is still however spinning his wheels in Kindergarten. He has mastered all the basics and is not really challenged.

He is physically a tall skinny boy who looks about 7. He is quiet but very mature and well behaved and he has a composure and inner control that strangers are always commenting on. We have just asked the school to consider putting him in 2nd grade and now I am nervous about it. Are we going to damage him?

It is a small school of 170 kids in k-8 and everyone knows everyone. I am worried what people will say. Will he adjust to seeing his peers still in 1st grade? I am so confused. We spoke to him and he would love it but he has a very special buddy and he is worried about missing him. This boy has helped him develop confidence but this boy is also a little bit of a pill.

This little boy is a year older than him and of the same intellect but he is physically small and immature. I just feel that the school is costing us a fortune and they seem to only accept advanced children and gifted children and therefore I feel they need to do more. Any input would be helpful.

A: You son definitely needs to be in advance class for is intellectual development but I at the same time; I can understand your concerns, especially in terms of his socio-emotional well being. What you may need to keep in mind is that your son will naturally enter puberty later than his classmates, which, while difficult for any child for that matter, can be overcome with supportive school staff and parents. Many factors have to be taken into consideration here, for e.g., his maturity, social environment (ability to socialize? many friends?), independence, physical appearance (looks too young? physic?), etc. These are not academic concerns but may affect her socio-emotional well-being.

You did mention that he has been a little withdrawn socially but has progressed, so you may want to make sure that he will be fine with a new circle of friends. He is also physically skinny, but his height surely makes up for his physic. It's not surprising that his close friend is someone physically small and immature, which probably gives him the confidence of the upper hand.

Since he shows evidence of social maturity now, appears matured and composed, it is recommended that he be allowed to skip grades. Therefore, you really need to discuss this with his teachers and if they feel he should be skipping grades, it usually means that they recognize the special ability and uniqueness in him and are trying to offer him the best the school can offer. As you mentioned that his school only accepts advanced children, they would surely be able to advise you as to what they feel would be educationally best for him. Especially if you are paying a fortune for his schooling, the school should deliver.

Worrying what others may say should not be much of a concern as it usually dies off after a while. Most importantly, he appears to be fine with the idea of having to move ahead. You may need to help him to settle in with his new friends and get help from his teachers as well as perhaps some parents with children in the same class. I personally do not think holding him back is a good idea. Home stimulation and support of interests are vital to the development of your son's abilities. If he is not given the appropriate challenges, he may burn-out. Do also get in touch with parents support groups from your area; a gifted association would be ideal. You would be surprised that just sharing experiences with other parents can go a long way. Best wishes!

By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D. Article From http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/young-gifted.shtml

Posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Thinking Levels for Gifted Children

2006-05-29T22:11:00.000+08:00

Article taken from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/thinking-level.shtml; By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D

Posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

Just as for everyone else, gifted children go through the same thinking stages. The difference here is that they are able to reach higher levels of thinking at a younger age due to the ability to absorb knowledge at a much faster pace than the average. Therefore, not surprisingly, gifted children use higher levels of thinking skills in any form of their learning. If taught these skills, they are able to think creatively, to analyze, synthesize, apply and evaluate information. The teaching of thinking skills provides children with a means of associating different areas of knowledge and developing skills that can be applied across the curriculum. This may differ from an average child who may perhaps apply thinking at the lower levels on a taxonomy (e.g., Bloom's Taxonomy which is a model for conceptualizing higher level thinking skills). The main difference is that the ability to jump to higher levels of thinking is faster for gifted children.

To determine their thinking levels would depend on the subject being taught. The teacher needs to decide the level of thinking for her/his students. This can be done using, say, the Bloom's Taxonomy. Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification of thinking skills with six different levels, with each successive level increasing in complexity. The first three levels: Knowledge, Comprehension and Application are often referred to as lower level thinking (which are more concrete thinking skills), while the second three levels: Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation are referred to as higher level thinking (also known as critical thinking skills as more abstraction is required). Gifted children are more likely to use the higher levels of thinking.

The teaching of thinking skills should be enhanced when the child is very young to form habits of the mind. This is particular significant when looking at the needs of preschool and children in their first years of school. The older one grows, the harder it is to change the way a person is thinking; however not impossible. There is no limitation in terms of thinking for gifted children. In fact, there are activities to develop thinking skills such as simple strategies of open-ended questions to brain-storming sessions, further advancing to specific skills such as comparisons, classification. concept mapping, cause and effect, to structures such as Six Thinking Hats, Creative Problem Solving, Future Problem Solving, Bloom's Taxonomy and CoRT.

One of the most valuable skills to enhance thinking levels for anyone for that matter is the use of critical thinking. It is observed that gifted children, especially, tend to take mental leaps are able to use synthesis and evaluation without being taught. Therefore it is crucial to support and nurture these skills to develop strong academic and lifelong problem-solving skills.

Article taken from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/thinking-level.shtml; By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D

Posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com.sg

How Can I Help My Child to Read?

2006-05-19T13:16:00.000+08:00

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/phonics-reading.html , posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

Most parents with children would have heard the words "read me a story". Unfortunately, not many children have their bedtime story read to them nightly. The emergence of things like the Internet and television has in some instances stolen the time that might be spent reading with children.

Why reading to your child is important?
Difficulty with reading does not just affect your child's ability in school, but carries over as low self-esteem into every aspect of life. Surveys of adolescents and young adults with criminal records show that about half have reading difficulties.When you read a book to a young child, at any age, you enhance his visual, vocabulary and listening skills as well as develop an important foundation for your child's language development. Your child's world will be forever expanded and enriched if you develop his imagination and curiosity through books. Studies have shown that children who are read to early are more likely to be successful in school and in life. In fact, many school-age children who are good readers had parents who read, and read to them. Indeed, reading starts at home!

Home EnvironmentHome environment plays an important role in the development of early readers. According to Jim Trelease, author of "The New Read-Aloud Handbook", two major studies (one from the 1966 and one from 1975) have been done on early readers as well as students who respond to early education without difficulty. These studies show that the following four indicators were present in the home environment of nearly every early reader.

The child is read to on a regular basis. This reading included not only books, but billboards, signs, labels, and more. The parents, by example, were avid readers.
Books, newspapers, magazines, and comics were always available at home.
Paper and pencils were also available anywhere because the starting point of curiosity about written language was an interest in copying objects and letters of the alphabet.
Adult in the child's home answered endless questions, praised the child's efforts, used their local library frequently, bought books, wrote stories that their child dictated and displayed their child's work prominently.

Having setup a good home environment for reading, you have to ensure your child has good hearing!

How does a child's hearing affect his reading?
Neurologists at Yale have peeked inside children's brains while they did reading tasks. From MRI brain scans, scientists discovered that the auditory/language centers of children who read well light up with lots of blood flowing. Other children with less blood flow in those areas had difficulty in reading. In other words, children who have a strong ear-brain connection tend to be good readers.Additional studies suggest that children with multiple ear infections, a speech impediment, or weaknesses in auditory skills are at risk for having reading disorders.The auditory skill is phonemic awareness. Reading starts with phonemic awareness -- the ability to notice, think about, and manipulate the individual sounds in words or phonemes. Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in our language that can make a difference in the meaning of a word (like cat versus rat).

Phonemic awareness can be developed in young children in a variety of ways.

1. Speak to your child, clearly and directlyFrom the time he is an infant. There is no substitute for live human interaction.

2. Play rhyming games.Make up rhymes to go with your child's name, or with the activity you are about to start. For example, Joe, let's go for a walk in the snow. Then encourage your child to add on rhyming words.

3. Make up funny words by substituting letters."Apples and Bananas" is a great song for substituting vowel sounds.

4. Isolate certain sounds in words.Stress the beginning sound and the ending sound. Exaggerate the vowel sounds. Make it sound silly and then repeat it correctly.

5. Recite Nursery Rhymes with your child.You can use a nursery rhyme any time for a diversion. For example, when you are dressing or changing a young child, a song or nursery rhyme stops the squirming and adds a bit of fun. Repeat the same one each time and soon you will find that your child will sing along with you.

To really learn to read, your child needs the most important tool of all - the kitchen table - where you sit together and spend about ten minutes a day working through the process step-by-little-step.

How to select the book for your children to read
Books used for reading to young children should be age appropriate and 'real'. In an article by Lynn K. Rhodes (1981) titled "I can read! Predictable books as resources for reading and writing instruction," she discusses the characteristics of predictable books. They are as follows:

1. Predictable books have a repetitive pattern.Children can quickly follow and read along with the book after the first few pages.

2. They are about concepts that are very familiar to most early readers. The children can easily identify with the story line and the characters.

3. There is a good match between the text and its illustrations.This is an important key in a book's readability. The pictures that accompany the text essentially tell the story for the child after he has become familiar with the pattern.

4. Many predictable books use elements of rhyme and rhythm to increase the overall predictability of the book. Once the child catches the rhythm or the rhyming pattern, it enhances his ability to predict what will come next.

5. Many also use a cumulative pattern as the story progresses. A familiar example of a story that has a cumulative pattern is "The Gingerbread Man" where each of the fugitive cookie's pursuers is added to the narrative as the story reaches the climax.

6. Stories that are familiar to a child also enhance their predictability. It is easy for most children to predict what the wolf will say in "The Three Little Pigs" because of their prior experiences with the story.

7. Familiar sequences are often characteristic of predictable books. Eric Carle, in his book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", uses two sequences that are familiar to most young children: numbers and the days of the week:

On Monday he ate through one apple.
But he was still hungry.
On Tuesday he ate through two pears,
but he was still hungry.

Evaluate Your Child's Reading ReadinessFinally, before you start to teach your child to read, you may want to test your child's readiness to read. Reading readiness is to screen all the critical and pre-cursors reading skills and abilities required before a child begin the process of learning to read.

Give Your Child the Gift of Self-Esteem

2006-05-19T13:05:00.000+08:00

By Cassie Simons

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/self-esteem.html , posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

Much has been said about the "gifted child" but in truth every child is born with unlimited potential. As expressed so well by Orison Marden:

"Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action."

This statement can be true for your child. Not just if he's a "gifted child" but any child. Indeed, perhaps we should consider a "gifted child" to be a child whose parents have gifted him with a high self-esteem.

Children with high self-esteem are happier and more successful. Low self-esteem is common in children who are performing badly at school, have behavioral problems and suffer from depression.

The Newborn
The "helpless" newborn baby actually comes into the world well equipped with the power to get what she wants. Not only do her cries bring her parents running to tend to her; she also uses her body and facial language to get what she wants. It's no coincidence that babies learn to smile while they are still very small - it is an essential tool in their armory of communication. A baby with a disarming smile can frequently wrap mommy or daddy round her little finger!
At this early stage, it's important to respond to all your baby attempts at communication. Attend to her when she cries (this does not preclude training her gently into a stable routine), mirror her attempts at facial communication and reward the infant sounds she makes by praising her and talking back to her.

The "Can-Do" Toddler
Toddlers are into everything! They are learning so fast about the world around them and want to explore everything, touch everything and even try to eat many things.
It is such a crucial stage and one that is stifled by many parents. Yes, you need to control your child's behavior so that he doesn't hurt himself or damage valuable property. But you also need to give him opportunities to express this exploratory behavior without constant criticism and telling-offs.

Put valuables out of reach and supply your child with toys or household items that he can play with safely. Try to find time to get down on the floor and play with your toddler. Let him watch you and imitate you. He could play on the kitchen floor with some pots and wooden spoons while you are cooking.

Discipline
I want to emphasize up front that I believe discipline is very important, because I don't want you to think in any of what follows that I'm advocating spoiling your child. Some parents call this "allowing the child to enjoy the freedom of youth." These parents are entitled, of course, to raise their children however they wish.

But if you want your child to grow into a successful adult, you would do better by teaching her firmly what is and isn't acceptable in present day society. And, just as importantly, helping her to learn self-discipline and that you will support her in achieving anything she wants, as long as she does so ethically.

Discipline should be sensitive, thoughtful and appropriate. You should strive to never lose your temper but to discipline your child calmly and firmly. When is discipline appropriate? When your child's actions (or lack of them) may harm herself or others. When is discipline not appropriate? When it is purely for the parent's own selfish preferences.

Talk to Your Child
Positive talk with your child and generally within the household cannot be over-emphasized. Avoid criticism wherever possible; it is praise that produces good, successful behavior. Be sure to find at least one thing to praise in your child every day. Even better, give praise as often as possible.

Are you having problems finding good behaviors to praise? If so, give your child a task to do that you know he is capable of. Children love earning their parents' approval. Also remember to praise your child for trying, on those occasions that he is not successful.

Set a good example; talk about your goals and successes, and teach your child by example to accept compliments gracefully. Resist the temptation to put yourself down when you are complimented - instead, say a simple Thank You. That's an important sign of a healthy self-esteem.

The other side of the coin to talking is, of course, listening. It is very important to listen to your child. When there is something he is upset about, don't sweep it under the carpet by saying "Don't be silly!" Whatever it is might seem totally trivial to you but often all your child needs is for you to empathize. "I'm sorry you feel sad about that." He may then come up with a solution, or put the incident behind him without further help. Or, you can suggest a solution.

The Power of Desire
You can give your child the best possible schooling, teach all the important techniques of success, encourage goal setting and set a fantastic example. But that is not enough! All these good things have one vitally important pre-requisite. Before you can achieve anything, you must know what you really, really want.

A burning desire is the first, most important and essential step towards any major achievement. As a parent, you are in a unique position to influence another person's desires - your child's. By the time they reach their teens, you will have lost this influence to a significant degree, as young adults are swayed much more by their peers' opinions than their parents'.
So make the most of the early years by instilling positive, beneficial desires in your children. The desire to do well academically could shape your child's further education and career much more than her innate ability.

How can you instill desire? Telling stories is a great way. Children love stories! Be creative and tell stories where the hero or heroine has a burning desire for something, overcomes challenges and set backs, and achieves the desired outcome. Try telling stories where a child achieves academic success, which in turn results in something even more desirable. For instance, one story could tell of a child who has a burning desire to travel to the North Pole. She succeeds academically and thus wins an award, which makes her dream come true. Tailor the stories to your own child's life and experiences as much as you can.

The famous author Napoleon Hill used story-telling to instill in his almost-deaf son both a burning desire to hear, and a firm belief that his disability would actually bestow upon him a great advantage (although at the time even his father had no idea what that advantage could be). By the time this boy left college, he had against the odds acquired a hearing aid that enabled him to hear clearly for the first time in his life. More remarkably, he had justified his father's belief by securing a marketing position with the hearing aid manufacturer to bring the same benefit to millions of other deafened people.

"Gifted child"? Give your child the gift of self-esteem, and you will give him the gift of happiness.

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Cassie Simons (cassie@kidsgoals.com) is the author of "How to Help Your Child Succeed", a revolutionary approach to guilt-free parenting. Positive Parenting, Gifted Child - Visit http://www.kidsgoals.com/ today for the secrets of raising successful children.

Confident Children - Avoid Overparenting

2006-05-19T12:55:00.000+08:00

by Michael Grose

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/avoid-overparenting.shtml posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

For many years underparenting was perhaps the biggest problem facing children.
Recently there has emerged another type of parenting that, whilst never as harmful as underparenting, can be detrimental to children's healthy development – that is, the trend by many of the current generation of parents to overparent their children.

Overparenting occurs when parents solve children's problems rather than give them the chance to overcome problems themselves. It occurs when parents allow children to avoid legitimately challenging situations so they won't be inconvenienced. It also occurs when too much control or too much order is imposed on children.

Overparenting is predominantly a mindset. It is a belief that children can't overcome difficulties themselves and they can't cope with discomfort or disappointment. It comes with increased affluence but it can occur in any socio-economic group. From my observation, it is more likely to occur in smaller rather than larger families or in families where a death has occurred or tragedy has been a visitor.

An overparented child is a protected, spoiled child. He or she often lacks real confidence and won't take many risks. An overprotected child avoids new situations and looks to hide behind his parents when difficulties or challenges arise.

An overparented child can be any age but often becomes more apparent in middle primary school when the challenges children meet start to multiply. The overparenting may have occurred in the early years but the results only become apparent during this stage.
Some children by their nature place more demands on their parents, which results in overparenting. They receive more attention, more material possessions and more spoiling than they need because they can so bloody-minded and so insistent that parents give in just for some peace and quiet.

Sometimes circumstances such as family breakdown or a change of circumstances can lead to overparenting or overprotection as a form of compensation for the inconvenience that has been caused. While a child's behaviour may lead to feelings of guilt overparenting in this manner doesn't do the child any favours in the long term.

How can a parent break from a pattern of overparenting? This is hard to do because overparenting can seem so normal. However if a child is so reliant on a parents that they think they can't cope without them then it is time to take some action.

Parental illness is one way to change overparenting, although it is not a recommended course of action. When a parent is incapacitated or sick for a lengthy period of time children generally have no choice but to fend for themselves in a whole range of ways. From my observation of families I am constantly amazed how children rise to a challenge when they have to.

Another way to kick the overparenting habit is to do so by stealth. Little by little parents need to pull back on the over-assistance that they provide children. They can start by insisting children walk to school (provided this is reasonable from the perspective of safety and their well being), get themselves up each morning or other simple forms of self-help as required. When a new behavior becomes the norm rather than the exception then it is best to look for another area to withdraw their assistance from.

Another way to defeat the overparenting habit it to give children ideas, tips and techniques to cope with their challenges rather than allow them to avoid or pull out of challenges. For instance, a child who wants to pull out of an after school class after three weeks because they haven't any friends may need some ideas about either how to make friends or make do without friends until the end of term.

It helps to develop a "Hang tough" attitude rather than a "Let's try something else when things get tough" attitude. Overparenting prevents children from developing a "Hang Tough" attitude.
From my experience those children who do best at school and beyond the school years are those who have parents whose first response is to teach and support rather than protect or compensate when social, physical or intellectual challenges occur. It also helps to have parents who show absolute, unwavering confidence in a child's ability to cope and fend for him or herself, yet be wise enough to know when children need their help and compassionate enough to lend a hand once in while.

It is hard to get the balance right between developing real independence and not placing too much responsibility on children. It is essential for all sorts of reasons that childhood be protected, even prolonged. But that doesn't mean that children be closeted, spoiled or get every material good they want. Effective parenting is a balancing act between the head and the heart, between providing opportunities for resourcefulness and showing compassion, and between being a supportive parent and a protective parent.

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Michael Grose is The Parent Coach. For seventeen years he has been helping parents deal with the rigours of raising kids and survive!! For information about Michael's Parent Coaching programs or just some fine advice and ideas to help you raise confident kids and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au/.

Families That Think - Creating the Proper Family Environment So Our Kids Can Think for Themselves.

2006-05-19T12:24:00.000+08:00

Dr. Elisa Medhus

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/child-can-think.shtml posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

Do we want our kids to use their noggins wisely and independently, or do we want them to be little ventriloquist dummies parroting the thoughts of the pop culture and their peers? Not really a hard choice, is it? But where do we start? Creating the proper family environment so that our children are comfortable with who they are is the foundation we must first lay down if we're to raise self-directed kids. After all, if they aren't at ease with their own sense of self, how can they trust their own choices? Instead, they'll rely on outside factors to guide them-outside influences that may be corrupt and destructive.

Let's take a look at how we have all been inclined to shape the family milieu in a way that fosters external over self-direction as well as some ways we can correct these nasty habits.Three parenting behaviors promote external direction in our children: modeling externally directed behavior in our own lives, being conditional with our children, and not having faith in our children.

Modeling externally directed behavior in our own lives
The way we react to external influences is important because we help design the first blueprint for our children's sense of self through the behavior we model. How we act, feel, and think is crucial, because our children see us as a reflection of the outside world-as a glimpse into what they'll be like when they grow up. That's pretty scary stuff! And since most of us are externally directed to some degree, we want to be accepted by others too. If we're not careful, though, the behavior we model will reflect an over-reliance on external influences. Things we must avoid include:

Trying to have "the right image"
Placing conditions on the approval we receive
Having expectations of reciprocity and entitlement
Mishandling our feelings

This last one requires more explanation than the first three. What does this really have to do with encouraging external direction in children?

Suppressing negative feelings send children the message that "feelings are very bad and should be buried." Children are then reluctant to use their own feelings as internal cues to guide them in constructive ways.
Misdirecting feelings by taking them out on someone else sends children the message that other people's feelings are their responsibility and perhaps even their fault. Our children then learn to use other's feelings as something that steers their thoughts and actions.
Clinging to negative feelings teaches our children that really bad emotions have no solution. They're just something they need to put up with.

Being conditional with our children

The second parenting faux pas is our behaving conditionally with our children. Nothing is more powerful in convincing them to look outward rather than inward for answers. Some specific examples:

Using qualifying statements that suggest our love comes with strings attached, like "I love you, but," "I love you if," and "I love you, when."
Showing them love only when they're perfect which sends them the message that they deserve love only when they meet our expectations of perfection!
Leading our children to believe that we love them for who we expect them to become rather than who they are now.

Not having faith in our children

Another common message that pervades many family environments is that we have little or no faith in our children to make the right choices. This lack of faith in them always encourages our children to place more trust in external signals than internal ones.

Repression

Stifling our children's creative flair
Denying them chances to experiment and explore in situations that aren't dangerous

Parental control and domination

Over centuries, parents have been brainwashed into believing that the best way to raise children is to exert control by using size and experience to their advantage. The basic premise is that, if we choose to twist our children's arms into becoming the adults we want them to be rather than coach and guide them to making choices for themselves, we're setting them up to be like us: externally directed. Let's look at three categories of control and domination:

"How could you, you beast!" - This type of domination involves stealthy tactics like guilt, martyrdom, and shame which conveys a sense of conditional love and approval to children.

"But, honey, if you really loved me, you'd try harder in school." (guilt)"Oh, fine. I'll make your school lunch for tomorrow. I do everything around this house anyway, seeing as how I'm your personal slave." (martyrdom)

"What do you mean you failed your chemistry test? Your parents are both chemists, for God's sake! You're a disgrace to the family name!" (shame)

Statements like these take their toll on our children's ability to become self-directed. They program our children to make choices based on what will please us rather than what they think is right.

"Just leave the thinking to me" [or "Father (and mother) knows best"]

Here are six tricks parents use to tell their children how to think, behave, and feel. Although we can't expect to stop these habits overnight, we might want to try our best to avoid them as much as we can.

1. Criticism and Nagging

These are forms of evaluation that signal to children that they are on the wrong course toward shaping the acceptable self. They, therefore, grow to believe that there are conditions placed on our love and approval of them and that they must rely on us and others in authority to measure their performance and self-worth.

2.. Judgments and Evaluations

Judgments and evaluations represent our own observations and conclusions being forced upon our children with the attitude that our opinions are superior to theirs. Here are some examples:

"Organic chemistry is a killer course.""You're just naturally clumsy. It's not your fault."

Affirmations can even be a form of evaluation, too. Look at these examples:

"It's OK, I was totally obsessed with my hair in junior high, too"

Any time we make statements like these, it sends our children the message that unless they're exactly like us, they're not okay, meaning they need to go back to the drawing board and rework the design of their false self. Whenever we make assessments about our children, we must be sure to get across to them that these are opinions, not edicts carved in stone.

3. Reprimand and Illogical Punishment

Whereas criticism is a warning to our children that they've strayed off the course we've set for them, reprimand is the acknowledgement that they have arrived at the wrong destination. They often reflect our negative feelings, especially anger and disappointment. Take a look at how destructive these statements are:

"How dare to talk to me in that tone of voice, Mister!""You haven't even taken the trash out. I can't believe how lazy you are!"

Illogical punishment takes this negativity even further. It's reprimand coupled with parentally imposed illogical consequences. Examples include whipping children for not telling the truth, making them write "I will obey my parents" 100 times on a sheet of paper, and sending them to bed without supper for dallying over their homework. Such punishments only make our children focus their attention externally on how angry they are with us and accomplish little in correcting their bad behavior. Children generally heed reprimand and punishment because they fear reprisal, not because it's the right thing to do.

4. Thought Indoctrination

Whereas all of the preceding tactics indirectly transform the thought processes of our children, thought indoctrination does so more directly. Typical examples are remarks like:

"You should be proud of yourself for making such a good grade on your report.""You should be ashamed! Your brother made the football team with no problem!"

In this indoctrination, we directly tell our children what they must think. After a while, they stop using their own thoughts to decide what to think or how to feel. Better ways of making the above statements include:

"Wow, you really worked hard on that class presentation. No wonder you got an A. How does it make you feel?""Oh, you didn't make the football team? Well I know you put out a lot of effort. How are you feeling?" Are you going to try out next semester?"

As you can see, these examples all encourage children to use their reasoning skills to come up with their own assessment and solution, and this phrasing in no way forces them to accept an opinion or judgment that's not theirs.

5. Over-Controlling

To ensure the creation of the consummate false self, we often use coercive techniques like directing, physical punishment, and threats and ultimatums.In directing, we tell our children how to run their lives. Some examples and their alternatives:

"Don't forget your backpack" instead of "Is there anything you're forgetting before the bus comes?"You need to wear your helmet if you're going outside to bike" instead of "Biking without a helmet is unsafe.""Put your jacket on. It's freezing outside!" instead of "It's supposed to get down into the twenties this afternoon"

As you can see, although it's often easier to tell them what to do, it's much better either to give them the information that will help them use their own reasoning skills to figure things out or to let them suffer logical consequences for their bad choices.Physical punishment also does much to discourage self-direction. Many parents feel that spankings are vital to raising an obedient child, while others, drowning in the pressures of the day, simply lose control and, in the heat of the moment, fail to see an alternative. Either approach has two unfortunate effects. First, it teaches our children that violence is an acceptable solution to many of their conflicts. Second, it tells children that they are inferior beings who need to be dominated and oppressed.Threats and ultimatums are powerful parental tools of control. Examples include:

"If you don't get your butt down here right now, you're grounded for a month!""This is the last time I'm warning you. If your grades don't improve next term, the car goes. Skateboard to school, for all I care!"

Again, like physical punishment, these tactics just intimidate our children into doing as we wish. They react out of fear rather than reason. When we're guiding and disciplining our children, we need to be sure that we're leaving them room to think. To be self-directed, they'll have to come up with their own motives for behaving, thinking, and feeling a certain way.

6. Rescuing

It's very common in our society for parents to shield their kids from challenges, settle their conflicts and rescue them from the consequences of their bad choices. We do this because we don't want to look like rotten parents, we don't want to be inconvenienced, we can't bear to see them suffer, or we want to avoid conflict. But since it permits them to bypass the reasoning process, it further encourages them to hide behind a false identity. These children grow to believe that there are no safe and reliable answers to be found from within, because they were never given a chance to look there in the first place.

"Let me show you who you need to be"

There are three externally directed parenting no-no's belonging to this type of domination: pressuring children to conform, comparing them with others, and using labeling and global assessments. Let's take a peek at each:

1. Pressure to Conform

We often cringe at the natural individuality our children effuse and pressure them to fit the mold along with the others. We insist they wear designer clothes, we buy them whatever the latest craze is and so on.Here are some examples of the statements we make to pressure our children to conform:

"You can't go out like that; you'll be the laughing stock!""You can't wear paisley with a plaid! They're two different prints! Go change into a solid colored shirt."

We need to be okay about their being different, creative, and expressive in ways that are not common practice. Otherwise, we're just thinking and making choices for them. Squelching their individuality drives them to make all future decisions through external direction by using other outside influences to ensure conformity.

2. Using Comparisons

Some parents feel that comparisons are a useful tactic for pressuring children into being better than they are.

"Why can't you be like the other kids and try out for the soccer team?"I heard Billy, next door, made straight A's on his last report card. The way I see it, if he can do it, so can you!"

These comparisons just make children feel rotten about themselves. By comparing them to others, parents are just letting them know that they're not all we'd hoped for. Eventually, these children grow afraid to look within to evaluate themselves. They learn to rely on external measures such as the opinions of others to assess themselves, personally.It is more helpful to compare our children to their past performance, rather than to other people. That way, they can figure out what changes, if any, they should make in themselves. When they learn to use themselves as measuring sticks, they become masters of self-evaluation-a pivotal attribute of the self-directed.

3. Labels and Generalizations

Both of these control strategies force our children into thinking of themselves in those terms upon which we've decided. It's unimportant whether these observations are accurate or not. And hey, we're bigger and supposedly wiser, so they fall for it every time! Here are some examples of each:

"Darling, you can't help it. You've always been a slow reader.""You're the brains of the family."

These remarks could become fodder for future excuses and justifications. These children become confused about their own true identity. They need to figure out who they are on their own.And then there are generalizations:

"You always lose everything! You'd lose your head if it weren't screwed on tight!""You're always dawdling. Keep up!""You never get anything right."

Broad generalizations usually contain words like "never" or "always." These make our children give up all hope of shaking whatever assessment we have of them. It makes them think that these attributes are so sweeping that they pervade their every thought and action. In fact, it even deters them from going through the trouble of looking within to figure out who they really are.All of these destructive habits have been passed down from generation to generation, so that they have become deeply ingrained into our prevailing parenting style. But once we understand their negative repercussions and learn alternatives that are constructive, it's actually quite easy to become aware of and eliminate them from our parenting conduct. When we understand that what we say to our children and how we behave toward them can decide if they will grow to think for themselves or grow to become puppets at the mercy of the junk culture, these habits can officially retire from "hand-me-down status"-the first step to building a better world for our children.

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Copyright © Dr. Elisa Medhus, mother of five and author of the provocative new book Raising Children Who Think for Themselves, has thirteen years of experience dealing with the biggest problems families face. Her new book gives parents concrete, common-sense tools for getting through to their kids, with seven effective strategies for raising independently-minded children.

Raising Boys

2006-05-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

By Micheal Grose

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/raising-boys.shtml posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

The last decade has seen heightened interest in and awareness of the issues surrounding boys in most of the western world. It is common knowledge that boys lead the way in all the wrong statistics, including; problematic behaviors, learning difficulties and health problems. Educators and professionals around the world are looking for ways to cater for and engage young males.Approval and high regard lie at the heart of raising happy, well-adjusted boys. Boys are approval-seeking creatures. They craved to be liked, loved and appreciated – particularly by their mothers and other significant women in their lives. They also want approval from their fathers, which can be a tough ask.Yes, boy's behavior are often in your face and direct. Subtle, boys are not. But at least you know where you stand with boys.Yes, they can be dirty, scruffy and smelly but scratch the surface and you will reveal a gem underneath.Yes, they are often more boisterous and active than girls but don't mistake boisterousness with aggression. Provide them with the space to be active and give them ways to channel their energy in productive ways.Yes, they are more prone to solving social problems physically than we would like but their verbal skills need to be worked on a little harder. They need to be shown how to resolve issues verbally rather than told how to do it.Yes, they are developmentally not as advanced as girls but we need to aware of this when we decide the age they should start school. Boys who start school on the before five years of age often have an uphill battle compared to girls who can have a twelve month edge on them maturity-wise.Yes, some boys have difficulty getting organized and will invariably have messy bedrooms, desks and leave clothes lying around but they need step-by-step advice (as well as some lists and a willingness to repeat instructions) about how to manage themselves and their schedules.Yes, boys are not strong at reading the signs that others give and can say and do the wrong things in public or at school. But we need to encourage them to stand back and look (or think) before they leap (or act) so that they can be a little more intuitive.Yes, they are not the world's most avid readers but we can account for this by reading to them and making it fun, giving them more male role models who read and provide alternative ways to gain information other than books.Yes, boys don't work as neatly as girls in school but they are usually more task oriented and can't see the point of such processes. Computers are a huge help for those boys who struggle to produce neat, tidy work with neat, tidy borders.Yes, boys can be clumsy socially but they form friendships around shared interests and are less likely to exclude people from their friendship circles because of something trivial such as the clothes they wear.Yes, boys play for keeps when they play competitive sport but it is the way they push themselves rather than prove themselves at the expense of others.Yes, boys have a different pathway to adulthood than girls – they become adults by proving themselves so even simple games of sport can become a test of their mettle. We need to provide them with safe proving grounds so they don't have to resort to illegal or dangerous ways of testing their masculinity.Okay, so this maybe a biased, Pollyannaish view of boys but to successfully raise and teach boys we must understand and work with the gender differences. And above all us you must LIKE them.

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Michael Grose is Australia's leading parenting educator. He is the author of six books and gives over 100 presentations a year and appears regularly on television, radio and in print.For further ideas to help you raise happy children and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au. While you are there subscribe to Happy Kids newsletter and receive a free report Seven ways to beat sibling rivalry.

Little fingers do the talking

2006-03-24T16:18:00.000+08:00

When Abigail Bruner was born four years ago, her parents knew their lives would change. But they never guessed their little girl would lead them to a second language.
Abigail was born with Down syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that delays development. One of her challenges would be learning how to speak.
So her mother, Connie Bruner, decided to learn American Sign Language.
"We began signing with Abigail because we knew her speech would be delayed," she said.

The Bruners, who live in Blairsville, didn't realize they were becoming part of a new parenting trend. A growing number of moms and dads are teaching sign language to their babies.
The theory is that infants begin learning immediately, even though they are unable to communicate verbally until sometime after their first birthday. Sign language lets babies tell their parents what they need, even before the little ones can express themselves in words.
Indiana Regional Medical Center offers a Right From the Start program for new parents; it covers a variety of topics, from different ways to carry your baby to how to play with an infant. Carolyn White, the program's director, asked the Bruners if they would present a workshop on teaching sign language to babies.
The class was so popular that another session has been scheduled for May.
"I think we hit a nerve" with the program, White said. "One of the main ideas is to help parents make connections with other parents."
Finger play
Most of the moms and dads at the first session already had tried using some signs with their infants. They came to the workshop to learn more.
"I've been doing signs for two to three months," said Yiva Leasure, of Marion Center
Leasure's 15-month-old son, Brady, quickly learned signs for the words "food" and "drink."
"They pick it up much quicker than you think," Leasure said. "They absorb things like sponges."
Maryann Stephenson, of Smicksburg, thought she'd try sign language with her 13-month-old son, Allen.
"I thought it would be interesting, because they're at a certain age and they can't talk yet, but you know they want something," said Stephenson, who also has daughters ages 3 and 7. "Sign language is a universal language. I don't know why it's not taught in schools."
Bruner has taken continuing education classes at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and she soon will take advanced courses in American Sign Language. She remembers first learning about ASL at age 8, when she taught herself to finger-spell the alphabet.
Bruner began teaching sign language to Abigail when she was just 6 months old. The little girl now knows more than 300 signs. Although children may be willing to learn, many have trouble moving their fingers to make intricate signs.
"They will fine-tune their motor skills to do the sign correctly," Bruner said. "They may make up signs for things on their own. That's OK. They're using their mind and being creative."
Sign language proponents say that tantrums during the "terrible twos" decrease when little ones learn to sign. Children who can express their needs don't have to whine, scream or cry to get their point across.
And most agree that the earlier a child starts learning, the better. Signing helps to accelerate language development and stimulates brain development, its advocates insist. It builds fine and gross motor skills, as well as memory.
Most important, signing promotes communication -- and it can be a fun activity for parents and children to share.
Linda Acredolo, a psychology professor at the University of California, and Susan Goodwyn, a professor of psychology and child development at California State University, founded Baby Signs in 1982. Their goal was to conduct research on language development and the impact of sign language on infants and young children. Much of their research was funded by the National Institutes for Health.
The professors discovered that signs can be important tools in language development. Children 12 to 14 months old doubled their vocabulary if they learned sign language.
Additional studies throughout the 1980s and '90s confirmed that babies as young as 8 months could communicate with signs, and that toddlers who had used signs had significantly larger vocabularies than children who did not know sign language.
Although ASL is used primarily by people with hearing impairments, parents seem willing to explore anything that might help their children learn -- especially if they think it might get them through those "terrible twos." The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, in Edgewood, has had so many calls from parents who want to learn signs that it offers classes for hearing families.
"We get calls very often," said Mary Ann Stefko, the school's mainstream and sign language coordinator. "We see a big interest (in learning ASL), either as a second language or for their babies."
Stefko believes signing can help to eliminate many of the frustrations little ones feel when they can't communicate.
"Children pick it up very easily," she said. "Children are very motivated to do it. To them, it's very comfortable."
Many researchers have found that learning comes in stages. To fully retain information, most people need to hear, see and use their knowledge. Marilyn Daniels, a professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State University, has written several books on the subject of sign language for children.
In her book "Dancing With Words," Daniels writes, "The use of sign language with hearing children to enhance their education works. It is fun, playful, movement oriented, visual, involves a wide variety of learning styles and is not tedious. ... Signed words are stored in a separate part of the brain from spoken words, giving children multiple ways to learn and to retrieve information."
For hearing children, signing appears to be of greatest benefit before speech emerges. Abigail's 2-year-old sister, Elizabeth, also is proficient in sign language, but these days she prefers to speak.
"As soon as speech came, her signs dropped off," Bruner said. "Elizabeth is very verbal. I didn't see as much signing out of her as I did Abigail."
The desire to speak is one of the reasons Sondra Lettrich is skeptical about teaching sign language to babies. Lettrich, director of the graduate program in special education at Seton Hill University, is a former speech therapist with a doctorate in deaf education.
"I think it's kind of a cute thing for parents to do," she said. "If babies hear, they will pick the language up. Babies understand a whole lot more than they can communicate."
Lettrich believes that children's ability to communicate comes from hearing their parents speak.
"When a deaf baby is born to hearing parents, these children have a huge language deficit," she said. "When a deaf baby is born to deaf parents, their language development is fine. It only stands to reason that a hearing baby born to hearing parents needs vocal articulation for language development."
Lettrich cautions that parents need to understand the difference between teaching their children a few basic signs and teaching them ASL.
"Sign language is complicated," she said. "It's not just gestures. I think that's what a lot of people miss. If they want to teach gestures, that's one thing. Sign language is a completely different language."
Lettrich said her own daughter used signs to communicate with her baby. Lettrich has seen her granddaughter make the sign for "more" when she wants more cereal, and she agrees that children are capable of learning and using signs to communicate.
But Lettrich insists that parents also must speak the word every time they make a sign,
"As long as voice articulation is with it, they will not delay verbal development," she said. "If you were to use only the sign, it could delay speech."
The typical child begins using words at about age 1. By the time he's 2, a child's vocabulary will have increased significantly.
"From 18 months to 2 years, the language skills really pick up," Lettrich said. "With a normal hearing baby, they will hardly use sign language at more than 12 to 15 months old."
At the very least, signing appears to offer another educational avenue for children. Its advantages were recognized as far back as the 19th century, when Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who developed ASL, determined that hearing children's vocabularies improved when they signed.
"The more varied the form under which language is presented to the mind through the various senses, the more perfect will be the knowledge of it acquired, and the more permanently will it be retained," he wrote.
"Anything you teach the baby imprints the brain," Lettrich said. "I don't care what you teach the baby, it will imprint the brain. That's a good thing."
For additional information on sign language classes contact Indiana Regional Medical Center at 724-357-7075 or the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf at 800-624-3323 or www.wpsd.org.

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/health/s_432659.html

Friendship and Giftedness

2006-03-24T16:16:00.000+08:00

By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D

Q: I am writing about my son Cyrus. He is 4, turning 5 in February of 2006. He recently began pre-school. The pre-school teacher has said she believes that he could be gifted. Also, during Cyrus's pre-school check-up, the P.A. mentioned to me about having him tested for giftedness. He said that Cyrus's thought process was so much more advanced than what a 4 year-olds is. He said something about his quick sense of humor. Cyrus is fascinated with anything to do with numbers - time, dates, counting. He can count to 1000. Instead of being read smaller, younger-aged books, he would prefer to be read big chapter books or informational books. He knows the names of the planets, states, and some of their capitals. He constantly wants to know "why" about everything. Last night he asked how much blood does your heart hold!!At pre-school, he doesn't want to sit during circle time. The pre-school teacher says that it took Cyrus a while before he warmed up to the other kids. She asked if he spends time outside of school with kids his own age. He doesn't. At home, he has a 3 year old brother, but they don't really play together much. He would rather be with his 14 and 16 year old brothers playing video games or football with them and their friends. I am not real sure if he is gifted, or what to do next. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

A: Cyrus is already 5 now and I am sure that he has advanced much more by now. From your description, he does sound above average especially with his thirst for knowledge. I do wonder if he is in a regular pre-school or have you had him enrolled in a pre-school that is not very academically based. Gifted children need environments where they are able to explore and do lots of hands-on activities. Generally, children choose friends based on the similarities of mental age, which means friends of gifted children are usually other gifted children. In this case, Cyrus’s similar ability peers of his age are not readily available at home or at school, therefore he seeks company of children who may be a few years older than him with whom he is able to relate comfortably. These are children/adults who resemble him somewhat in mental age, or whom he enjoys their company as he feels challenged, which is exciting for a gifted child. His teachers may have misunderstood this and assumed that Cyrus does not easily form friendships with his age-peers and assumes that he is "emotionally immature", which is in fact the very opposite. You may want to talk to his teachers about his gravitation towards mental age peers. As he grows, he may feel "different" and perhaps even get worried. As parents, you may want to consider discussing the chronological age/mental age/emotional age discrepancy with him. He must be reassured that individual differences are a part of life.Depending on where you live, you may also want to join any parent support group for gifted children or associations. Support is important and even if there is no direct support, there is a lot of information on the internet that you may find useful. Good luck!

Article from http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/friendship-giftedness.shtml, posted by www.ritebrainstudio.com

Dyslexic and Gifted

2006-03-24T16:14:00.000+08:00

By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D

Q: My 9 years old daughter's IQ test was non verbal 143 and verbal 134. (UK IQ Test). She has mildly dyslexia. Her school grades are Grade B. She is usually bored at home. She is the quiet and shy student in School. How can I, as a parent, help her?

A: You did not indicate the test that was taken but generally such scores are above average. It is very possible to be dyslexic and gifted and each needs attention separately. The fact that she is mildly dyslexic may mask the need for educational intervention, which may actually help her perform better. Most of us have vague ideas about people with dyslexia; for example, it is often thought that dyslexics may reverse letters in words, or reverse the whole spelling of words; or that the use of colored lenses or a lower lighting level may help, and so on. Carefully analyzed, the fact is actually that the presentation of dyslexia from mild to severe, can vary greatly from one child to another. This means, for some children, they do reverse letters or spelling, others don't; and some may be helped by colored lenses, to others these may be totally irrelevant and unnecessary.As a parent, you need to know how she is troubled. Perhaps she is not able to express her difficulties and she is just coping at school thinking that she is the way she is and nothing can be done about it. This in fact may explain her boredom, perhaps even at school and for bright children; boredom creates a situation in which less and less actual learning results. She may not be enjoying learning as it may be too difficult for her. Being shy and quiet may not help as well as she may be seen by the teachers as an obedient student who is not having problems in class. Naturally children who are more verbal would get more attention, be it negative or positive. This may all mask the fact that she has been finding it difficult to learn. In dyslexics, the nature and variety of talents are directly related to the different brain structures seen in and it is no wonder that the problems and the unusual strengths come together in a package that is difficult to separate into parts. In other words, structural brain changes that produce reading difficulties and other problems, may often (however, not always) produce brain changes and differences that can, in turn, be highly beneficial in other areas.You may also find that apart from reading, writing and spelling, your daughter may also face difficulties memorizing a sequence, or random facts, and on symbol-to-sound and sound-to-symbol despite being exposed to phonics for many years. My suggestion is that you should preferably get some kind of treatment to help her learn better. Her condition may worsen if left untreated, or being bright, she may initiate coping methods on her own as have many other dyslexics (some of whom did not even know that they were dyslexic). Just for your knowledge interest, SM Lee Kuan Yew (Former Prime Minister of Singapore) has been diagnosed mildly dyslexic in his 60's (he had complained not being able to read fast enough without missing important points) and so is his neurologist daughter. So is Einstein!

Books that you might find useful:The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn by Ronald D. Davis and Eldon M. Braun.

The Pretenders: Gifted People Who Have Difficulty Learning by Barbara P. Guyer.

http://www.brainy-child.com/expert/dyslexic-and-gifted.shtml

Do You Know Your Parenting Style?

2006-03-24T16:09:00.000+08:00

By Dr. Thomas Phelan

Want to be a better parent? Knowing what your current parenting style is will help you identify your needed areas for improvement. Promoting the self-discipline and self-esteem of the children in your family often requires an emotional juggling act by you as a parent. It is not easy to be firm and demanding with a child one minute, then warm and affectionate the next. This is an ongoing education process both for the parent and for the child. In addition, many adults naturally have personalities or temperaments that predispose them toward one parenting style or another.

Authoritarian Parenting
Parents who tend to overemphasize the discipline side of the equation are referred to as authoritarian. Authoritarian parents are demanding in the worst sense of the word. They are intimidators, requiring obedience and respect above all else. They become overly angry and forceful when they don't get that obedience and respect. Their love and acceptance appear totally conditional to the child. They do not teach or listen to their kids or explain the reason for their expectations, which are frequently unrealistic. They often see their children's individuality and independence as irrelevant or threatening.
Research has shown that authoritarian parents tend to produce children who are more withdrawn, anxious, mistrustful and discontented. These children are often overlooked by their peers. Their self-esteem is often poor.

Permissive Parenting
Parents who overemphasize the self-esteem side of the equation are referred to as permissive. They may be warm and supportive, but they are not good disciplinarians - even in the privacy of their own home. They make only weak demands for good behavior and they tend to avoid or ignore obnoxious behavior. They seem to believe that children should grow up without any anger, tears or frustrations. They reinforce demanding and inconsiderate behavior from their children and often find it easier to just give in to their child's demands. Their love and acceptance are "unconditional" in the worst sense of the word, for they set few rules or limits on what their children do.
Research has shown that permissive parents tend to produce children who are more immature, demanding and dependent. These children are often rejected by their peers. Their self-esteem is often unrealistic and hard to interpret, for they often blame others for their problems and misfortunes.

The Authoritative Parenting Model
Parents who are able to provide for both the discipline and self-esteem needs of their youngsters are referred to as authoritative. They clearly communicate high - but not unrealistic - demands for their children's behavior. They expect good things from their kids and reinforce those things when they occur. They also tend to give more positive encouragement at the right places. When kids act up, on the other hand, authoritative parents respond with firm limits, but without fits of temper. They are warm, reasonable and sensitive to a child's needs. They are supportive of a child's individuality and encourage growing independence.
Authoritative parents tend to produce competent children. These kids are more self-reliant, self-controlled, content and happy. They are usually accepted and well-liked by their peers and perform better in school. Their self-esteem is good and they report having a happier childhood experience overall.

Where Do You Need Work as a Parent?
Logic and research, then, support the idea that children need both firm discipline and emotional support to grow up psychologically healthy. After reading the descriptions of the parenting styles above, if you found that you leaned too much toward the demanding, authoritarian style, then you need to work on the warm, supportive side of parenting. You need to have more fun with your kids, listen better and dole out more praise. If on the other hand, you leaned too much toward the permissive style, you need to work on establishing clear rules, setting limits, and confronting obnoxious behavior. Need to modify your parenting style? Start today!

http://www.brainy-child.com/article/parenting-styles.shtml

Questions Mothers Ask

2006-03-14T21:51:00.000+08:00

About Beginning a Good Intellectual Program

Q: I know I need to be organized to do a good program and enjoy doing it, but how do I become more organized?

As you well know, there is no simple answer to the question of program organization. Each mother, child, and family differs–as do their goals, interests, and objectives–and all of these factors are constantly shifting and changing. The time available for teaching often varies, as do many other factors. There is no one solution that would apply neatly to everyone. Instead, each family must carefully evaluate its own situation and make the best possible plan. Here are some suggestions:

1. Take time to plan and organize your program at least once a week. Look at how far you've come as well as where you are headed. Decide on one major objective for each child each week and several minor objectives. Make a plan for that week and organize your records and materials for the week ahead.

2. Always prepare your materials well in advance. If you do get behind, stop your program and take the time to go out and get more materials so that you are not tempted to use materials over and over again when they should have been retired.

3. Do a few things well rather than many things sporadically. Your children will benefit much more from abilities that they have solidly established and are able to use than from a brief introduction to a wide variety of subjects.

4. Be flexible. Be willing to change your plans quickly and to do something else that is stimulating and fun if what you planned simply does not work out.

5. Plan time each day for your child to learn how to help you take care of the house and prepare meals. (One day he or she will be able to take over.)

6. Stay at home as much as possible. If there are a number of things that need to be done outside the home, whenever possible do them on the same day and do them at the end of the day, not in the morning.

7. Take the phone off the hook or put on the answering machine when teaching your children.

Q: My husband, three-year-old son, and I are expecting a baby in a few months. What suggestions do you have about organizing the program around our new arrival?

First of all, take care of yourself! Mom's health and well-being are the foundations of a good program and should be the top priority. It is certainly reasonable for mothers to slow down some and even put their usual program away during the last weeks of pregnancy and the first weeks of the newborn's arrival.

An older brother or sister can be very helpful in the weeks immediately preceding and following the birth of the baby. Siblings can help mom with household routines and assist with the new baby's stimulation program. Families that join their baby on the floor can also encourage the newborn to crawl.

As you and your baby begin to have a more routine day and night, you will once again have more time to spend with your older child. Plan, prepare, and organize to return to one subject at a time. While before you may have been teaching many parts of the program simultaneously, it's best to begin again, one area at a time. In this way, you can begin to blend your old daily routine into your new and different one.

By choosing just one aspect of your child's intellectual or physical program to work on, you can be at your best and most relaxed. Gradually you can add other programs at a pace that is ideal for you, considering the fact that you are now a two-children family.

Having two children is certainly different than having just one, and it takes new organization of time and direction. Keep yourself in top form–both of your children will appreciate it.

Q: I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old. Should I plan to teach them separately or at the same time?

When teaching two children who are close in age, there are several approaches you can try in order to find the one that works best for you. Also, you will need to re-evaluate your approach from time to time, as your children grow older.
One approach is to teach different categories for your individual children according to their special interests. This insures that each child will receive information on what he likes best. In the end, each child will see and hear the information being taught to a sibling, and all children in the family will actually benefit from each other's program.
Most families find that even when they start with two different programs, within a year or so all the children are happily participating in each other's programs.
Another approach is to spend some extra time and attention on your older child. The older the child is, the more likely it is that he will have preferences, pronounced likes and dislikes, and will let them be known. In addition, your older child will be learning at a slower rate than your younger one. He will therefore need a bit more attention, while your younger child will be absorbing absolutely everything without the slightest effort.
There are many advantages of having more than one child in the family. The younger child can benefit by observing his older sibling, who becomes yet another teacher in addition to mother and father. Teaching is a wonderful way to learn, so the older child will also benefit from this arrangement. It's great fun for a child to be able to read a book to his younger brother or sister, or to play a new piece on the violin.
The difference in their ages will be significant in motor activities, yet two children can work together happily once you carefully structure the different levels of achievement expected. So, while your oldest swims the length of the pool, your youngest can tackle the width. Each can succeed at his or her own rate.
Sometimes one child may cause a disturbance while you are teaching the other. Most families establish the rule that a child may choose to watch or not during a teaching session, but no one is permitted to distract or disrupt in any way.

Q: I want to do everything and I want to get started as soon as possible, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. How can I be sure that I am using my time in the best possible way?

When you begin your program it is best to choose one important area, like reading, and put your attention on that single area until you are organized, prepared, and teaching your child to read without any problems. It is much better to do one program very well rather than to do several programs inconsistently.

Sometimes mothers who do not have the advantage of being with their children all day long try to accomplish a full program by shoe horning too many things into a few hours a day. This simply can not be done and should not be attempted. It is not possible to have a relaxed, happy, and joyous program without being able to choose the good moments to teach and rejecting the bad moments. When time is limited, it is vital to choose one area and do that one well rather than trying to put too much teaching into too short a period of time.

Make a sensible schedule based on a realistic evaluation of the time that you will really have each day.

Q: Is one time in the day better than another time?

Yes. If possible, arrange your schedule so that you can do the majority of your intellectual program in the morning. This is the ideal teaching time; your baby is rested and so are you.

Q: What are the physiological factors that I should be careful about?

Make certain that your child is getting enough sleep and get enough sleep yourself. Whenever possible, if your child is taking a nap you should take one too. Keep your child's fluids balanced. Most children take in three or four times the amount of liquid that they really need. Often this is caused by too much salt and sugar in the diet. Limiting salt and sugar intake will decrease your child's desire for liquids.

Q: How do I know how fast to go and what my child likes?

It is very important to carefully observe your child's responses every time you teach him something. You will learn very quickly which categories he likes best, and how to observe if he is getting a bit bored because you have shown certain materials for too long.

By watching his attention and interest, your child will show you what he most enjoys and how fast he likes to go. All of this will be written in the expression on his face as you teach him. However, you must be watching his face as you teach him in order to observe these indications. Your careful observations will help you make tomorrow's teaching sessions even better.

Reading Promotes Language Development

2006-03-14T21:48:00.000+08:00

By www.ritebrainstudio.com

Resource copied from Glenn Doman Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.

When How To Teach Your Baby To Read by Glenn Doman was published in 1963, it introduced the bold concept that tiny children can not only learn to read, but in fact love to do so.

Reading, by definition, is the ability to recognize and understand written language, an ability that thousands of mothers have given their babies by using this book. To their surprise, they have simultaneously taught their babies to understand spoken language more quickly and easily.

It barely needs to be mentioned that babies learn English (or whatever their native tongue) by constant immersion in the speaking environment of that language. In time, words and phrases become familiar and are understood if they have been repeated often enough and loudly enough in meaningful situations.

Daily conversation is a haphazard method of teaching language, but it does work eventually through sheer repetition. A baby's vocabulary grows simply through exposure to his language.
Mothers who teach their babies to read, however, greatly improve upon the random and disorganized way in which language is acquired. Reading words must be presented loudly and clearly to insure that they arrive in the brain for storage. The message is reinforced when it goes simultaneously down two pathways–the visual and the auditory pathways.

When Mother carries out an organized reading program, reading words are presented two or three times on the same day for four or five days consecutively, therefore language is no longer random and left to chance. And because the brain is such a highly organized organ, this orderly approach allows language to be learned with great speed and efficiency.

As the reading program expands from words to phrases to sentences and to books, the baby's vocabulary likewise expands in both quantity and sophistication.

When familiar messages and daily routines are written and presented in large print, they reinforce the spoken words. Homemade books illustrated with colorful drawings or photographs of actual experiences further clarify and strengthen language.

Mothers regularly report that their children's spoken vocabulary has developed in direct relationship to their reading program. Teaching couplets encourages the tiny child to use couplets in expressing himself. Later, this same phenomenon occurs with phrases, sentences, and paragraphs.

Once a baby has enjoyed many words, phrases, sentences, and books about his environment, Mother can enrich his vocabulary by teaching descriptive terms and adding more exotic information.

Whereas Mother's own creative imagination provided ideas for words and books about daily life, some basic reference books can help her to reach the next level in developing her child's vocabulary. A thesaurus is an excellent source for this purpose.

By looking up a specific word in a thesaurus, one will find a list of several words that have the same meaning but are less commonly used in everyday speech. With this new information, an old homemade book can be revitalized by replacing the ordinary "Tony eats breakfast" with "Tony consumes breakfast" or "Tony ingests breakfast." Or, an entirely new book can be created for the specific purpose of using extraordinary language. In this way, a child's vocabulary expands, as does Mom's and Dad's!

Ideally, every baby should have two reading programs, beginning at a very young age. One is created exclusively for him, using large print and a limited number of words on a page to promote independent reading. The other, just as valuable in developing both spoken and written language, is to read to him from the world's enormous library of adventure, drama, poetry, and prose.

Poetry is particularly good to read to a child, as the language has been chosen especially for its beauty. There are many fine collections of poetry. Some are by individual poets, such as A Child's Garden of Verse by Robert Louis Stevenson. Others are collected anthologies of many poets, such as those edited by Louis Untermeyer. In addition, beautifully illustrated versions of Shakespeare's sonnets are eloquent treasures of the English language that a child will be sure to enjoy for many years.

By regularly reading classical literature to a child, using selections beyond his own reading ability, a parent will stimulate his enjoyment, imagination, and understanding of the vast and beautiful language of his culture, both written and spoken.

When choosing what to read to a child, it's a good idea to use guidelines such as reading several works by an individual author, several selections of a certain type of genre (fiction, poetry, short stories), classics written in a specific period of history, or literature from a specific part of the world.

Hearing such sophisticated selections will enhance a child's independent reading while developing his language. Parents will discover that teaching a child to read and reading to a child is the most dynamic language program possible.

Resource copied from Glenn Doman Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.

By www.ritebrainstudio.com

Who has problems, readers or non-readers?

2006-03-14T21:37:00.000+08:00

- by Glenn Doman

There was a strong temptation to call this column "Something Awful Is Going to Happen" since it will begin the discussion of the dire predictions concerning what will happen to youngsters who read too soon. This column will deal with the myths about babies and learning.
Glenn Doman

Myth #1: Children who read too soon will have learning problems.

The fact: We know personally thousands of children whose parents taught them to read at one, two and three years of age. We know thousands more whose parents have written to tell us of their tiny children and their success with reading.

We have yet to know or hear about a single child who has a problem as a result of knowing how to read, at least not about reading. Being able to read with great enjoyment at three won't keep a tiny kid from tripping and cutting his lip but it will prevent him from not being able to read when he's six.

It's hard to understand why there is so much surprise over the fact that such a high percentage of children have a reading problem in school. It is not surprising at all. What is surprising is that anyone learns to read, starting at six, as most do when the capacity to learn easily and naturally is just about over.

Myth #2: The child who reads too early will have a reading problem.

The fact: I suppose it's possible but if it is I ought to have at least a couple of hundred letters from mothers telling me about it. I haven't. I do have about a dozen telling me about some problems they're having in teaching their babies to read. It turns out that almost every one was going far too slowly and driving the baby right up the wall with sheer boredom. Babies are linguistic geniuses and they learn like a house afire. The cardinal sin is boring a baby. Go like the wind and joyously. You'll win.

I have tens of thousands of letters from all over the world telling me how easy it is to teach their babies to read and about the great joy and pleasure they had (and the baby had) in learning.
Children who can read don't have reading problems. Those who can't read have reading problems.

What's more, kids who enter school reading at six years of age don't only start ahead, they stay ahead.

I can go into any classroom in America, at any grade level and say, "Teacher, put the five most effective kids in the room over in that corner."

Teacher says, "Lidwina, Bruce, Suzy, Frank and Ann, go stand in that corner."Now I say, "Teacher put the five least effective kids over in the opposite corner."Teacher says, "Sydney, Dolores, Roger, Margery, and Burt, go stand in that corner."

Now I point to the five most effective kids and say, "They're the best readers in the room," and pointing to the five least effective kids I say, "They're the worst readers in the class."
That will be true in the overwhelming majority of cases.

It is not readers who have problems in school (or in life), it is non-readers.
Now let's look at the next couple of myths foisted upon parents by the authorities who are positive they'll all grow up to be dunces if mothers teach them anything as babies.
That one would be funny if it weren't tragic. (Children learn more fact for fact by three years of age then they learn in the rest of their lives.)

Myth #3: Children who read too early will become nasty little geniuses.

The fact: Come, come, mythmakers, let's get together. Are the early readers going to be dunces or geniuses? It's surprising really how many people woefully predict Myth #1 and also Myth #3. The fact is that neither is true. We know thousands of early readers and where we have seen early readers we have seen happy, well-adjusted kids who had more to enjoy than other children. We do not hold that early reading will solve all the problems that might beset a child and we suppose that if you looked far enough you might find a child who was an early reader and who for other reasons also happened to be a nasty kid.

In our experience you would have to look a great deal farther for such a child among early readers than you would among those who learned to read in school. The child who is taught to read in school has a thirty percent chance of not learning to read at all. We are quite confident you would find a great many unhappy, badly adjusted children among the late readers and the non-readers. They are all too common.

Myth #4: The child who learns to read too early will miss phonetics.

The fact: He may miss phonetics but if he does he won't miss it.
Phonetic is defined as: "Of or pertaining to speech sounds, their production, or transcription into written symbols."

Dr. O.K. Moore, a true pioneer in teaching three-year-olds to read, refused to be drawn into the silly struggle between the "phonetics" school and the "look-say" school of teaching reading, which he terms a sterile fight.

You might well ask yourself, "Did I teach my baby to hear language by the phonetics method or did I simply talk to him?" You might also ask, "How well did he do?" If he learned to hear and speak language fairly well, maybe the system you used was a pretty good system.The idea that learning to understand spoken language through the ear is a brain function (which, of course, it is), but that learning to read language through the eye is a school subject, is sheer nonsense. Both are brain functions.

All well tiny kids learn to hear and speak their native tongue by hearing it spoken as babies and as a result go to school understanding speech.

Tiny kids who are not shown written language as babies do not learn to see language until they go to school and as a result learn to read slowly (or not at all).

Tiny kids who are shown written language go to school reading, and reading very well indeed. They do not learn to read phonetically any more than they learn to hear phonetically but they are first-rate phoneticians. All kids are linguistic geniuses.

Yes it's true, your child will miss phonetics if you teach him to read when he's tiny - and won't that be nice?

Myth #5: The child who learns to read too early will be bored in first grade.

The fact: Yes, there is no question that he'll be bored in school. Just like almost every other kid in the first grade.

Did the reader ever live through days half as long as those he spent in first grade? Ask any first grader how long a school day is compared with Saturday and Sunday. Does his answer mean that he doesn't want to learn? Not at all. Five-year-olds carry on highly sophisticated conversations and the story is told about two kindergarteners at recess who were deciding that the 707 which had just flown overhead could not have been supersonic when the bell rang. "Let's get back and string those damned beads," said Michael to Josh.

When a bright seven-year-old has to read "See the bright new automobile", can we blame him for being bored? He can not only see it. He can tell you the name, manufacturer, year, body type and maybe the horsepower. If there is anything else you want to know about the bright new automobile just ask him. Unless you're up on cars, just ask him - he probably knows more about it than you do.

Kids will go right on being bored in school until we give them material worthy of their interest.
To assume that the child who knows the most will be the most bored is to assume that the child who knows the least will be the most interested and therefore the least bored.

If school is interesting, only the ones who are not able to understand will be bored.
Do you remember grammar school? If so you probably remember precisely what I remember.
I went to school expecting to have a great time there.

When I arrived, some old hag who it seemed to me was a hundred years old and who knew that I didn't want to learn and would have to be beaten into learning anything said to me, "You Buster, sit down there, look at me, shut up and think what I'm thinking."

To my astonishment she was able to make me sit where she wanted me to sit, look where she wanted me to look, and shut up. Fortunately, for my sanity and for my learning she was not able to make me think what she was thinking.

For the next thousand or 50 years, while she droned on endlessly I heard almost nothing that she said. While she and the others who followed her went on and on, I climbed Mt. Everest long before that guy from New Zealand and explored the oceans deeper than Cousteau had been.
I found school to be endless years of boredom, interrupted by seconds of sheer terror. Here I'd be in the middle of the Sahara Desert, just me, my trusty rifle and my camel, looking at the Sphinx. While I stood staring at the Sphinx in astonishment and pleasure I would slowly become aware that someone was saying "Glenn." It wasn't the Sphinx talking, it wasn't the camel and it wasn't me. My delight in having found the Sphinx turned to sheer terror.

It wasn't that I didn't know the answer the teacher had asked of me, it was that I didn't know the question.

Sound familiar?

Mark Twain said that he had never allowed his schooling to interfere with his learning.
I tried not to either.

Didn't you?

Will your tiny kid be bored in school if he learns to read before he goes? He will if he has any sense. The question is who is best able to protect himself from the problems presented by boredom? The brightest kid or the dullest?

by Glenn Doman,

Founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential

Getting back to our essence

2006-03-08T23:04:00.000+08:00

Fan believes that the most worthwhile aspect Shichida Makato's ideas is that "they remind us how to develop our inherent capacities and our essential being." Based on her years of observation and research into children's minds, Fan states, "A child's internal world is a pure and beautiful place. Children are naturally full of creativity." Parents shouldn't ignore children's core being by sending them off to attend extra-curricular classes so they can "learn something." What they should do is enter into their children's internal world, guiding and appreciating the imagination and creativity that children are born with.

Fan says that this idea of developing the capacities of the deeper self is also valuable in the context of growth and learning in adults. "Through the meditation aspect of imaging training, we take some time to listen to our inner voices. Carrying out the deep breathing exercises, we see the truth, virtue and beauty of our primal selves." Fan says that in the deep places of the human mind we hold the capacity to heal ourselves, mentally and physically. The problem is that we are accustomed to looking outside ourselves for help. For this reason, methods of getting back to our essential selves like those proposed by Shichida Makato should be promoted.

The trend today seems to be towards a kind of growth and healing which involves all three aspects of our selves-mind, body and spirit. In this context, right-brain education offers us a theoretical and methodological structure. The next step is for more research to allow humanity in the 21st century to develop broader scope as individuals and a more integrated self.

http://www.sinorama.com.tw/en/1999/199903/803044ed.html

Pushing too hard

2006-03-08T23:03:00.000+08:00

On the other hand, child psychologist You Chien-kuei emphasizes that time hones people into adults. Not letting knowledge "settle" and not leaving time for rumination is dangerous. You takes the study of math as an example. She says that if a child learns to do arithmetic with three- and four-digit numbers too quickly and easily such that the underlying principles are never really absorbed, it can be an obstacle to later studies of mathematics. She feels that this issue must be taken into consideration.

Psychological therapy fully affirms Shichida Makato's "imaging training" concept. You Chien-kuei says that the period before children reach the age of 12 could be called the "cartoon stage." Thinking is done entirely in pictures and images because the structures which recognize patterns haven't yet developed. An image-based educational method-i.e. utilizing comics, stories and games-is bound to be more effective at getting and holding the interest of children of this age than one based on the written word.

Diane Fan, an assistant professor in the department of early childhood education at National Pingtung Teachers College, fully affirms the value of "imaging training," but says that for some of the games employed in the training it would be best if the teacher had some background in psychology. With such a background, the teacher would be able to better understand the children's response and stop inappropriate fantasies and images from developing too far.

http://www.sinorama.com.tw/en/1999/199903/803044ec.html

Do all roads lead to Rome?

2006-03-08T22:59:00.000+08:00

Chen Lung-an looks at the question from the perspective of creativity training. He supports the idea of developing both the left and right brains, but he doesn't agree with the idea that traditional education only trains the left brain. In Chen's opinion the traditional, lecture-based education can produce creative students. To him, the key lies in the attitudes and ideas of parents and teachers.

Based on his more than 20 years of research into creativity, Chen says that great natural creativity is the gift of a few, but creativity can be taught. The basic principle is teaching not just in the classroom, but from life, by opening children's eyes to the world and providing them with many stimuli. For example, when redoing the ceiling in the family apartment, parents can include children in the process of choosing a color and matching patterns. Or when eating out, parents can ask their children why a given dish has a given flavor and how it's made. They can point out that a dish does not have scallions and ask what has been used as a substitute.

Chen suggests that parents should let their kids enjoy themselves. Fostering curiosity, encouraging questions and providing challenges develop a child's creativity. In addition to encouraging kids to ask, think and do, parents need to be tolerant and appreciative to avoid killing a child's creative sense. The willingness of parents and teachers to do these things is the key. Simply put, kids need a "loving education."

Chen says that Shichida's imaging training and memory games are simply getting at the same thing from a different direction, and do help foster creativity. However, he warns parents that there is no shortcut to creativity; you accumulate it as you travel life's road.

http://www.sinorama.com.tw/en/1999/199903/803044eb.html

Scientific research into mental activities

2006-03-08T22:57:00.000+08:00

Can the scientific method be applied to supernormal abilities? Lee Si-chen, a professor of electrical engineering at National Taiwan University who has been researching qigong and various of the body's more unusual capabilities, thinks so. He points out that mental activities became a new field for brain research in the 1980s. It had been thought that it was impossible to understand the mind from the perspective of neurophysiology. Now, however, the higher mental processes are thought to be the result of increased neurological complexity, and are being researched as the product of a system. He says that Sperry's research, with its discovery that certain brain capabilites resulted from cooperation between the two hemispheres, was critical to this new view.

Lee explains that the chips in a computer are like the neurons in a brain, and states that intelligence is a new characteristic arising from the linking together of these neurons in complex ways. It is a high-level operation of the brain. "Everyone who studies electronics knows that electrical transistors by themselves can only amplify a signal. But if you link a few together in a particular structure, they can store data. This new capability is the result of creating a complex system, and you must come up with a new theory to explain it. You can't explain it using quantum mechanics as you would a single crystal. Instead, you have to analyze it using electrical circuit theory." He therefore feels that Shichida Makato's explanation of creativity as a transformation of brain-waves (a low-level operation) is inadequate pending further research.

"More than 10 years of scientific experimentation has verified the existence of paranormal abilities such as 'reading' with the fingers and telekinesis." Lee says that numerous scientists are looking into such questions as why people see images in their minds when exercising these capabilities and from which part of the brain they originate. He says that Shichida's placement of the "third eye" in the pineal gland of the diencephalon may be accurate, but it needs to be verified through experimentation.

The controversy over Shichida's methodology raises yet another question, namely, how are parents and teachers to evaluate the never-ending stream of new educational methods being proposed?

Spiritual education

2006-03-08T22:56:00.000+08:00

In addition to addressing the theory and practice of right-brain development and human learning potential, Shichida stresses balance and complementarity between the two sides of the brain. To him, right-brain education is ultimately spiritual education. "The overt consciousness is competitive, jealous and in opposition. But the deeper levels of consciousness are more compassionate, peaceful and loving."

Shichida feels that the universal mind, which created the universe in love and benevolence, exists within our human bodies. Therefore, when the human mind and the universal mind unite, we put ourselves in tune with these emotions.

The Shichida Schools in Japan stress Shichida's compassion, and encourage mothers to attend their children's classes. Shichida believes that right-brain education is only effective if children live in a loving environment. Therefore, if a child's relationship with his parents is poor, the teacher will give the mother guidance in building a closer relationship with the child.

Because the application of right-brain theory is still in its infancy, many still have doubts about the efficacy of right-brain teaching methods. Even in Japan, where there are more than 300 Shichida Schools dedicated to the use of Shichida Makato's right-brain techniques, the methodology has not been accepted into the mainstream educational system.

"You expect opposition," says Casper Shih, who has great confidence in the right brain's potential. He says that those who are opposed tend to reject the idea because of the lack of scientific verification. But he asks how you can replicate "supernormal abilities" and creativity in an experiment. Shih says, "There is still much that humans do not know about the brain. What we know most about now is its physical structure, but there is still a great deal we don't know about its software. Shichida Makato's theory of the brain's operating mechanisms is based on observation of brain phenomena." Shih feels that while Shichida's theory doesn't explain everything, it is most certainly a valid direction.

http://www.sinorama.com.tw/en/1999/199903/803044e9.html

Just the facts, please

2006-03-08T22:53:00.000+08:00

Another interesting feature of Shichida Makato's classes is that they do not attempt to present principles underlying knowledge. Instead, they provide students with large volumes of raw data. The rationale is that when data is presented quickly, the left brain cannot keep up in its efforts to order data and turn it into language. Instead, it gives up and takes a break, allowing the right brain a chance to handle it. "After the right brain has taken in the data, the brain can search for patterns and systems on its own."

At an experimental class in Mucha, an English teacher flips through dozens of picture cards in one to two minutes. The children keep their gaze fixed on the cards as the teacher reads through them. According to Shichida, flipping through the cards in this way activates capacities inherent in the children's right brains. Once the right brain is activated, a student should be able to memorize large amounts of information quickly and easily.

A third method for activating the right brain involves other kinds of memory training. Shichida's curricula include games to teach "direct visual imaging," speed-reading and the making of mnemonic associations.

In class, the teacher places 10 different pictographic cards against the whiteboard. He or she then connects the cards to each other with a story, creating a picture in the mind which facilitates memorization. Shichida says that with practice, "Kids no longer need the verbal connections. They can easily remember 40 to 50 cards. For many kids even 100 cards aren't a problem."

http://www.sinorama.com.tw/en/1999/199903/803044e8.html

Imaging training

2006-03-08T22:39:00.000+08:00

(Coral Lee/photos by Hsueh Chi-kuang/tr. by Scott Williams)

"When you wake up in the morning, look at the rising sun for five or six seconds. If you do so every day, you will not only be healthier, but also strengthen your natural ESP." Shichida Makato believes that this practice helps activate the pineal gland. The picture shows Shichida demonstrating the proper method for viewing the sun. (photo by Lee Chih-kang, Learning and Development Magazine )On the subject of activating the diencephalon, Shichida recommends "imaging training," success at which connects the human mind with the universal mind. The principle underlying this training is hypnotic suggestion.

In class, the children seat themselves in a circle. With quiet music playing in the background, their teacher softly tells the children to close their eyes, breathe deeply, then enter their imaginary world. They may imagine they are shopping in a department store, or that they are butterflies sipping nectar from a field of flowering rape. A different method is to first show the students a round, colored card and then have them imagine the color of the card changing. "After much practice, you can watch images change by themselves." Based on his many years of experience, Shichida says that children playing these kinds of games can immediately enter an imaginary world, and describe what they see and feel there.

The Three-part Human Brain

2006-03-08T22:29:00.000+08:00

The base: The brain stem located at the top of the spine. It is some-times known as the "reptilian brain" for its similarity to the brains of reptiles. It controls many of the body's basic functions, including breathing.The middle: The "mammalian brain." This portion of the brain resembles that found in other mammals. It controls emotions and sexual responses, and plays an important role in memory.The top: The cerebral cortex. This portion of the brain plays a role in observation, language, reasoning, hearing and creativity.Source: Jane M. Healy, Your Child's Growing Mind

Super-calculator

Shichida Makato believes that true creativity comes in the form of an image from the future. He cites the sources of inspiration of several famous creators as examples: Mozart is reported to have said, "I myself know not whence my scores surge forth. If I am but left undisturbed, inspiration springs forth without cease." And Mishimo Yukio once said, "When I write a book, the characters appear in my mind. All I have to do is note what they say. There's no need at all to think up a plot."

In addition to the three functions mentioned above, Shichida Makato enumerates a fourth-rapid automatic calculation. There are a great many five- and six-year-old children all over the world who can correctly multiply and divide five- and six-digit numbers in seconds. Shichida believes that this is an application of the right brain's fast calculation and imaging mechanisms. He has verified his supposition using data from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) testing of brainwaves. This data shows that the right brains of highly skilled abacus users are active when carrying out arithmetic operations. This contrasts with the rest of us, for whom the left brain is more active when doing arithmetic.

The mystery of instinct

Interestingly, the right brain is believed to possess extraordinary powers which have their origins in instincts which pre-date education and civilization. As early as 1975, brain specialists had discovered that the cerebral cortex, unique to primates, was responsible for intellectual activities such as language and reasoning. The limbic system lies below the cortex and pre-dates it. Sometimes called the "mammalian brain," it is involved in the expression of emotions. On the lowest level lies the brain stem, sometimes called the reptilian brain. It controls basic bodily functions such as breathing and heartbeat.

"Our use of language, invention of tools and development of reasoning capabilities have pushed the development of the brain and made us 'smarter.' But at the same time we have lost our ability to feel an earthquake coming, and our ability to recognize from the larger environment when fish and vegetables will be at their tastiest. . . ."

To create a balance between our human and animal minds, "We must bring the functions of the brain stem to life, especially those of its center-the diencephalon." Shichida Makato says that, strictly speaking, the development of the right brain is the development of the diencephalon of the brain's right hemisphere. In other words, it is the development of the deep, unconscious levels of the brain.

Four major functions of the right brain

2006-03-08T22:26:00.000+08:00

The Two Hemispheres of the Brain

Left-Brain Functionslanguagelogicnumberswords
Right-Brain Functionsmusicimagesimaginationpatterns
The two hemispheres of the brain are linked by the corpus collosum.

Source: Barbara Meister Vitale, Unicorns Are Real

To enliven your right brain and increase your creativity, most people working in this field recommend bringing your feelings and imagination into play when observing and contemplating the physical world. But Shichida Makato stresses that in addition to utilizing the right brain's image processing and imaginative capabilities, we must also develop its memory and wave-generating functions.

In his book, Shichida writes that the right brain has a "high-speed, high-capacity memory" mechanism. He explains that the left brain turns data from the external world into language. This requires "sequential processing," wherein data is processed one bit at a time. It is a time-consuming activity. The right brain, on the other hand, processes information very quickly as images or pictures.

The left and right brain also differ in the capacity of their memories, and the period of time for which information can be stored. According to Shichida Makato, the left brain is continuously dumping old information to make room for new, but right-brain memory is never deleted. He thus explains "photographic memory" as a right brain phenomenon.

A second function of the right brain is the combination of memory with imagination to produce "structures which transcend our personal experience and knowledge."

Chen Lung-an agrees that memory and creativity are intimately connected. In his view, creativity requires knowledge, experience and sufficient data. If you have a good memory, your mind will be able to provide you with an uninterrupted stream of data when you are trying to come up with something new.

According to Shichida, a third right-brain function is the production of waves which resonate with the universe.

He explains that brainwaves come in four varieties of respectively lower frequency-Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta waves. Beta waves are generated by the brains of adults when fully awake. Alpha waves are produced by the brains of young children. Theta waves are generated as we enter sleep and while we dream. Delta waves are produced in deep sleep.

"The universe broadcasts at 7.5 Hz, just at the border between Alpha and Theta waves. Through meditation people can maintain their brainwaves on the same frequency as the universe. In theory, they can thus make themselves receptive to the power of the universe." Shichida says that with repeated practice and training with images, one's perceptions may become sharper. One may develop stronger intuition and even more adavnced capabilities such as the ability to see through solid objects, telepathy, telekinesis and ESP. The brains of embryos and infants produce waves of around 7.5 Hz. Therefore, the younger a child, the stronger his ESP.

Ineffective thinking?

2006-03-08T22:22:00.000+08:00

Coral Lee/photos by Hsueh Chi-kuang/tr. by Scott Williams)

Almost 80% of the world's people have a more developed left brain. Why is this so? Professor Chen Lung-an, director of the Creative Thinking Educational Center at the Taipei Municipal Teachers' College, says that this is related to the superiority of the left brain in handling language and logical thinking. Chen cites the game of bridge as an example. He says that when you are about to play a card in bridge, your right brain goes running off in a thousand directions at once, thinking laterally. This sort of thinking is not appropriate to this situation, and the left brain takes over, assembling a logical train of thought. It sorts through the cards available, considers which has the greatest chance of winning the trick, what will happen if one's partner plays such and such a card, and what will happen if he does not, slowly tracing through the many possibilities to come up with a play. Similarly, in most of our thinking and learning in daily life, the left brain's speed and efficiency mean that the right brain often has no chance to do anything.

Other factors are also detrimental to right brain development. There are our years of utilitarian education, with its emphasis on mathematics, language, logic and analysis, and its tendency to ignore the arts, music and creativity. There are parental pressures to become doctors and lawyers and scientists rather than poets and artists. And there is the world itself, which requires us to do more left-brain thinking than right. Under these circumstances, our left brains become more and more developed while our right brains atrophy, metaphorically speaking, from under-use.

After Sperry discovered the right brain's capabilities, a number of Taiwanese in numerous different fields began to take note. For example, Chen Lung-an, whose academic research is in "creative thinking," has proposed a methodology for developing children's creativity. Chen stresses the utilization of imagination and lateral thinking, stating that this is a form of right-brain exercise. Meanwhile, some people in the commercial sphere advocate using breathing and meditation to change your moods or the direction of your thinking. Even cram schools have gotten into the act, taking advantage of the right brain's affinity for images by promoting the concept of "mind maps"-taking notes in a pictorial or diagrammatic format rather than the traditional line upon line of text.

The discovery of the right brain

2006-03-08T22:18:00.000+08:00

Coral Lee/photos by Hsueh Chi-kuang/tr. by Scott Williams)

The "mind-mapping" note-taking techniques which have been promoted by Taiwan's cram schools over the last couple of years exploit the mind's image-making function. The method involves placing the main idea in the center of your page and establishing a branch for each associated idea. Each idea is represented by one word, and whenever possible, a different image or color. (courtesy of Chung Chen-ya)The right-brain concept first began to attract widespread interest when Dr. Roger Sperry of the California Institute of Technology won a Nobel Prize for his work on the functions of the brain's hemispheres. Since then, the concept has been utilized in areas as diverse as education, business and medicine.

After years of research on "split-brain" epileptics (epileptics whose corpus collosum-a neural structure linking the two sides of the brain-has been cut to limit seizures to one side of their brain), Sperry discovered that the left brain is responsible for language, logical thinking and analysis. The right brain, on the other hand, seems to be involved with images, imagination and intuition.

The book The Right Brain was published at the same time. Translated into Japanese, it opened the eyes of pre-school educator Shichida Makato. He began investigating the application of right-brain functions to pre-school education, and developed a right-brain oriented teaching method.

Casper Shih, a former head of the China Productivity Center, was the first to invite Shichida to give lectures in Taiwan. Shih himself has applied the right-brain concept to the commercial sphere. In the ideas about "business culture" that Shih put forward a number of years ago, he suggested that people are changed by emotional stimuli, not rational argument. This is very much in keeping with the right-brain concept. And in his "right-brain leadership" concept, put forward two years ago, Shih takes his approach a step further, proposing EQ-based, creative management.

Waking the Right Brain

2006-03-08T22:15:00.000+08:00

Coral Lee/photos by Hsueh Chi-kuang/tr. by Scott Williams)
Right-brain education is catching on in Taiwan. The picture shows Su Lee-hui, a very experienced pre-school educator, playing a memory game, developed by Shichida Makato, with some children at a kindergarten."Mouri wears purple clothes and has blonde hair that shines like the sun. She has beautiful purple eyes, and her small body is only two centimeters tall. Mouri was born on July 15, the day my carefully tended morning glory first blossomed. . . ." This is nine-year-old Fumati Kasumi's story of her warm friendship with the morning glory fairy, a story which won Japan's Kikuchi Kan Prize for works of fiction by primary- and middle-school students.

Fumati Kasumi was a student in a Shichida School. This franchise of more than 300 schools is known throughout Japan for its unique method of "right-brain education." The method has fostered lively imaginations in many Japanese children. Shichida Makato, the franchise's founder, is the author of Super Brain Revolution, a Japanese best-seller. While the book has sold well here in Taiwan, it has also stirred up a great deal of controversy. Nonetheless, many attended the lectures presented by Shichida last October on his second visit to Taiwan, and a number of these attendees have since established experimental right-brain development classes.

What is "right-brain education"? Does it have anything to contribute to pre-school education in Taiwan? Should parents consider it for their children?

Su Lee-hui began teaching at a kindergarten in eastern Taipei at the start of last semester. On one Friday afternoon, the children sat in long rows, eight to a table, looking forward to a different kind of class. And Su, their teacher for this "different" class, delivered one, pulling out some pretty animal cards for a game. Everyone was given five different cards which were then laid out on the table in any order the children liked. After 10 seconds, the cards were turned over. A child would then try to recall the order in which the five animals had been arranged. The kids had a great time.

Last year, Su Lee-hui, a pre-school educator for more than 20 years now, retired from her position as director of a kindergarten. She then took a teacher training course on the "right-brain revolution" offered by the China Productivity Center last October. Su now teaches right-brain education as a volunteer at three different schools. "Kids love this class. They want to keep on playing even after it's over." Su says the memory game described above teaches children concentration and observation. After several months of experimentation, Su has come to the conclusion that such right-brain educational techniques are worthwhile

Why teach your baby to read?

2006-03-08T00:07:00.000+08:00

From time to time I have been asked why I thought it was a good thing for a mother to teach her baby to read. As the author of How To Teach Your Baby To Read, I suppose that is a fair question, so I should give it a fair answer.

I think that it is a wonderful thing for a mother (or father) to teach her baby to read for a number of reasons:

1. It is easier to teach a two-year-old to read at home than it is to teach a six-year-old at school. Much easier.

2. Since babies would rather learn than do anything else in the world, and would rather be with their parents than with anyone else in the world, there are few activities as joyous for mothers and babies as learning-to-read sessions.

3. Reading is the very basis of all learning and the acquisition of knowledge, and if mother teaches her baby to read at one, two, or three years of age he will not fail to learn to read in school at six, seven, or eight years of age. Literacy and success go hand-in-hand, and illiteracy and failure go hand-in-hand. This is true in nations, in states, in cities, and in neighborhoods, and is especially true in individuals.

4. It is a wondrous thing for a baby, or child, or an adult to be able to read.

5. Most importantly:We parents go through all the early years of baby's life, taking care of the running noses, the dirty diapers, the sheer horror of losing sight of the tiny child on the crowded beach for thirty seconds which seems like an hour, the frantic silent prayers on the way to the hospital at 2 a.m. with the five-year-old's temperature rising to a new world record, and all the other prices we pay so willingly for the joy and privilege of squeezing that beloved tiny body and beholding that beautiful little face.

Then when, as custom has had it, at six years of age, it becomes time to introduce him to all the golden and glorious things that have been written in his own language and in others, and thus to open the truly magic door to all knowledge and all that is beautiful in this world, we turn him over to a stranger called a teacher, and pray that the teacher will know what a truly brilliant and eager-to-know mind this most exceptional of all children has.

Having put up with all the loving problems, we are entitled to all the loving fun to be had in teaching our babies to read, and in so doing, to lift our babies on to our shoulders and say, "Behold, my child, the world in all its splendor. It is our gift to you."

The truth is that we expose children to reading too late. By six years of age the ability to take in raw facts, whether auditory (spoken) or visual (written), without the slightest effort is just about gone. If children did not hear words until they were six years old, we would have another staggering educational problem to match the present staggering reading problem and a flood of books with titles like Why Johnny Can't Talk.

It is easier to teach a five-year-old to read than it is to teach a six-year-old. It is easier at four than at five, easier at three than at four, easier at two than at three, easier at one than at two and easiest of all (for the baby) below one.

The superb truth is that babies take in raw facts such as written and spoken words at a rate that no adult could come close to matching.

Babies are linguistic geniuses and no adult who values his ego should get himself into a foreign language learning contest with any baby. To your eleven-day-old baby, English is a foreign language. By three he'll have completely functional use of English, which he'll speak with a perfect American accent. Don't you try to match that three years from now with a foreign language you heard for the first time eleven days ago.

In order for a baby to learn spoken words, there are three requirements from a neurophysiological standpoint. The words must be spoken loudly, clearly, and repeatedly in order for his immature auditory pathway to understand and remember. All mothers understand this instinctually and speak to their babies in loud, clear, repeated words. The result is that all well babies have a functional use of their mother tongue by three. Indeed, it is this very process of speaking to a baby in a loud, clear, repeated voice that physically grows his brain's auditory pathway.

Learning to understand spoken language through the ear is not a school subject, it is a brain function. So also is learning language through the eye a brain function rather than a school subject.

Why, then, do not all babies learn to read spontaneously as they learn to speak spontaneously?
The problem is that we have made the print too small.

In order for a baby to read words, there are three requirements. The print must be large, clear, and repeated. The baby's immature visual pathways are not able to deal with small print. Indeed, it is the very process of showing the baby large words which physically grow and mature his brain's visual pathway.

All that the mother of a two-year-old has to do to prove this to herself is to get a piece of white poster board, with a red marker print the word Mommy clearly in letters six inches high, and show it to her baby a half dozen times an hour apart, saying in a happy excited voice, "This says Mommy."

Don't test him; just tell him. Soon he'll tell you. Hundreds of thousands of mothers have taught their babies to read this way, which is a wonderful thing indeed.

by Glenn Doman,
Founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential

Working Mother

2006-03-08T00:02:00.000+08:00

I believe the only outright lie my mother ever told was when, having been retired at seventy-five from a large Philadelphia department store, she had found a new job at seventy-seven years of age in a small department store by telling them she was sixty-five.
One day in 1984, when Mother was eighty-six years old, I had stopped by the store to pick her up from work.

I had always thought of Mother as a rather tall woman, but as we walked to the car I noticed how I towered over her.
"Mother you must have shrunken a good deal in recent years. How tall were you at your tallest?"

"I was almost five foot tall," said my mother, looking up and smiling proudly.
I spent a long time thinking about why I had always thought of my tiny mother as being tall.
I guess it was because all of her life she had been a working mother, although she got her first outside job when the last of her kids was twenty.

My mother did it the way all of the other creatures of the earth do it. They spend every moment with their young until they are able to take care of themselves and then the parents do what they want to do. What my mother wanted to do after we were successfully raised was to get an outside job, which she held until it suited her to die at eighty-six.
From the time we were born until we went to school at six, Mother spent virtually every moment of her life with us. But if anyone had suggested to Mother that she wasn't a working mother, she would have laughed for fifteen minutes.

My mother, like all the other mothers in our middle-class, depression-wracked neighborhood, managed to cook (on an old wood stove), wash the dishes (with water heated on the wood stove), wash her family's clothing (without a washing machine), mend everything that needed mending (and everything needed mending in those almost no-money days without a sewing machine), tend the coal furnace, put out the ashes, be helpful to the neighbors, take loving care of Dad, and simultaneously teach her three kids to read and do a host of other wonderful things long before any of the three of us saw a teacher.

Am I leading you to imagine that she was a care-worn hag prematurely old? Disabuse yourself of the notion. My mother was a tiny, beautiful woman and what small lines there were in her face were from smiling. I guess Mother wasn't very smart about raising kids; she thought kids were the greatest invention since sky, rivers, forests, squirrels and singing house wrens. Dad wasn't any smarter in that regard.

My guess is that Mother and Dad averaged eighteen-hour working days and managed to give their kids tremendous love and respect for the joys of reading and acquiring knowledge before we ever saw a teacher. Both they and we were simple-minded enough to believe we were having the time of our lives.

Is it possible to work like the devil inside (or outside) the home and still find great pleasure in teaching your baby a host of splendid things during those all-important first six years of life? It is!

Working mothers can teach their tiny kids to read and do other splendid things, and thousands of them have and are doing so.

Come to think of it, I don't believe I ever met a mother who wasn't a working mother until I was grown up and met some rich people.

All of the mothers (and fathers) I knew then, and the vast majority of parents I know now, are working parents. My estimate would be that they average twelve hours a day of work.
The question is not do they work in the home or out of it.

The question is how many hours a parent works and how many hours does she get to play with her child. (Teaching babies is glorious play.)

Having decided that, the question becomes what do I do with those precious minutes or hours I get to spend with my baby?

What is vital is that those precious times be the most joyous and the most productive moments of all, designed to increase the mutual love and respect between parent and child.
How best to do that?

Despite the handful of professional lamenters who scream so loudly that they manage to sound like everybody (and who gave psychology and education a bad name by insisting that tiny kids are mindless little idiots who shouldn't be taught to wave bye-bye until they are old enough to be drafted), what tiny kids would rather do than anything else in the world is learn. They want to know about everything in the world and they want to learn about it right now.
By three years of age, when kids are very articulate, they drive most adults to distraction with endless questions. That insatiable curiosity doesn't begin at three, when he can voice it - it begins at birth, when he can't.

It never ceases to astonish me that virtually all mothers take one look into their baby's eyes and know it. It also astonished me that many "child experts" don't know it. I suspect that the ones who don't know it have never looked into a baby's eyes.

This is directed to the mothers who do know it. The question they want the answer to is how best to respond to and to encourage the unquenchable thirst to know they see in their child's eyes. It is as easy to teach a baby to talk as it is to say "Mommy". It is as easy to teach a baby to read as it is to show the baby the word "Mommy" (written large and clear).
If a mother has five minutes, four times a day, to teach her baby to read, she can do so.
If a mother has another five minutes, four times a day, she can teach her baby about nature.
If a mother has an hour a day (twelve five-minute sessions) she can teach her baby to read, to know and love nature, and to recognize the great music of the world.

If a mother has all day, every day, she can teach her baby all the wondrous and beautiful things this old world has to offer.

I know a mother who is a physician, a jet pilot, and an astronaut, who finds delight in and time to teach her tiny kid wonderful things. I know a beautiful and world-famous actress who taught her baby to read beautifully - and hundreds of less famous mothers who have done so.
It's not a question of time.

It's a question of priorities.

Every mother considers her time and chooses her own priorities.
by Glenn Doman,
Founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential

Fat Baby are smarter???

2006-03-07T23:02:00.000+08:00

Nutrition during pregnancy may affect IQ

Babies who are a little bigger at birth have a marked advantage in terms of intelligence later in childhood, a study suggests. This is probably because heavier babies have been better nourished in the womb at crucial stages of brain development.

Other studies have clearly shown that being underweight at birth seems to correspond with poorer mental development. Premature babies are at a much greater risk of being born underweight. However, the latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that the weight to intelligence link extends to normal-sized babies.

A team of researchers from the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies in New York looked at 3,484 babies born between 1959 and 1966. Brothers and sisters were tested so that the effects of birthweight alone could be separated from the effects of different diets or other factors.
Up to 10 points Their birthweights varied from 1.5kg (3lb 5oz) to just over 4kg (8lb 13oz) , and IQ was tested seven years later. In general, higher birthweights meant slightly more IQ - the average difference between babies of less than 2.5kg (5lb 8oz) and those of up to 4kg (8lb 13oz) was 10 IQ points.

The study authors wrote: "Although the reported effects of variation within normal birth weight on IQ are modest and of no clinical importance for individual children, they could be important at a population level. "In addition, these effects could shed light on links between foetal growth and brain development."

Other studies have revealed similar results - one in Denmark found that increasing birthweight kept on increasing IQ until the baby reached 4.2kg (9.24lbs).

Although not proven, it is suspected that the relationship between IQ and birthweight may be due the nutrition available to the foetus during early pregnancy, a time vital to neurodevelopment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1483134.stm

Down Syndrome Kids Save by Shichida Methods

2006-03-07T01:23:00.000+08:00

Our jaws dropped open as she spoke on how the programme has helped her son thus far; he is now learning secondary 2 English, Chinese and Maths, knows speed reading, has a wide range of general knowledge, doing high level of physical exercises, extremely healthy (only sick once so far) and is a very well behaved child
News Content:

http://darlingkara.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_darlingkara_archive.html

Shichida Blog

2006-03-07T01:21:00.000+08:00

All children are born with unlimited learning ability. The ability of your child's brain is directly related to age and the amount of stimulation your child receives. The brain starts developing while the child is still in the womb. It’s not until later stages that the brain starts to function well. At about the age of three to six, the dominant side of the brain begins to move from the right side to the left. This is why it’s so important to develop the right side of the brain at an early age.

News Content:
http://shichidamethod.blogspot.com/

0岁教育最重要的根

2006-03-07T01:19:00.000+08:00

人类才能的成长有“递减的法则”，而这也就是0岁教育最重要的根本理论。那么，这到底是怎么样的一个法则呢?亦即愈早开始教育孩子，他的才能愈能够得到大的延伸的法则：相反的，如果较晚才开始教育，那么，其才能延伸的可能性就几乎枯萎了。

A good Chinese online on Communities delicated to Shichida Methods in China.
http://blog.ssreader.com/user1/107/index.shtml

Video Blog - Glenn Doman

2006-03-07T01:16:00.000+08:00

This is a video Blog where IDO has been video taped when his dad is doing the GD dot card.

Can anyone tell me what is Ido's Nationality? I think he is French....

http://www.youtube.com/w/Ido-doing-his-daily-maths?v=CZZjBRd3EFA&search=ido%20family%20fun%20gradstein%20dots%20maths%20baby%20laugh%20doman%20learn

李月 - Chinese baby Blog

2006-03-07T01:14:00.000+08:00

格林•杜曼（GLENN DOMAN）博士，于1940年开始对人类潜能的研究，1955年成立人类潜能开发学会（The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential），60年代开始从事早期脑损伤儿童的治疗研究，所发明的DOMAN教学法早期主要用于脑损伤儿童的治疗，后来发现对健康儿童也有很好的促进效果。Doman在巴西、意大利、法国、西班牙等许多国家都已经开展工作多年，日本Sony公司和美国Doman研究所合作了几十年，他足迹遍及100多个国家，曾获巴西、英国、爱尔兰、阿根廷、秘鲁、日本等多国的赠勋。代表著作：How to teach your baby math, How to give your baby encyclopedic knowledge, How to teach your baby read, How to teach your baby to be physically superb.中文繁体版本香港有卖书名：《如何教宝宝数学》、《如何教宝宝百科知识》、《如何教宝宝阅读》、《如何使宝宝身体强健》、《如何让你的宝宝更聪明》等。

A mother from China has decided to record down her research on early child care.

read on ... http://blog.56.com/entry/22/22186.html?sid=c56f5

Education System in America

2006-03-07T01:12:00.000+08:00

Nothing on Shichida or Glenn Doman .I actually stumble on this by chance. I find it an interesting read as it openned up another view on America education. For those who are thinking of migrating your young family. You may want to check this out.

Read on ....http://www.untergeek.com/

Home School - The GD Way

2006-03-07T01:10:00.000+08:00

Home schooling has been a education trend in US.(not main stream yet) I think is a great way to filter distraction and keep your child away from the nasty stuff from the media and school. The only bad thing I can think of is your child need to interact with friends and pick up social skill. I am not sure if our Singapore governement will be openned to home schooling and not sure if singapore parent has the courage to pluck their child from main stream education.

read on ....http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MommyByGrace/

Anything to reach Ryan

2006-03-07T01:07:00.000+08:00

To scientists, it's quackery. But to a Clearwater family with an autistic child, a controversial treatment plan is their best shot at a normal life

http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general669.html

Boost Your Child Intelligent with Baby Sign

2006-03-07T01:04:00.000+08:00

All parents with a newborn should demonstrate to their baby simple sign language at the same time while talking to them. Two or three commonly used concepts like "drink", "eat" and "more" are easy to teach and do.

Why is sign language important? It is the easiest way for an infant and a parent to communicate with other aside from crying. It is ease to demonstrate. Babies can understand sign language in several weeks. Babies who understand sign language are happier babies and less frustrated. They are advanced too in acquiring spoken words.

continue ....http://www.brainy-child.com/article/babysign.html

Can Music Make Your Child Smarter?

2006-03-07T01:03:00.000+08:00

When you were a child, did your mother make you taking music lessons that you always hated and was finding all ways to avoid it? Without knowingly, your mother's insistence that you practice your musical instrument an hour a day actually made you smarter! Recent studies had shown that your mother was probably right to make you stick to your piano or violin. Here are some proves:

continue .....http://www.brainy-child.com/article/smartmusic.html

Stimulating Your Child's Creativity

2006-03-07T01:01:00.000+08:00

According to the experts, it is possible to encourage or inhibit the development and expression of creativity in young children. Most theories of child development view young children as highly creative, with a natural tendency to fantasize, experiment, and explore their physical and conceptual environment. However this high level of creativity is not necessarily maintained throughout childhood and into adulthood. The level of creativity declines when they start the kindergarten and peaks again when they reach puberty.

continue .....http://www.brainy-child.com/article/child-creativity.html

How to Give Your Child Encyclopedic Knowledge

2006-03-07T00:56:00.000+08:00

When you talk about multiply your child's intelligence, you can't help but to mention about Dr. Glenn Doman. He is the founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential and began pioneering the field of child brain development since 1940. He and the institute are famous for their pioneering work with brain-injured children and their work in early development for well children. Glenn has authored many books and materials that teach parents how to teach their babies at home such as 'How to teach your baby to read', 'How to teach your baby math', 'How to teach your baby to be physically superb'. Of course, his best selling book "How to give your baby encyclopedic knowledge" that I had used to train my children. Guess what? It really works.

continue ..... http://www.brainy-child.com/article/encyclopedic.html

Stimulating A Baby's Brain

2006-03-07T00:54:00.000+08:00

Twenty nine years ago, when my wife was pregnant, I read from a Psychology journal about the possibility that a fetus can hear. This idea was new then. But during that time, there was already an obstetrician from California who was teaching his patients "How to talk to their unborn baby."

When my wife was about eight months pregnant, I started talking to our unborn baby. I told him that he will be a boy and his name will be Len Al. I put my lips on my wife's belly and called his name. I talked to him both in the Filipino language and English. I did the "fetal talking" every day until my wife was about to deliver.We were so sure that he would be a boy (during that time there were no sonograms to determine the sex), that we decorated his bedroom in blue and we bought baby clothes for a boy.On the freezing day of 28 January 1973, my son was born in Bangor, Maine. I talked to him at once and called his name.

Every time I noticed that he was wide awake and alert, I talked to him. "How are you, kumusta ka?" Frequently my wife and I talked to him bilingually in Tagalog and English during his first twelve months. We also read to him frequently. Sometimes I read him some of my medical books. When we were teaching him parts of his body, I even used some medical terms when pointing to his anatomy. One of the first anatomical words he uttered was "patella" when he was a toddler. The first two words that he was able to read at two years old were "Subaru" and "Toyota."

Continue ......http://www.brainy-child.com/article/stmlbrain.html

Brain Development Centers

2006-03-07T00:49:00.000+08:00

Brain GymBrain Gym grew out of clinical studies started in 1969 by Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D., an educational therapist from USA, who was looking for ways to help children and adults who had been identified as learning-disabled.Dr. Dennison's research led him to the study of Kinesiology, the science of body movement and the relationship of muscles and posture to brain function. At the time, it was already well established that moving in certain ways is necessary for brain development. Babies and young children naturally perform what are known as developmental movements. Dr. Dennison discovered how to adapt these movements so we can use them to stimulate our brains, even at age eighty. The result is a simple and highly effective system of targeted activities that prepare your brain and entire nervous system for optimal performance in all areas, intellectual, creative, athletic, and interpersonal.

http://www.brainy-child.com/article/braindevcenter.html

Makato Shichida Blog

2006-03-07T00:04:00.000+08:00

Blog from Dr Shichida himself.... but is in Japanese!!!

http://www.shichida.jp/makotoblog/

MY WORLD (as it should be)

2006-03-06T23:58:00.000+08:00

I have just registered my son for the Shichida Method of Learning and the cost is HUGE...yep...altogether is amounting RM 2,295..In fact, for 3 consecutive months, I've been putting aside my money to enrol him in this learning center.

Description is as follows: (deposit- 500, parents Edu Course - RM495 [yep!it's not just the little kiddo who's learning, so does the parents], Registration fee - RM100, Term fee- RM1,200 ). It's hell a lot of money to be spend on my son's early education but I won't go complaining because I believe that it would definately benefit my son. Shichida learning is not like any other learning centers (such as smart readers etc) which teaches children to read. It's more of a method on how to develop both sides of the brain. For more info, just click this webpage www.shichidamethod.com The class will start this January 8th and me and my hubby just can't wait to see his reaction to it. We brought firas together with us during the registration and he was so amused to see the place especially the swimming pool. The best part of this learning center is that either parents must be together inside the 75 mnts class. The reason behind it is that children will be more motivated and more encouraged to learn when the parents are around, which I found to be true.

At first, my hubby wasn't buying the idea of sending his only child (as for now) to this center b'coz of his young age but after THE BRAIN WASHING SESSION by ME (yes, who else would be doing the impromptu acts!), he decided to give it a try. The Shichida method of learning is developed by a Japanese Professor by the name of Makoto Shichida and it has gone through 40 years od research. We went to the parents preview on the 11th december 05 together with my sister and after hearing the presentation, we found out that the children uses more right brain (which control the sense of creativity, artistic etc)from the day they were born until they reach the age of 3-4.

continue ....

http://zila.textamerica.com/

Donald Chan Blog

2006-03-06T23:51:00.000+08:00

This is a photo blog; If you bother to scroll all the way to the lower part
of the blog, you will see how mommy is training the child using
shichida method.

http://donaldchan2.blogspot.com/

Shichida Method: Right Brain Method

2006-03-06T23:25:00.000+08:00

All Children are borned with unlimited learning ability. The ability's of your child brain is directly related to age and the amount of stimulation your child receives.

The brain starts developing while the child is still in the womb. It’s not until later stages that the brain starts to function well. At about the age of three to six, the dominant side of the brain begins to move from the right side to the left. This is why it’s so important to develop the right side of the brain at an early age.

There are two parts to a human brain: left side and right side. By developing the right brain, unlimited capabilities can be achieved. The right brain possesses the ability to retain complete image of things seen at a glance in the memory. It controls the abilities to visualise images and the realisation of those images physically. Most learning systems focus on developing left side of the brain, which deals with rationality and computations.

Dr. Makoto Shichida is the founder of more than 350 franchised schools known for their unique methods of "right brain education" in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. His research and experience since 1951 have confirmed that children are born with incredible abilities including speed-reading, photo-reading, computer-like calculation, high-speed memorisation, image visualisation, multiple language learning capabilities and perfect pitch.

According to Dr. Shichida, the right brain has a "high-speed, high-capacity memory" mechanism. He explains that the left brain turns data from the external world into language. As data is processed one bit at a time, it is a time consuming activity. The right brain processes information very quickly as images or pictures. The left and right brain also differ in the capacity of their memories and the period of time for which information can be stored. The left brain is continuously dumping old information to accommodate new, but the right brain memory is never deleted. He thus explains "photographic memory" as a right brain phenomenon. The right brain method does not attempt to present principles underlying knowledge. Dr. Shichida advocates whole-brain learning with balance between the two sides of the brain

The right brain method is not comprised of text reading. It is carried out by the input of massive information at high speed. It does not require memorisation or comprehension. Input is mechanical (showing flash cards at a high rate of speed, listening to language and music tapes). The subject is automatically memorised.

Dr. Shichida is convinced that all babies are born geniuses. The right brain education is based on the "heart" education that is only effective if children live in a loving environment. Children grow up to become loving, gentle and kind.
I welcome comments on the effetiveness of Shichida method from parents whose children have attended or are attending Shichida education.
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http://www.writingup.com/rena/shichida_method_right_brain_method

Every Little Bits & Pieces

2006-03-06T23:21:00.000+08:00

A good education is like a savings account; the more you put into it, the richer you are.” As parents, most of us want the best for our child/children… When I was in pregnancy, I read and attended talks on bringing up a child. One particular interesting one was The Shichida Method by Dr. Makoto Shichida (here’s some search results from Google and another site called Brain Based ). Dr. Makoto Shichida focusses on right brain education and stresses about growing the interest in learning for a baby, which is the most important aspect of a child’s developmental growth. I didn’t sign up the classes for Shannon Joy as Jim found it too pricey to invest for an education.

Another prominent figure in children education is Glenn Doman, I am currently using his flashcard training with Shannon Joy since she was about 11 months. I do not expect her to become a genius, just hope that this will help her form a good habit for learning and once the interest in learning is ingrained and becomes a habit, I hope that we need not engage a tutor when she’s schooling.

Actually, one of Shannon Joy’s favourite activities happens to be the flashcards. Every time when I pull out the flashcards, I see that she knows its study time and sometimes focuses intensely and giggles when I flash her the card.
Cat:
Motherhood Time: 2:42 pm

http://www.evelynpoh.com/?p=32

Teaching the baby reading, Math and to be physically superb

2006-03-06T23:16:00.000+08:00

October 05, 2004

Teaching the baby reading, math and to be physically superb

» motherhood
My friend Annie has been raving about some flash card programme she is doing with her daughter Bernice and urges me to try it too. She started flashing card to Bernice (just turned 1 yr old last month) about 3 months ago. According to her, the results are brilliant.

Bernice is able to understand quite a couple of instructions. She encourages me to give it a try again. This time, I caught the name of the programme, the famous Glenn Doman method.I wasn't interested with flashing cards to the kid, but Annie's excitement and "endorsement" of it is making me curious. Time to do some research, it might be something worthwhile afterall. They call it The Gentle Revolution, which "proposes that tiny children have within them the capacity to learn virtually anything while they are tiny".

I did a searched with the National Library on its books, they are HOT! I was number 28 on the reserve list for "How to Teach Your Baby To Read"! Of course I canceled the reservation, it might take me 2 years before I could lay my hands on it. Luckily there are translated Chinese copies available, and I am only 2nd on the list. And I managed to get hold of an old tattered 1994 edition "How to Teach Your Baby Math". I think parents are really very concerned about giving their kids a very very good head start nowadays.

I tried searching for this GD method on the web too, and discovered that this teaching method is not well researched upon. Though young kids has amazing learning potentials, I would like to know whether this basically "memorising" technique of learning words would have any adverse effect when the baby grow up. Will they be so accustomed with memorising that they are at a disadvantage at critical or analytical thinking skills? And I really want to know if children enjoy learning using this method.

Flashcards seems boring to me.Perhaps the more fundamental questions are: is there a need to get the kid ahead of everyone else? Are we being too obsessed about maximising the kid's intelligence at the shortest time. Are we falling into the parenting trap of raising an intelligent child to boast our own ego?Anyway, I will do some research on this.
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http://huileng.seng.sg/

Letters to Ethan

2006-03-06T23:12:00.000+08:00

[Updates] My thoughts on GD course
Today is the last 2nd day of "How To Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence?" course, and I must say it has been a great revelation. Not that we have done "damage", but just sad that how much more we could and should have done... Now daddy understands you wanting to watch television, as you must be crying loudly your need to quench for your thirst to learn more. Looking back at the things that we have done for you like "Baby can read" series, we apologise for subjecting you the repetitive programming of information.
Well, things are going to change a bit, here is daddy and mummy's committment to start the program with you consistently, first starting with Physical. The last 2 evenings, we have been spending some time at the playground to get you to run around and hang on chin-up bars. You were so proud hanging on the chin-up bar for maybe 10+ secs as we clapped and cheered you along. After letting go, you even gave a proud look while walking away. Our goal will be to get to move more and learn how to brachiate after.On that note, we'll also try to update your progress more often on this blog so we can track and see each developmental stage. P.S.Here's to our friends.After I have been to the course, Wendy and myself have realised that the things we did previously with Ethan may have not been the best thing we thought it was for him. If anyone wishes to try them, please do them with a pinch of salt. I would however highly recommend to read Glenn Doman's books to better understand how to more effectively give your child a good base for the thirst for learning, may it be reading, doing math or any physical activities. A better step is to attend their course. You won't be disappointed.

http://vault.rock.per.sg/00000194.htm

Darling, my pure sweet melody

2006-03-06T23:05:00.000+08:00

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Inspired
We left Kara with nanny at home to attend a first ever SG(Shichida, Glenn Doman)Parents get together session to gain some knowledge and ideas on their home teaching methods from other parents. It was definitely an eye opener as one of the parents shared on her experience in teaching her 4 years old down syndrome son and 2 years old daughter. She had registered her son with IAHP (Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential) on the very onset when he was born, and was put on a very intensive daily training up till today. Our jaws dropped open as she spoke on how the programme has helped her son thus far; he is now learning secondary 2 English, Chinese and Maths, knows speed reading, has a wide range of general knowledge, doing high level of physical exercises, extremely healthy (only sick once so far) and is a very well behaved child (as his mummy put it, he can sit at a restaurant without moving about for 3 hours). To sum it all up, he is way more advance than any well child in terms of intelligence and physical development.

Mummy has read in the books and internet that every child (even brain injured child) is a genius if we develop them, but to personally hear it from the horse’s mouth here in Singapore is mind blowing. We were all totally awed by the dedication of this mummy; it’s really a lot of effort and time involving the whole entire day (no rest day) when she read out the very intense programme for her son. We left the session early but definitely came out of it motivated to give our best for our children. Kara, we endeavour to develop you to your fullest potential in every way we can.
posted by cheeky chick @ 11:19 AM 0 chirp chirp

http://darlingkara.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_darlingkara_archive.html