Abbott Nutrition Parenting Congress 2012

Raising a Little Thinker Parenting Congress 2012
4th August 2012 @ Grand Copthorne Hotel, Singapore

I have recently just attended a parenting congress on the topic of raising a little thinker. Though my daughter is only barely eight months old, I thought it would be good to listen to advice from experience people around.

As it is, nowadays, parents are more concerned, or rather, 'overly' concerned about how to teach their children to be intelligent in order to excel and have an edge over the others in school. Are we really going to direct our children into this path? I reckon not. As parents, we would rather have children that is intellectually intelligent to be able to survive in this society, not academic only.

So, how do we teach our children to be more intelligent? They need both the potential and the right environment in order to meet this goal.

To successfully acquire intelligence, first, children need to accept facts that are presented to them. They need to also be able to remember and store those facts, and retrieve them whenever requested to. Then we need to help them combine these facts, penetrate into their little minds and let them discover, means helping them to think. Lastly, use those learned facts on problem-solving. This few steps can be used on teaching a child to tie his own shoe laces.

However, when is the appropriate age to teach a child all these? The answer is as early as possible. The older a child gets, the harder it is to learn. The golden time is the first six years of a child's life. If you start since the baby's birth, it is even better. Why? Because, babies learn at a superb speed. Always remember, learning is inverse function of age, and parents are the best teachers to their babies. In fact, babies understand their parents more than the parents understand them. Imagine, babies know if they cry, parents would immediately pick them up and cuddle them. When they get bored of something, they would protest and the parents would stop that activity. So, how clever are babies!

Singaporean parents are often than not, very busy on their work and the daily chores at home to spend more time with their children. We need to learn to RELAX. Take deep breath and embrace the surroundings. More time spent with children means more bonding and learning. It is best to catch hold of the morning till before the afternoon nap time to bond with them, as they are the most energetic and most alert. Having said that, we also need to spend quality time too. Find out what the child likes and do more of it with them. I know, most parents would protest and say, "But we are just too busy to even sit down and play with our children. Chores are piling up if we do that." Yes, and how do these parents distract the attention of their kids? By giving them gadets like TV and iPads. Right? Feel guilty.

Advice from the speakers of the Congress recommend that parents should avoid letting children watch TV or iPad at least for the first three years. Children learns through visual and hearing senses. By speaking naturally to them, they listen and absorbs. Some even speaks beautifully when they know how to talk without attending Phoenic classes. In my humble opinion, it is not totally bad to allow children to watch education DVD on TV or on iPad, as long as we limit the amount of time. This is also to prevent putting plenty of strain on their eyes. Isn't it?

So, parents, think about how you would like your children to grow up. You are the key to raising a little thinker!

Signing off,
Fairy Angel Shop

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