Diamond Minds
The Early Years... By Barry Farber
E
very child is a diamond in the rough. What we do with them during the early years of childhood determines a great deal about their overall development. I remember interviewing several well-known brain surgeons who recommended reading to your child at two months of age. They told me the plasticity of a child’s brain is amazing and that they’re capable of learning 5 to 6 languages before the age of five years old. It made me think about what I was doing with my own three children in those early years and changed the way I look at how they learn. This month I sat down with Mindy Kirschner to learn more about what we can do to enhance our children’s learning and development. Mindy is a Speech Pathologist and Clinical Director of Speak Your Mind, LLC, Speech Pathology Services in Randolph, New Jersey. www.speakyourmindllc.com Barry Farber: What are some of the activities you can do to enrich the development of an infant or toddler during the preschool years? Mindy Kirschner: You can read to your child at infancy. At a few days old they hear their caregivers voice and learn to turn their heads towards the human voice. They don’t see particularly well but they hear. They start to orient towards familiar voices. Start narrating your actions; “I’m picking you up.” “I see you, I see your eyes, I see your nose, I see your hands.” When you’re feeding the baby, changing their diaper and all throughout caregiving you’re teaching them the labels of objects and how they function. You can imitate your babies movements. An infant at a few weeks old can start to stick their tongue out so you stick your tongue out. You pause, they stick their tongue out…you stick your tongue out. So they’re already engaging in turn taking in an activity. BF: What are some ways to build their vocabulary? MK: You can build their vocabulary by narrating your actions and narrating their actions and that is essentially through play. But it could also be done by taking them on an errand. Take them to the grocery store. These are the fruits, these are the vegetables and teach them categories. When they’re young you want to build their vocabulary and make sure they are developing the grammar (real term is syntax) of their language. Also ensuring their ability to produce sounds is age appropriate so others can understand them. By 3 years old an unfamiliar adult should understand 90% of what your child says without context. BF: What are some critical activities for early learning at age’s three to five years old?
MK: You can start to show them letters. “A” makes the “Ah” sound. “A” as in “Apple”. This is a word. It’s the word CAT. Show me cat… Barry Farber (point to CAT) here’s CAT. You show me CAT. So you start showing them words on a page and they will recognize it. They’ll understand the concept of a page, the front of the book, the back of the book. “Turn the page.” We want to develop their oral language which will help them with reading. They will recognize the words more readily because they know them. BF: How about the physical movement and handling of plastic letters? What actions can you take to utilize this? MK: Handling plastic letters engages all the senses. If you’re holding the letter in your hand that’s what we call a kinesthetic process. Depending on the individual, some of us are auditory learners, some of us are visual learners, some of us are kinesthetic learners. That is more helpful. If you can engage all the senses at the same time that is optimal. Holding those plastic letters we used to put on the fridge are the best things. Mom and dad can say; “I’m going to get the yogurt!” And spell yogurt on the fridge. Your turn. Can you spell yogurt? And have them imitate you. You want to build up their ability to imitate when they’re very young. BF: These activities take time and sometimes it’s tough to spend the quality time to do this. MK: Parents are so busy. Utilizing household routines is really key to fostering their language ability. So you can say to them; “Can you get out a bowl for mom? You know where the bowls are. Bowl starts with B. You get the bowl and I will get the spoon.” Engaging them in household routines first gets the job done, increases their vocabulary and engages them so they’re not off doing something mischievous like throwing the Cheerios all over the floor. In their room keep lots of different colored baskets around. “Let’s throw the teddy bears into the brown basket… let’s put the trucks into the red basket. You’re teaching them colors, sorting, categorization and they’re engaged in the process of cleaning up. BF: What’s the last and most important tip you can leave our readers with that would have a big impact on the early years of development? MK: Focus time with your child. Put your phone down. Engage with your child for 15 minutes a day where you are not on your phone. It could be a game you play with them or activity. One on one uninterrupted non-electronic time. You’re letting your child know that they are important.
Barry Farber is a best-selling author, an award winning radio and television host as well as an agent and marketing consultant for corporations, professional athletes, and entertainers. He’s also the creator and marketer of the FoldzFlat® Pens. His latest release is an inspirational children’s book “In search of the magic tree” available at www.barryfarber.com
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Vicinity Magazine
March 2022
