Just Perfect

Early childhood education is a subdivision of education theory that deals with teaching young children (up to the age of eight), both in a formal and informal manner. But if eight is the limit, is there such a thing as “too young” when it comes to childhood education?

Considering the fact that there is a division of early childhood development, called infant/toddler education, that focuses on the education of children in the age range of birth to two years old, the answer is no. You can never start teaching your children ‘too early.’

There are even countries that offer early childhood development courses for pre-schoolers based on the belief that it gives children some kind of advantage in terms of how they progress academically and how they develop as people.

According to Education Corner, some studies show that children enrolled in such courses during the early childhood stages are more disciplined, and have higher IQ scores upon enrolling in nursery school or crèche than their peers without formal education and they learn quicker than children not enrolled in similar programmes.

So, with all that in mind, when is the ideal time to start with education?

As early as you possibly can! The only difference is that infant/toddler education is more informal and focuses on helping the child develop a sense of self so that they can later learn how to function in relation to other people, as well as how comfortable they are with exploring their environment. They do this by learning through play and educational toys.

You’re probably wondering how on earth you can teach a baby of a few months anything meaningful, but, exercises such as letting them look at themselves in a mirror, speaking to them or singing to them a song can help.

You could also do things like joke around, make funny faces, build them a mini obstacle course in the house when they’re old enough to crawl or take them out (shopping, for a walk while wearing a front carrier) and so forth.

As your child gets older, you can then consider learning through play because as Melinda Winner explained in an article for Scientific American, “children learn more efficiently and gain more knowledge through activities such as dramatic play, art, and social games.”

The older they get, the more formal your approach can become in terms of how you teach them. And remember, when it comes to starting early childhood education, the earlier the better because it truly is the stepping stone to life-long success.

Main image credit: sheknows.com