hee.. mine going 10mths... so am interested to knw more as well...i think 2 mths plus stil so young..
dont waste money bahs.
wait til 1 yo or so then enrol in "enrichment" classes.
hahaha, good onehmmm sorry that i dont know, cos i never send pin to these classes, she gain enuf "brain development" in her daily life/activities.
which is why i was thinking to enrol my gal when she's bout a yr old... she's about 10mths now, so i tot to do some research first so that when she can join the class, i can already make an informed decision and not "the-blind-follow-the-blind" to join any class w/o knowing wat they are...i dont know bout LNT but my girl is attending shichida now. started her when she was about 1yr 4mths old iirc. i heard babies learn very fast when when reach 18mths plus minus so i enrol her.. i think its rather good. she always surprises me with her ability to learn there. eg the teacher ask her to touch the card which has more dots n she manage to always get it right though i sometimes get it wrong! lol. or when the teacher takes out 2 cups n hide something inside 1 of the cup n shuffle them up, she always manage to open the correct cup though i sometimes guess wrongly! :shyxxx:
BUT i do feel 2mths is still too young. i personally feel its better to bring babies only after they are somewhat independent eg can sit by themselves n can understand simple instructions. they need to sit when they learn in shichida(of cos they can sit on your lap too) n listen, follow etc. dont think a 2mths can learn anything there. 2mths has got more to learn before all these enrichment course imo...
my sentiments, exactly.I've read up on early childhood development, and have attended a module in it, and I can tell you that most of the times, these 'better baby' lessons are just very expensive ways to spend time with your children.
Research has always shown that you need both your left and right brain in most things that you do. Even if you are using logic (left-brain), you will still need the use of right brain to use logic properly. There is really no such thing as just using either the left or right parts of your brains only! Children who do well in school have parents who talk a lot and read a lot to them, because they have a greater vocabulary.
For young babies, you can help in their development by stimulating their senses and their awareness of their surroundings. Talk to them, read to them, let them touch different textures, have different experiences. See what they're interested in and introduce more of the same things to them. Most importantly, have fun with them!
Things you can consider splurging on: Phonics at 2 years or older, music lessons at 3 years or older, books, travelling when your kids are old enough to understand what's happening.
Toys dont't need to be expensive, instead the best toys are those that are free, like your pots and pans, tissue boxes etc. Toys that are open-ended in nature, like building blocks, are good for cultivating creativity cos kids can use them in whatever way they want.
I've been talking to my girl since birth, and reading to her from six months, and have never used flashcards, or brought her to left/right brain classes. I'm not trying to boast or say that my girl is smart but she has never ceased to amaze me with what she can do without enrichment lessons. She said her first word at 9 months, and now at 12 months, she understands when I want her to look for things, and picks up new words and will point to the things (but she can't say all the words though... )
She loves Dr Seuss' books, and will keep bringing me the books she wants me to read.
Uddermummy, what you said totally makes sense. I also don't support centres that claim to educate children when they are actually in for the money. Especially nowadays when there are many copycat centres which simply try to replicate what the original Shichida centres try to do.I agree with annie. Your babies, your time, your money, your decisions.
I'm not trying to attack anyone; everyone has the right to do what they think is the best for their babies. Sorry if I came across like I'm being defensive. It's just that I'm quite angry at all the enrichment programmes that are trying to milk the money of concerned parents like us.
If you have limited resources and time, then you'll probably want to want to do some reearch on your own first about the claims first before you commit to these programmes.
I'm just trying to share what I know about early childhood development, and the fact that a lot of these enrichment learning programmes claim to be backed up by research. The thing is a lot of the times, they misquote the research or put it in a very simple form. Most of the times, there is no research that really backs up their exact claims. Like hearing something frequently will help in the development of photographic memory.
And erm, I claim to be quite neutral and unbiased because I am not affilated to any of the programmes.