Hacker Mom: 12 Facts About Early Childhood Development

The mother of 3-year-old Olya and the author of the blog about early development and children's creativity Smileymommies Elena Kushnerova told how to develop children's motor skills and why the word "mustn't" should be avoided.

Fine motor skills

Develop fine motor skills so that in the future the child will not have problems with speech. The most favorite and effective activities: finger gymnastics, paper games, fingering beads, lacing toys, appliqués, modeling, puzzles, erasing painted objects with an eraser. There are also simpler ones available to all mothers and children: sorting cereals, fastening and unfastening buttons, zippers, buttons, hooks, dropping from a pipette into a narrow neck of a bottle.

The best developmental technique is the one that mom came up with

Mom, like no one else, feels and understands her baby. No Montessori, Doman, Waldorf can replace mom and her intuition. All methods are good in their own way, but none of them is 100% suitable for kids: one child is diligent, the other is not, one is choleric, the other is phlegmatic, one likes creativity, and the other likes sports.

Choose not a technique, but a combination of approaches and activities. We play according to the Montessori and Teplyakova systems, use Doman's cards, and adopt some of the principles of the Waldorf School.

Do what the child likes

When my daughter was born, after reading clever books, I thought that we would play for 10 minutes, practice for 15 minutes, then rest, etc. My plans collapsed, because Olya herself decided how much she wanted to play, practice and rest. I began to follow the child's intuition and preferences. If she didn't like a game, we returned to it after two weeks or a month.

Let your child be your helper

We cook and clean together. Olya can wipe the dust or the floor for company. Of course, for her this is just a game, but it is also beneficial.

Talk to your child

We always talk with feeling and emotion. It's easier to remember that the crane is big (as if pointing with a voice at its size) than to voice it as something ordinary. First of all, the daughter remembers the words that she learned in an emotional situation.

We do not use words like "kaka", "pusya". The child already knew at a year that it was dangerous to touch the trash can on the street - there are germs.

Don't interfere with your little one exploring the world

When Olya began to crawl, the whole apartment was given to her. We removed dangerous items, she opened the lockers, touched everything she wanted (of course, I was there). For you, a saucepan is just an object, but for a child it is cold, slippery, white or gray.

Developing cards

I do almost everything myself: I find thematic kits, games, blanks, cards on the Internet, which I then print. With them we study colors, seasons, animals. I have thematic weeks. Now we have the sea in the kitchen, autumn week in the bedroom, and forest and pets in the hall.

Don't say "no"

Avoid the word "no". Say, "Let's do this or that." It is impossible only that which is life-threatening.

Develop your child from birth

Early development is not only about books, games, cards. These are walks, mom's stories, tactile and visual sensations. The main thing is not to overdo it, so as not to cause overvoltage!

Exercise regularly

Early development is effective if games, activities, and reading are regular. Do not force the child, engage with him when he is ready to receive new information. If the child is inclined to play freely, do not impose activities on him. Your goal is not to cram textbooks, but to raise a comprehensively developed person.

Create a learning environment

This is a child's personal space: a corner or a room with his own toys, books, cubes, and educational toys to get new tactile, visual, auditory and taste sensations. It's great if there is an opportunity to install a wall bars or a sports complex.

Don't buy a lot of toys, make the most of a few of them when coming up with new activities. From the constructor, for example, you can build buildings, make letters, animals, sort them by color, size, count. From kinetic sand - sculpt, build, play "Continue the row" (you make sand figures and alternate them in a certain order. The kid's task is to put at the end, middle or beginning of the one that is missing), engage in archaeological excavations. Figures of vegetables and fruits can also be sorted by color, shape, size, divided into sweet and savory, vegetables and fruits, play the "Secret Bag" (put the figures in a bag, and the baby, without pulling, tries to describe and guess which the figurine came to him).

Remember your personal example

Children repeat after us. Don't be surprised if your child doesn't read books cover to cover or exercise in the morning.

Text: Julia Kozoliy