My baby is due in a few weeks and we have tried to set up an environment where he can grow and excel. New methods of learning or preparing the child to learn have been researched and developed. I was doing research when your post appeared.
A part of me wonders, how much is too much? Could it be unnatural? Could attempting to advance his learning remove some of the joy from the experiences he is supposed to feel growing up?
I believe that most children and people in general do not function anywhere near the level they can, raising the baseline is not a question, but how close to the line do we want to push the young ones?
Maybe these occasional feelings are not founded in anything solid, I wonder what your thoughts are on it.
I hear your thoughts and I’ve pondered them as well. Now that my daughter is born (4 weeks 3 days today), I catch myself wondering sometimes if I’m providing a stimulating enough environment for her while she’s an infant. I suppose these are normal things to worry about as a parent. 🙂
I also hear your hesitation with interfering too much in the natural processes. My gut tells me that what’s most important is that we provide an environment of love, caring, and compassion, and most of all, an environment where we are mindful of our own thoughts and emotions.
Science has shown that children are affected in a huge way by the emotions of their family members and by the ’emotional environment’, that it affects their development–including their learning and intelligence–to a huge degree. I feel that we, as parents, should be focusing not on what we can do to improve the environment for our children, but rather how much we’re improving the environment for ourselves. If I remain and grow to be curious, playful, open-minded, and willing to learn, my daughter will learn those qualities from me as she grows.
My wife and I are planning to start traveling the world and living abroad for at least half the year every year, starting next year. We’re both travelers with a huge appreciation for the world and we want to share that love for the world–and its diversity and richness–with our daughter. We’re also going to home school her, so providing a optimal learning environment for her, while traveling with few possessions, will be a test of our resourcefulness, a test I’m looking forward to.
I certainly haven’t concluded my thoughts on topic and I plan to write and share a lot more on this topic as I continue thinking about it (I’m still pushing through these initial sleepless nights and trying to maintain enough brainpower to work and support my family).
Hi Raam,
I truly believe that children are much more aware than many people give them credit for. I am always shocked to hear a lady with a child growing within her say to a friend ‘ Oh! carrying this baby is such a pain, it is…’
The child can hear this.
We build our connection with a child the moment of conception not the moment of birth, thanks for your reminder.
David
Of course they can hear it. Even if they cannot physically hear it with their ears, their body can hear the energy created by the thoughts and words. Thoughts are, after all, electrical signals, so it’s obvious that thinking negative thoughts would have a negative impact on a baby in the womb. Why more people do not recognize this–and make a concerted effort to make use of this knowledge to improve the environment for their babies–escaped me.
Hi Raam,
My baby is due in a few weeks and we have tried to set up an environment where he can grow and excel. New methods of learning or preparing the child to learn have been researched and developed. I was doing research when your post appeared.
A part of me wonders, how much is too much? Could it be unnatural? Could attempting to advance his learning remove some of the joy from the experiences he is supposed to feel growing up?
I believe that most children and people in general do not function anywhere near the level they can, raising the baseline is not a question, but how close to the line do we want to push the young ones?
Maybe these occasional feelings are not founded in anything solid, I wonder what your thoughts are on it.
Thanks
Hi Miles,
I hear your thoughts and I’ve pondered them as well. Now that my daughter is born (4 weeks 3 days today), I catch myself wondering sometimes if I’m providing a stimulating enough environment for her while she’s an infant. I suppose these are normal things to worry about as a parent. 🙂
I also hear your hesitation with interfering too much in the natural processes. My gut tells me that what’s most important is that we provide an environment of love, caring, and compassion, and most of all, an environment where we are mindful of our own thoughts and emotions.
Science has shown that children are affected in a huge way by the emotions of their family members and by the ’emotional environment’, that it affects their development–including their learning and intelligence–to a huge degree. I feel that we, as parents, should be focusing not on what we can do to improve the environment for our children, but rather how much we’re improving the environment for ourselves. If I remain and grow to be curious, playful, open-minded, and willing to learn, my daughter will learn those qualities from me as she grows.
My wife and I are planning to start traveling the world and living abroad for at least half the year every year, starting next year. We’re both travelers with a huge appreciation for the world and we want to share that love for the world–and its diversity and richness–with our daughter. We’re also going to home school her, so providing a optimal learning environment for her, while traveling with few possessions, will be a test of our resourcefulness, a test I’m looking forward to.
I certainly haven’t concluded my thoughts on topic and I plan to write and share a lot more on this topic as I continue thinking about it (I’m still pushing through these initial sleepless nights and trying to maintain enough brainpower to work and support my family).
Good call, on “improving our own environment…”
Hi Raam,
I truly believe that children are much more aware than many people give them credit for. I am always shocked to hear a lady with a child growing within her say to a friend ‘ Oh! carrying this baby is such a pain, it is…’
The child can hear this.
We build our connection with a child the moment of conception not the moment of birth, thanks for your reminder.
David
Of course they can hear it. Even if they cannot physically hear it with their ears, their body can hear the energy created by the thoughts and words. Thoughts are, after all, electrical signals, so it’s obvious that thinking negative thoughts would have a negative impact on a baby in the womb. Why more people do not recognize this–and make a concerted effort to make use of this knowledge to improve the environment for their babies–escaped me.