We are having a baby and want to know all there is to develop my son mentally and physically as quick as possible. Balance, coordination are top priority. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Uh, that isn’t necessarily a good thing, at least, not for the physical aspects. You can make a baby go into puberty with topical prohormones, for example, but that is not good for the child. The best thing you can do is to provide a sensation rich environment for your child. Read to your child, have plenty of challenging toys, mobiles, etc. There are whole books about this stuff, but usually it boils down to making sure the baby is kept interested in its environment.
Also, many sources I read say that having babies swim underwater in a tub every day (they are natural swimmers) helps increase intelligence. This is due to the blood-carotid response, which over time permanently increases blood flow to the brain.
Yes, you can accelerate the child’s learning by interacting with it as much as possible. Read to her, sing to her, count the stairs as you wal down them. If she touches your nose you tell her its a nose…etc. What slows a child down is lack of stimulation. This is true for any person, but in a baby at it’s most developemental stages, stimulation is critical. I sang a song to my daughter the day she was born and have sang it to her almost every other day since. She knows that song and loves it. No matter what she is doing she will stop to listen to it. It’s kind of sad 'cause my voice stinks. I showed her a bicep pose, she could give a shit less about my muscles. So she won’t be going to the gym until she is at least two, where she will promptly start with heavy squats and dead lifts.
She should breast feed. Speak to him/her in complete sentences. Read stories to the kid, even long before he can speak or even sit up.
na I know this is heresy, but if at all possible, one of you should stay with him/her full time at least for the first two years, and even better, till they start school. Believe me, it is worth it. We voluntarily chose a lower standard of living for a few years by having my honey at home, and are kids have not had many of the issues I see with others.
Why would you want to do this? My advice is not to rush things. Before you know it, the kid will be grown and you’ll be lamenting why you missed the early stuff. Just let him develop at his own pace. Give him lots to do, make physical activity fun, and don’t hold expectations. Your son will become whoever he wants to be regardless of what you want.
Expose your son or daughter to classical music… particularly baroque. Babies and infants exposed to such music develop much better mathematical and spatial skills. Even farm animals produce more when exposed to classical: cows give more milk, chickens more eggs. Baroque is pretty simple, rhythmically, and babies are better able to notice, and pick up on, the patterns of the instrumentals. Jazz doesn’t have the same effect.
Isn’t the best time to begin to learn different languages when you are a infant? I would start reading to your baby - not just children’s booksm, but all types of books. And maybe NOT use the TV as a “babysitter”! (I’m not assuming that you will - just thought I’d throw that in)
And there's got to be some websites about this subject.
Pantera. Lots of Pantera. Throw in some Down for good measure.
Don’t teach them stupid baby talk, speak to them in full sentences. Talking in nonsense teaches nonsense. Reading has been mentioned a few times, read read read. I had a book read to me every night, and I entered first grade with a third grade reading level. Nutrition is extrememly important as well, breast milk is the absolute best food for babies, and your wife will need to eat well to produce the best milk. Lots of stimulation, and this does not mean the TV. Toys that give ‘rewards’ are excellent, such as music for pushing a button, or lights for turning a dial. Blocks, bright colors, music - any stimulation is good.
When babies are born, they have wicked grip strength (supposedly from when we were monkies and had to hold on to mama as she swung from trees). A little after birth it starts to fade if not used. Everyday stick your fingers in your kid’s hands, and when he grips pull away. This will keep his grip strength from fading. Pretty soon (within a month) the kid can suspend himself from your fingers.
The suggestions above are very good (for the most part). You should not try to rush your child’s development because then you set yourself up to be disappointed if they don’t develop as you want them to. However, you can help them develop by providing a caring, loving, stimulating environment for the child. If at all possible, have one parent stay home. It makes a huge difference. Regardless of what anyone says, nobody else will love your child and give him/her the attention they crave to the degree that you will. We found that reading to the kids was the best and finding time everyday to play with them. My kids wanted to be where I was and despite buying all kinds of toys for them, they preferred to play with common household things–pots and pans, plastic containers, spoons, etc. The simpler the toy, the better. If you are going to buy toys, buy toys that don’t DO much–then the child needs to use their own imagination to create the play. Things such as blocks and Legos are great. Also, a great “toy” for hand-eye coordination and mental stimulation is the puzzle. Do not sign them up for all kinds of classes before they are ready. They just want to be with mom or dad–that’s all. And don’t put them away somewhere to nap and be alone. My babies were always with me–in a pouch while really young, in a backpack once older, in walkers when ready, and I was always there for them–at home when they were small, at school to volunteer,etc. etc. They are all fabulous teens right now–on the right track, intelligent, athletic, involved. Oh – and if you are of any religious persuasion, don’t be afraid to take them to church. As for physical acceleration. I’m not sure what you can do about that, or if you really should. Simply being physical with them outside and playing with them is good enough, in my opinion. Encourage them to do things for themselves too–don’t be the parent that does everything for the kids, or they will expect that in the future too. They can put away their toys, pick up after themselves, help shovel snow, rake leaves, etc. etc. Good luck! How exciting to be starting out! I can’t wait for grandchildren (yes I can)!
Years ago I gathered all the current materials on raising the childern and their development. I title the program I developed “The Doc Savage Project” (I know Patricia will understand)> The core of the program was based around plenty of outdoor exercise and jungle gym that would grow with the child. Music (this was before the Mozart Effective was published, see Speed Learning), speaking multiple languages, good nutrition, and most importantly understanding how the child related to the world (See NLP). At least, two hours a day spend in focus attention on the child, by each partner at differnet times. Sadly, I married a woman who does not want childern.
Best of Luck.
Contrary to what I am seeing on this board–you can save your bucks on the classical music. There is VERY LITTLE evidence to suggest that listening to classical music (e.g., Mozart) improves math or spatial skills.
Good luck–it is a fun ride.
Well, my daughter is now 18 months old, and she amazes me every day. She can figure things out so quickly. She’s strong (no fade in grip strength). She loves doing pull-ups (with dad’s assistance). She’s now got a cool “gym” with a climbing tube and a couple slides that we just got a couple weeks ago, and she loves climbing around in it. We were initially concerned that she wasn’t walking at what we considered a “normal” time, but just days before she hit 16 months, she stood up and walked across our living room. Breast feeding is important. Reading to your child. Music (of most any kind, but not the “anger music”) is helpful. One thing that I found surprising is a theory that comes out of the “Baby Einstein” series – the theory is that all babies are born with the ability to make all the sounds for all the languages. However, if they don’t hear these sounds in their first year, they lose this ability. One of the tapes that they market has a lot of nursery rhymes and counting in various languages. Also, if balance and coordination is a key characteristic for you, just make sure there’s a lot of physical play.
Have him do 12 weeks to super strength and follow that up w/ the growth surge project w/ mag-10.
Brider, that’s absolutely right: our brains are trained for sensitivity to certain sounds at a very, very young age. It isn’t permanently lost if we don’t use it then, but it’s much harder to recover.
Btw, the Mozart Effect is not as dramatic as many people make it out to be; the effect fades in ten minutes. I think that it’s important to expose a child to music, because it’s yet another sensual experience for them, but I don’t think that Mozart is going to permanently affect your child’s intelligence. One more thing that I read years ago: Food is the most sensual experience available to your child, at least for the first few years. Give them food that they can eat with their hands, mold, etc, because it’s an important (even if messy) part of development.
classical music and teach him/her another language.
Thanks for the advice. Of course I want the best for my son. I have never been a Father and I want to give him every advantage. My wife plays Mozart on her stomach and I already talk to him, even though he is not born. Gracias
Chill out and just enjoy the child, the best gift you can give it is a ‘rounded personality’ and confidence. Yes, intelligence is important, and to that end, full sentences, no baby talk etc are important, I would add learning a musical instrument from a young age say 4 - 5. As for the physical side just let them be kids for a while, too often they are too busy doing things to just muck around outside, playing, building huts etc. I am not a huge fan of ‘fast track development’ as IMHO this can lead to social development issues and interaction difficulties later in life. Give the child lots of love and your time, teach it self respect, instill confidence, enthusiasm and how to relate to people.
Actually my daughter likes pantera…so yes it is a good thing.