0~4 years old intellectual development (including disc)

Author: Wang Lifang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Many parents teach children to sing nursery rhymes, recite poems, and engage in early education as soon as they start talking, hoping to develop their intelligence early. In fact, this is not early enough; intellectual development should begin even earlier when the child is in the infant stage, when they only know how to eat and sleep. During infancy, children spend the most time with their mothers, and this responsibility naturally falls on the mother. Japanese medical doctor Takahashi Eijiro conducted research on this and found that formal early education should start with the four types of communication between mother and child.
1. Tactile Communication: The most common form of tactile communication between mother and child is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is not just about providing nutrition for growth but also about providing conditions for the development of the child's tactile senses. With their most sensitive areas—such as the corners of their mouth, lips, and cheeks—nestling against their mother's warm breasts, infants can produce safety and sweetness signals in their brains, which play a catalytic role in their intellectual development. Frequent touching and hugging by the mother also produce the same effect. Takahashi's research found that infants deprived of such communication from birth may become emotionally cold, develop slowly, and have a solitary personality, making it difficult for them to get along with peers.
2. Visual Communication: Around one month after birth, a child's retina has formed, but the fovea is not yet fully developed, so their visible range does not exceed 40 centimeters, and their field of vision is limited to 45 degrees, mostly just what is directly in front of them. However, at this stage, they can recognize human faces, especially eyes. When breastfeeding, mothers often notice that the infant looks directly at their eyes while eating. This is a visual need in the emotional development of the child. As a result, the child can achieve the desired feeding speed and amount. If this communication is lost, the child may frequently turn their head and shake it while feeding, even becoming restless. Of course, in addition to breastfeeding, frequent eye contact with the infant during daily interactions often elicits sweet smiles, which is beneficial to their psychological development. For artificially fed infants, the mother should also maintain this visual communication when feeding with a bottle.
3. Olfactory Communication: Biological research confirms that after humans develop relatively advanced vision, their sense of smell begins to deteriorate. However, infants have a very keen sense of smell. Just a few days after birth, they can distinguish between good and bad smells. In experiments, if a cloth soaked in breast milk is placed near the infant, the infant will immediately stop crying and adopt a posture seeking the breast. Since infants can recognize their mother by smell, Japanese scholar Takahashi proposed that co-sleeping with the mother during infancy can produce positive stimulation, which is beneficial to their intellectual development. He pointed out that infants who are constantly switched between caregivers often remain in a state of tension, with significantly reduced sleep duration and quality, which is harmful to their physical and mental development. Severe cases may lead to developmental delays and psychological disorders in early childhood.
4. Auditory Communication: Research shows that after one week of birth, infants can distinguish between human voices and object sounds. This is because infants have a sound requirement from birth and can produce "induction effects" from various sounds, allowing them to quickly identify their mother by voice. Do not underestimate the "conversations" between mothers and infants, which attentive mothers will notice: when speaking to the infant, they will move their hands and feet, looking satisfied. More importantly, frequent "conversations" with the infant can help rapidly develop the infant's language skills, laying a solid foundation for future language development. In fact, infants deprived of maternal language communication tend to start speaking later than their peers and speak unclearly, with less lively expressions. It is clear how important close contact and communication between young mothers and infants are. Never ignore the little ones around you due to the fast-paced lifestyle or other reasons. Remember, infants need their mothers to guide them through this new world full of love. P9-11