0-4 Years Old Intellectual Development ()

Author: Wang Lifang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Many parents teach children to sing nursery rhymes and recite poems as soon as they start to talk, engaging in early education to develop intelligence early. In fact, this is not early enough; intellectual development should begin when the child is in the infant stage, when they only know how to eat and sleep. During infancy, children have the most contact 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 when the mother breastfeeds the infant. Breastfeeding is not only about providing nutrition for growth but also about providing conditions for the development of the infant's tactile senses. With their most sensitive areas—such as the corners of their mouth, lips, and cheeks—nestling against the 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 who lose this communication from birth tend to be emotionally cold, develop slowly, and have solitary personalities, making it difficult for them to get along with peers.
2. Visual Communication: Around one month after birth, an infant's retina has formed, but the fovea has not yet matured, so their visible distance 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 human 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 infant. Therefore, infants can achieve the desired feeding speed and amount. If this communication is lost, the infant may frequently turn their head and shake it while feeding, even becoming restless. Of course, apart from 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, mothers 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, an infant's sense of smell is quite keen. Just a few days after birth, infants can distinguish between good and bad smells. In experiments, if a cloth soaked in breast milk is placed near the infant, they will immediately stop crying and assume a posture seeking the breast. Since infants can smell whether it is their mother, 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 constantly change their co-sleeping companions often remain in a state of tension, with significantly reduced sleep duration and quality. This is harmful to their physical and mental development, and in severe cases, it can 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 sound. Do not underestimate the meaningless "conversations" between mothers and infants. Observant mothers will notice that when speaking to their infants,