Developments are the same as the year before. Methods of early child development. Basic principles of the Nikitins’ technique

So, there is a happy event in your family - a child was born. From now on, he has a long way to go from a tiny lump to an almost conscious one-year-old baby. No matter how fast he develops, in the first 12 months he will learn a lot and will never again learn everything at such a speed (the baby learns to observe others, smile, coo, roll over, sit on his butt, walk, play and much more). much more...). It is not always clear to young mothers whether the baby has problems in development or, on the contrary, it is advancing ahead of schedule. Purpose of the article- tell what changes happen to your child in each of the 12 months of his first year, what the baby learns in the first year of his life and how he perceives the world around him.

Each baby, just like an adult, is individual and each child develops individually, but something common in the development of newborn children occurs in the same way.

Contents [Show]

Monthly development calendar

First month

A difficult month for young mothers. The first month of a newborn’s life is usually called the adaptation period. Almost 70% of the time he sleeps. Sleep is very important for a baby. In a dream he grows ( On average, in the first month a child grows 2-3 cm.), and the body gets used to the new environment. During wakefulness, he randomly waves his arms clenched into fists and legs bent at the knee. Towards the end of the first month, the child is already able to hold his head for a short time, focus his gaze on bright toys, the faces of adults, make vowel sounds and listen to the conversation of others.

Useful articles on the topic of child development

Pediatricians consider it important to attach the baby to the mother's breast in the first two hours of life. They believe that at this time “emotional contact” is created between the baby and mother. This is when the mother begins to feel the baby from a distance, his feelings, needs.

Nutrition is very important during this period of a child’s life. On average, in the first month a child gains about 600-700 grams of weight. Under no circumstances should you rush your child during feeding. After all, when he feeds on his mother’s milk, he also enjoys the warmth and care of his mother at that moment.

Popular and useful articles on the topic breastfeeding(GW)

At birth, a child has innate reflexes, thanks to which he adapts to environment. But during the first months of life, some of them disappear. These reflexes include the reflex:

• Sucking (touching the tongue on an object);
• Swimming (if you put his stomach on the water, he will make swimming movements);
• Grasping (touching his hand, he squeezes it into a fist);
• Search (search for mother's breast);
• Walking reflex (if you hold a child, he begins to move his legs as if he were walking) and many others.

The following reflexes remain with the child throughout his life: blinking, sneezing, yawning, flinching, etc.

It is by reflexes that pediatricians and child psychologists determine the condition and development of the child’s nervous system. Basic innate reflexes of children. Unconditioned and conditioned reflexes.

And in the first month of a child’s life, mothers need to surround him not only with warmth, care, and safety, but also to accustom him to a day-night routine by the end of the first month.

Useful articles on the topic 1 month

In the first two weeks, do not forget to treat your baby’s umbilical wound (how to treat it).

In the first months (usually up to 3 months), 80% of babies experience tummy pain due to colic and gas. The child arches his back, twists his legs and cries heart-rendingly. We strongly recommend that you read publications on the topic of colic and gas.

• Weight gain is approximately 600-700 grams, height gain is 2-3 cm.
• Eats every 2 hours, at night on average 3-5 times.
• Sleeps a lot, stays awake 2-4 hours a day.
• Actions are still reflexive.
• The movements are chaotic, the fists are clenched.
• When a child lies on his stomach, he tries to raise his head.
• The main way of communicating with the world is crying. This is how the child makes it clear that he is hungry, that he has a wet diaper, that something hurts, or that he just wants attention. The child may whine or grunt, which is how he also tells his mother about discomfort.
• Able to fix his gaze on stationary objects for some time - his mother’s face or a hanging toy.
• Reacts to loud and sharp sounds - bells, toys, bells. He may listen, shudder and even cry.
• Recognizes mother's voice and smell and reacts to them.
• If you communicate with the child all the time, then by the end of 1 month his own “speech” will begin to appear - humming, or cooing.

Details Development in the first month

Second month

The second month of a child’s development can be called a period of “revival”. During this period, he not only looks at your face, but can also discern your emotional state. Are you smiling at him or, on the contrary, are you angry, calm or sad? And when you approach his crib, the baby begins to wave his arms and legs chaotically. In the second month of life, the child holds his head more confidently. Towards the end of the second month, the child should gain 800 grams in weight, and his height should increase by another 3 cm.

• He grew by 3 cm, the weight gain ranged from 700 g to 1 kg.
• Becomes more active - stays awake for an average of 15-20 minutes per hour. May confuse day with night and want to play and communicate when parents are sleeping.
• Able to lift and hold the head for a short time.
• Spreads his arms to the sides, turns over from side to back.
• He actively hums, as if singing the sounds “a”, “o”, “u”, combinations of “aha”, “agu”, “bu”.
• Demonstrates a “revitalization complex.” It manifests itself in a wide smile, stretching out arms and legs to mother and actively moving them, humming.
• Soothes during sucking and in hands.
• He can follow an object with his gaze, carefully monitor approaching or receding objects, and turn his head towards the source of sound.
• Coordination of movements improves. The child can spread his limbs to the sides, he has already found his hands and explores them with pleasure - examining them, sucking his fingers.
• The hands are clenched into fists, but you can straighten the baby’s palms and put a rattle there, he will try to hold it.
• The first attempts to reach the object appear.
• Vision improves, the child begins to distinguish colors, and the first understanding appears that the world is full of colors.
• The newborn's reflexes fade.

Details about development in two months

Third month

By the third month, the baby holds his head more confidently. Can rest on his forearms if placed on his tummy. It is important to turn him over on his tummy more often during this period, this will help him get rid of the gases that have formed in the stomach and help strengthen the muscles of his neck and back. And also do not let him lie on his side for a long time, this can lead to curvature of the spine.

During this period, the child looks more intently at bright toys. Can talk to himself, make not only single vowel sounds, but also consonants. Becomes more curious about the things and events around him. He himself sticks the pacifier out of his mouth, and then tries to put it back.

By the end of the third month, the child should gain about 800 grams in weight and 3 cm in height. The period between sleep can be 1-1.5 hours. Be sure to surround him with care and warmth. Talk to him more often, hug him, kiss him, take him in your arms and walk around the room with him.

• Height - increase 3-3.5 cm. Weight - increase 750 g.
• Night sleep lengthens, daytime sleep shortens.
• Lying on his stomach, the child holds his head for 20-25 seconds, in an upright position for up to 15 seconds, and easily turns it in different directions.
• He turns to one side from his back and tries to lean on his elbows when lying on his stomach.
• Smiles, recognizes loved ones, hums, “sings” during communication.
• Becomes more emotional, knows how to laugh out loud, and parodies the facial expressions of his parents.
• Knows how to scream and cry to express dissatisfaction and demand attention. Observant parents may even notice the first manifestations of their baby's character.
• Easily recognizes light and sound sources.
• If the mother holds the child above a hard surface, he pushes off from the support and, as it were, “bounces” and kicks his legs.
• The palms are already straightened, the baby pulls his hands towards the offered toy and tries to grab it, tries to hit the rattle located above him. He will definitely put a toy in his hands and put it in his mouth.
• The baby has already found his legs and is trying to explore his face with his hands.
• Movements generally become voluntary.

Details Baby development at 3 months

Fourth month

By the fourth month, the baby can confidently hold his head up. Reacts and turns around to sound. Lying on his tummy, he can lean on his arms and straighten them. Can independently reach for a toy, grab it, examine it closely, and taste it. Identify your mother from other people.

• Height + 2.5 cm, weight + 700 g.
• Rolls over from back to stomach, holds his head well and turns it to the sides, confidently supports his body on his elbows when lying on his stomach.
• Makes the first attempts to sit up, raises the upper body.
• Crawling on his stomach in a crib or on a rug.
• Voluntarily grabs and holds a toy with one or two hands, tastes it.
• The child gets his favorite toys.
• Makes the first conscious manipulations with objects: knocking, throwing.
• Supports breast or bottle when feeding.
• The babbling gradually begins to be replaced by babbling, the first syllables appear - “ma”, “ba”, “pa”.
• Fixes gaze and closely follows moving objects.
• He looks at his reflection in the mirror.
• When communicating, the child gives preference to his mother and is capricious, even if she has left only for a short time.
• Distinguishes between friends and strangers, actively smiles, laughs, and can even squeal with delight.
• Reacts to music - calms down when he hears it and listens carefully.
• Reacts when his name is spoken.

Details Development at 4 months of life

Fifth month

This is a new leap in the development of your child. During this period, he can already roll over on his own. Some people at this age try to sit on their butts. Crawling on the floor or crib on your tummy. They are trying to get to their feet. It is very important to hold the baby by the armpits and teach him to walk. In order to train the leg muscles and relieve him in the future from flat feet and “bouncing” while walking. The child can already clearly distinguish people close to him from strangers. He makes sounds more confidently, although not yet consciously. Teach him to pronounce the most simple words, such father, mother, grandfather, woman. On average, during the fifth month your child will gain about 2.5 cm in height and about 700 grams in weight.

• Height +2.5, weight + 700 g.
• He knows how to roll over from his back to his stomach and back, rests on his palms, confidently holds his head in an upright position, and looks around.
• Can sit with support for some time.
• An important sign of normal development of the nervous system is the distinction between friends and strangers. A child may be wary when a stranger appears, will be reluctant to go into his arms, may get scared and cry loudly. He prefers to be in his parents' arms.
• He himself encourages parents to communicate, reaches out to his mother, smiles, babbles, pronounces the first syllables. If there is not enough communication, the child becomes capricious.
• Willingly plays with objects - pulls them towards him, throws them, knocks, licks them.
• Plays while eating.
• Some children suck their toes.
• He looks at the faces in the pictures with interest.
• Most children are starting to teethe.

Details Development at 5 months

Sixth month

At this age, the child can already distinguish his name from another name. He can sit on his butt without help, although he still cannot squat on his own. Confidently holds toys in his hands, transfers them from one hand to another. Lying on his tummy, he can pull up his legs and try to get on all fours. Learns to pronounce individual syllables: pa-pa, ma-ma.

Many people at this age begin to feed their child a variety of foods. Just try not to give him salty and sweet foods, because... the kidneys and intestines are not yet developed enough for this. Consult your doctor about what foods you can give your baby at this age.

• Height +2.5 cm, weight +700g.
• Sits independently and sits for a while.
• He crawls “on his bellies” and is able to crawl to a toy lying 10-20 cm from him.
• Gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. This is an important indicator - this is how the child prepares for full crawling.
• Tilts and turns in different directions.
• Drinks from a mug if you hold it, plays with food.
• Picks up fallen objects, moves a toy from hand to hand or from one box to another.
• He studies with interest and can break surrounding objects.
• Simple cause-and-effect relationships are formed: pushed an object - it fell, pressed a button - the music turned on.
• He looks at the large object that his mother is talking about.
• The child is very emotional, his mood constantly changes, he screams when he is dissatisfied and laughs loudly when they play with him.
• Enjoys playing peek-a-boo and can clap his hands.
• Listens attentively to human speech and reproduces sounds and syllables, actively babbles. The consonants “z”, “s”, “v”, “f” appear.

Details Development in half a year

Seventh month

By the seventh month, the child already becomes restless. He can easily roll on his own from his back to his tummy or to his side. He distinguishes objects and if you ask him, for example, to say where the watch is, he will turn his head a little to the sides and show it. With the help of others, he can walk and crawl independently, mainly backwards. He hits toys against each other, throws them and watches with concentration as they fall to the floor or hit the wall, often smiling at the same time.

Children at this age love to swim, as they already sit confidently and can play with toys. Therefore, it is necessary to accustom him to bathing during this period. Tell what part of the body is called what and then ask him to show and name them. So that he remembers what they are called.

In terms of diet, it will be useful to give a child at this age some cottage cheese and meat to replenish the supply of calcium in the body, for its further growth and to speed up the process of teething. Potassium, for normal heart function and protein, for muscle growth.

At this age, try to keep the floor, toys, and objects that the child can grab clean. Because at this age he will taste them, i.e. Everything he comes across will be shoved into his mouth.

By the end of the seventh month, the child should gain an average of about 550-600 grams in weight and 2 cm in height.

• Height +2 cm, weight + 600 g.
• Sits confidently, holds his back straight, sometimes leans on his hand.
• The skill of crawling appears or improves; some children crawl backwards.
• Removes food from spoon, drinks from a mug with support.
• He stands at the support himself and is able to stand for some time.
• He loves to “walk” when his mother supports him under the arms or by the arms.
• Grasping movements are improved and fine motor skills of the hands develop. The child is delighted with finger games - “Magpie-Crow”, “Ladushki”.
• He enjoys studying the properties of surrounding objects: knocking them, shaking them, throwing them on the floor, disassembling them, breaking them, putting them in his mouth. Can hold a toy in each hand and bang them together.
• Shows where his eyes, nose, mouth, ears are, examines himself with his hands and mouth.
• Begins to copy the behavior of adults.
• Actively babbles, sings the sounds “ta”, “da”, “ma”, “na”, “ba”, “pa”, onomatopoeia “av-av”, “kva-kva” and others appear.
• He enjoys looking at pictures in books and flipping through the pages.
• Determines by tone of voice what “no” means.

Details about development at 7 months

Eighth month

At this age, the main thing is not to leave one child alone at the top. Since he can already move independently and sit down. Looks at new toys with interest. Can identify mom and dad from strangers from photographs. Can understand the game “okay” or the well-known “peek-a-boo”. If you ask him to wave his hand, he will wave it at you with pleasure. A little begins to understand what is being asked of him. Tries to eat on his own.

• Height +2 cm, weight +600 g.
• He is very attached to his mother, even a short separation is very painful, and is wary of strangers.
• He sits, stands up, walks with side steps at the support and forward, holding hands.
• Moves freely in familiar spaces.
• Can carry out simple tasks - bring, show.
• Actions with objects become correlative: the child covers the jars with lids, strings the rings of the pyramid.
• The range of emotions expands, you can notice dissatisfaction, surprise, joy, delight, perseverance.
• The first conscious words appear - “mom”, “dad”, “give”.
• The vocabulary is actively growing, new babbling sounds and words are constantly appearing.
• He loves to listen to music, dance to it, clap his hands and stomp his feet.

Details Development at 8 months

Ninth month

By grabbing onto a nearby chair, sofa or playpen, the child can get up and move independently, holding on to them. He falls, cries and gets back up. During this period, the child learns to walk independently. Likes to repeat words after adults, or rather syllables. Can already drink from a cup held by an adult.

• Height +2 cm, weight +600 g.
• Gets up from a sitting position, sits down from a lying position, stands and walks with support. Tries to climb onto the sofa, chair, armchair, and open drawers.
• Unfolds while crawling.
• Knows where to put toys and where mom put this or that item away. He wants to get everything that surrounds him.
• He actively shows emotions towards his parents - he is dissatisfied and breaks out when his mother cleans his ears or cuts his nails, he gets scared if he has lost sight of his mother.
• Tries to manipulate adults by screaming and crying.
• He tries to eat himself with a spoon and shows his first independence in dressing.
• Fine motor skills are improved - the child can pick up small objects and put his fingers into holes. He can crush a piece of plasticine and tear paper.
• Remembers the names of objects and can show them.
• Repeats the actions of adults and can carry out some assignments. Likes to do everything in public, repeats the action if asked.
• Knows the meaning of the words “lie down”, “give”, “go”, “sit”.
• Speech is actively developing. The child’s own “language” is formed, understandable only to close people.

Details Baby development at 9 months

Tenth month

At this age, the child imitates adults and animals with his movements. Can play with toys independently and confidently holds them in his hands. He can leaf through books with his fingers. With the help of adults, he can play with other children. He understands when he is told “no”.

• Height +1 cm, weight +350 g.
• Sits from a standing position, quickly crawls, can stand without support and tries to walk.
• Loves to dance, stomp, clap.
• Small finger movements become more perfect, the child holds two or three small objects in one hand.
• Performs complex actions: opens and closes, hides, takes away.
• Repeats movements and reproduces facial expressions of adults.
• Uses mostly one hand.
• He understands what needs to be done with objects - he rolls a car, pushes a tumbler, assembles a pyramid, builds towers from two or three cubes.
• Likes to put objects into each other, drag them from place to place.
• More interested in small objects than large ones.
• Finds logical connections - for example, he can move a car with a stick or a slipper.
• He can show parts of his face, his mother’s, or a doll’s.
• Can pronounce the names of surrounding objects and animals.

Details Development at 10 months of life

Eleventh month

This is practically an “adult child”. He moves independently with support, sits, crawls, and stands up. Understands simple requests. Can name most objects. He is learning to pronounce his first words, albeit with intonation for now.

• Height +1 cm, weight +350 g.
• Moves actively, sits, stands up, lies down, can walk a short distance without support.
• Tries to show independence - eats with a spoon, drinks from a mug, puts on socks and shoes.
• He reacts very vividly to a new toy, to an unfamiliar environment, to strangers.
• Understands strict speech. He knows what “impossible” is, understands from his mother’s reaction whether he did good or bad.
• Loves praise.
• He babbles a lot and communicates in his own “language”, clearly says the words “mom”, “dad”, “baba”.
• Uses different means of expressing his desires, except for crying - he points his finger, moves his gaze.
• Waves goodbye.
• Nods affirmatively or shakes his head negatively.
• Loves musical toys and bright illustrations in books.
• Grabs beads or beans with index finger and thumb.

Details Development at 11 months

Twelfth month

At almost one year of age, in most cases, the child already begins to walk independently without support and stand. They actively participate in the process of feeding, bathing and dressing. Shows a sense of care for toys. Feeds them and puts them to bed. Repeats sounds he hears on the street, on TV or at home. Begins to pronounce the first words. True, these words are not always clear to everyone. But those who listen carefully to the child will understand them.

• Height +1 cm, weight +350 g.
• Stands, gets up from a squatting position, walks independently.
• Steps over obstacles and crouches to pick up an object from the floor.
• Actively participates in everything that concerns him - dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth.
• Uses a spoon, drinks from a mug, and knows how to chew solid food.
• Food addictions are clearly manifested - the baby does not eat if he does not like the food.
• Needs parents and is attached to his toys. The absence of mom or dad is painful.
• Assembles and disassembles toys; if you need to free your hand, you put the object under your arm or in your mouth.
• Knows how to use objects - a telephone, a hammer, a broom.
• Looks for an object, even if he did not see where it was placed.
• He understands everything that is said to him.
• He talks about his desires - “give”, “na”, calls mom, dad, grandma. A baby's vocabulary per year is 10-15 words.

Details Development at 12 months

All the above indicators are conditional. The development of a child depends on many factors - heredity, living conditions, and social environment. Get joy from communicating with your baby, praise him for his successes and don’t be upset if he hasn’t learned something yet. Everything has its time. Your child is the best, and it is in your power to help him become a harmonious, developed little person.

Summarized: What should a one year old child be able to do?

The development of a child in one year is very rapid. In just 365 days, a child turns from a tiny person who can’t do anything and doesn’t know anything into a reasonable one. At 1 year old, he can already walk, sit down, stand up, eat, drink, play, speak, feel and understand on his own. The main thing is to protect the child with care and love at this time. Never swear in front of your child. Even though he is small, he still feels and understands everything. Raise your children healthy, smart and strong!

On the topic of development, key points:

• When we start to coo;
• When we start to hold our head up;
• When we start sitting;
• When we start crawling;
• When we start walking;
• Child's growth;
• Child's weight;
• Teething;
• First feeding;

Height and weight gain chart

Open table

On the topic of child health:

• The main illnesses of a child from birth to one year (the most common ailments).
• Here is an article about the most common skin problems in babies.

Film: child development from the first month to 1 year

You can immediately go to the desired month and study detailed articles:

Every month, the baby not only gains weight and body length, but also pleases parents with new skills. Traditionally, the development of a child of the first year is noted by months. We have collected the main features of child development in the following table:

Age and physical characteristics

Skills

At the time of birth

Height (length) - 49-50 cm

Weight - 3200-3300 g

Head circumference - 34-34.5 cm

Chest circumference - 32-34 cm

Moves legs and arms while awake.

He shudders and begins to blink at sharp sounds.

Responds to stimuli by crying.

1 month

Height (length) - 54-55 cm

Weight - 4200-4500 g

Head circumference - 36.5-37 cm

Chest circumference - 36-36.5 cm

Tries to raise his head in a position on his stomach and hold it for up to 5 seconds.

Watches moving bright objects and the adult's face.

Reacts to sharp sounds.

He answers with a smile.

Starts to walk.

2 months

Height (length) - 57-58 cm

Weight - 5100-5600 g

Head circumference - 38-39 cm

Chest circumference - 38-39 cm

Holds his head for a long time.

Turns towards the sound of an adult speaking.

Grasps objects reflexively.

Actively interested in the world around him.

3 months

Height (length) - 60-61.5 cm

Weight - 5800-6400 g

Head circumference - 39.5-40.5 cm

Chest circumference - 40-42 cm

Holds his head well in a vertical position.

Looks at objects for a long time.

Makes different sounds.

With support under the armpits, he rests with his legs.

When lying on the stomach, it is raised on the forearms.

Turns on its side from behind.

He responds emotionally to the conversation and shows his dissatisfaction by crying loudly.

Sucking fingers or fist.

4 months

Height (length) - 62-64 cm

Weight - 6400-7000 g

Head circumference - 40.5-41.5 cm

Chest circumference - 41.5-42 cm

Confidently raises his head while lying on his tummy.

Holds mother's breast or bottle with her hands during feeding.

Laughs and smiles when playing.

It goes on for a long time.

Grabs hanging objects with his hands.

Rolls over from back to stomach.

In a position on the stomach, it rises with support on the palms.

Lying on his back, raises his head and shoulders.

5 months

Height (length) - 64-66 cm

Weight - 6900-7500 g

Head circumference - 41.5-42.5 cm

Chest circumference - 43-44 cm

Recognizes mother and other close people.

Consciously follows the object with his gaze.

Rolls over from tummy to back position.

Grasps and holds objects with both hands.

Takes an object from an adult's hands.

Sits with support.

It hums for a long time.

Responds to nursery rhymes and songs heard.

Looks at the pictures.

6 months

Height (length) - 66-67.5 cm

Weight - 7300-7900 g

Head circumference - 42-43 cm

Chest circumference - 44-45.5 cm

Sits without support.

He reaches out his hands to an object that interests him.

Picks up a toy that has fallen out of his hands.

Tests objects to their teeth.

Starts to crawl.

Learn to eat from a spoon.

Begins to pronounce syllables.

Tries to stand on his feet, holding onto support.

Responds to name.

Listens carefully to the adult.

Looks at the object the adult is talking about.

7 months

Height (length) - 67-69 cm

Weight - 7600-8300 g

Head circumference - 43-44 cm

Chest circumference - 45-46.5 cm

Crawls and sits well.

Stands with support from both hands.

Holds an irregularly shaped object in his hand.

Plays with toys for a long time, studying their properties.

Drinks from a mug with the help of an adult.

He tries to sit up.

Shows off parts of his body.

8 months

Height (length) - 69-70.5 cm

Weight - 7900-8600 g

Head circumference - 43.5-44.5 cm

Chest circumference - 46-47 cm

Looking for a toy that has fallen.

Transfers an object from one handle to another.

Stands up, holding onto support.

Crawls quickly.

Sits down, lies down, steps over objects.

Babbles with intonation.

Enjoys other children.

Shows familiar objects, answering the question “where?”

Holds solid food (crackers, cookies) independently.

He is afraid to part with his mother.

9 months

Height (length) - 70-72 cm

Weight - 8200-8900 g

Head circumference - 44-45 cm

Tries to stand and take the first steps.

Imitates other children.

Reaches towards an object of interest and tries to get it.

Consciously manipulates toys.

Shows human body parts and toys.

Tears and crumples sheets of paper.

Holding onto a support, she dances to the music.

10 months

Height (length) - 71.5-73 cm

Weight - 8500-9200 g

Head circumference - 44-45.5 cm

Chest circumference - 47-48 cm

Begins to pick up small objects with fingers.

He sticks his fingers into holes and opens drawers.

Plays hide and seek.

Walks with the support of two adult hands.

Can go up and down stairs (3-4 steps).

Understands adult requests.

Repeats gestures and sounds after adults.

He waves his hand when saying goodbye and meeting.

Tries to eat on his own with a spoon.

11 months

Height (length) - 73-74.5 cm

Weight - 8700-9400 g

Head circumference - 44.5-46 cm

Stands alone.

Walks with support from one hand.

Lifts objects without squatting (bending).

Able to sit down without support.

Collects a pyramid.

Stacks cubes.

Begins to pronounce “light” words.

Plays okay.

Reacts vividly to strangers or new toys, as well as to praise.

Interested in books and musical toys.

12 months

Height (length) - 74-76 cm

Weight - 8900-9600 g

Head circumference - 45-46 cm

Chest circumference - 48-49 cm

Trying to walk on his own.

Stands up from a squatting position.

Drinks from a cup independently.

May refuse unloved foods.

Bites cookies and other hard foods.

Understands the words “cannot” and “can”.

Recognizes animals and shows them in pictures and on the street.

Knows how to use certain items.

Says 10-15 words.

Early child development is a popular topic for discussion on all kinds of maternal forums, since any parent wants his beloved child to grow up to be an intelligent, physically and emotionally developed person.

However, the problem of intensifying development causes a lot of controversy among teachers, pediatricians and psychologists. Some experts are convinced: the sooner classes begin with a child, the sooner he will acquire skills and opportunities useful for later life.

Other experts are sure that early education is just a toolkit for satisfying mom’s or dad’s ambitions and pumping out cash. Some doctors even believe that some methods are harmful to children's health.

What early development methods are popular today? Below is information about the advantages and disadvantages of such programs. All this will allow parents to make their own judgment about each of them.

3 types of child development

The term “early development” refers to a wide variety of phenomena. For some, early education is synonymous with premature and inadequate interference in the natural course of development of a little person.

According to experts, early development is the use of active educational methods in the age period from 0 months to 2-3 years.

However, such upbringing often conflicts with traditional educational systems, in which a child’s education begins at 6 or 7 years old.

Psychological literature traditionally divides the early mental development of a child into three types according to the degree of adequacy to the age characteristics of the child:

• Premature. Let's bring simplest example: A newborn cannot be taught to sit, stand, much less walk. In general, with premature development, a child is not able to perceive information due to psychological and physical “imperfections.”
• Later. It is no secret that in childhood there are so-called sensitive periods of development, when the child best perceives certain information: visual, speech, etc. In case of delayed development, the process of mastering skills and knowledge becomes less productive. For example, it is too late to teach a child to skate at the age of 12 if you want to raise a great figure skater.
• Timely. This is a traditional option for children’s development, in which the information provided corresponds as closely as possible to their age and psychological characteristics.

The last option seems to many to be the most adequate and correct. However, in real life All three types of child development occur.

In this case, we are more interested in early learning. Does it always correspond to premature education? No. If you correctly assess your own and your children’s capabilities, as well as follow the methodology and common sense, you can more likely talk about advanced development.

The essence of early learning

Early childhood development involves creating conditions that facilitate the most effective learning of skills and knowledge in infancy.

Conditions mean:

• organizing a developmental environment - filling corners with various objects and play aids that expand motor activity, develop children’s sensory skills, vision and hearing, etc.;
• introducing the child to musical, artistic and literary works;
• intensification of communication with the child both from the mother and from other household members. This means stimulating children's speech, adults pronouncing their actions;
• acquisition or production of special teaching materials and manuals (this is especially true for Montessori and Doman methods).

Early education is not just preparation for kindergarten or school education, but the creation of conditions for harmonious and comprehensive development, memory training, attentiveness, imagination, logical thinking, processes of analysis and synthesis of information.

Below are time-tested and modern methods of early child development, which are most often used by parents at home or by specialists in educational centers.

Let us make one important reservation: an ideal developmental program that takes into account all aspects of a child’s personality simply does not exist. Each child is a bright individual, so what suits one may not be necessary for another.

That is why, when choosing the optimal method of early education, parents should know about the strengths and weaknesses of the preferred system, about its advantages and disadvantages. This will help pay attention to the “sinking” directions.

The most popular methods of early development of children from 0 to 3 years old

If you decide to purposefully and regularly work with your baby using a specific developmental method, you need to understand that preparatory work and the classes will take you directly huge amount time, and the result can be assessed only after a couple of years.

We should not forget about the natural needs of the baby. For example, at 6 months of age, it is much more important for a child to learn to sit or crawl than to learn letters and words or swim. Common sense will only enhance the effectiveness of the techniques used.

Maria Montessori Method

The main principle of this worldwide popular educational system is to help the child demonstrate independence skills when learning in specially created conditions.

The educational program, developed by the author at the beginning of the 20th century, takes as a basis an individual approach to the child’s personality from the moment of his birth. This is necessary to reveal the inclinations and intellectual potential of each child.

The method includes 3 main parts: the child, the teacher and the organized environment. The central area is occupied by the baby, around whom a special environment is created that allows for independent study.

The teacher only helps children without interfering particularly with the natural course of development.

The main principle of the program is monitoring the child and refusing to interfere in his affairs, except in situations where the child himself asks for support or help.

• sensory;
• mathematical;
• speech;
• practical life;
• space

The designated area is filled with various teaching materials (Montessori avoided the word “toys”) that correspond to the child’s age: books, sorters, pyramids, containers, brushes and dustpans, etc.

In the classic version, the method involves starting classes at 3 years old, but some exercises will interest children older than one year of age.

Montessori groups are always of different ages: in some classes there are children from one year to 6 years old, in others there are children from seven to 12 years old. This division has certain advantages, since older children take care of the kids, and they, in turn, learn from their older friends.

Pros and cons

This technique has both positive and negative aspects, which should be discussed in more detail.

Advantages:

• stimulation of mental processes with the help of special didactic materials, taking into account sensitive periods of child development;
• a huge selection of manuals and educational materials;
• improving self-care skills;
• formation of self-discipline.

Flaws:

• many classes still require the participation of a teacher or parent, since they will need to explain to the child the rules of interaction with a specific aid;
• very expensive Montessori materials (though you can make them yourself);
• To strictly follow all the precepts of Montessori, the child must be taken to a special center. Moreover, it is important to make sure that teachers really work entirely according to this methodology, and do not use individual elements;
• Most of the exercises are aimed at intelligence, sensory skills, and logical thinking. However, the creative, emotional and play areas develop to a lesser extent;
• The traditional method rejects role-playing games and reading fairy tales, considering these teaching techniques to be unimportant.

In general, the Italian doctor’s method is popular among Russian and foreign parents. However, in the author’s version, the system is used extremely rarely; rather, mothers and fathers take some of the most successful moments from it, diluting them with activities and exercises from other educational programs.

Waldorf school

This educational and educational program puts forward the following postulate - the maximum development of the capabilities of each child and his self-confidence.

Unlike many other developmental systems, this technique refuses to provide the child with any types of intellectual tasks if he is not yet 7 years old.

So, children only start learning to read in the third grade. Before entering school, children are given toys made from natural materials (straw, pine cones, etc.).

Waldorf school teachers place another emphasis on the comfort of the educational process. There are no grades in the lessons, there are no competitive “notes”, classes are filled with a small number of students - no more than 20 children.

The priority in the program is the artistic and theatrical activities of children and the improvement of imagination. For the same purpose, the methodology prohibits children from using such modern gadgets as mobile phones, computers and TVs.

Teaching principles are built taking into account the age factor:

• a child under seven years old learns through imitation of adults;
• children aged 7-14 years old connect the emotional component to the process of acquiring knowledge;
• From the age of 14, logic and intelligence are activated.

Advantages:

• focuses on imagination and creativity;
• comfort of the educational process;
• development of an independent personality.

Flaws:

• too late development of intellectual functions;
• lack of preparatory classes for schooling;
• poor adaptation to modern realities (a telephone is a necessary thing for a child today).

This technique is unique, so many parents are wary of it. On the Internet you can find a variety of comments about the Waldorf school: both positive and negative. Is it worth doing this program? It's up to the parents to decide.

Glen Doman Method

The American scientist Doman, studying the characteristics of the psyche and learning of children with brain damage, established the following pattern - developmental activities are effective only during the period of greatest activity of the cerebral cortex, that is, under the age of 7 years.

More information about

What is the Doman technique?

The main task of parents is to maximize the enormous potential of a newborn child.

Glen Doman's method consists of of four main components:

• physical development;
• check;
• reading;
• encyclopedic knowledge.

The American doctor was convinced that the nervous system of a child under one year old is so unique and perfect that even at that age the baby is able to memorize and systematize various facts and information.

Surely many mothers are familiar with the term “Doman cards”. This didactic material are cardboard cards of a certain size, on which there are words, dots, mathematical operations, photographs of plants, birds, animals, famous people etc.

The amount of information is amazing. For better systematization and ease of use, cards should be divided into groups. Throughout the day, the parent displays these cards for a few seconds, regularly introducing more and more new images into circulation.

Advantages:

• intensification of child development;
• active involvement of parents in activities with children;
• expanding children's opportunities by providing the child with a large flow of information;
• development of children's attention.

Flaws:

• you will simply need a huge amount of didactic material;
• little attention is paid to fine motor skills, sensory development and object-related activities;
• Doman cards do not develop a child’s logical thinking, ability to analyze and systematize facts;
• the methodology does not pay due attention to creativity and play activities;
• Possible overload of children's room nervous system due to too much information, as a result of which the child develops tics, enuresis and other problems.

The Doman system is a typical example of intellectual techniques. The child is not taught, but rather trained with the help of cards. At least that’s what many mothers and neurologists think. However, other parents praise this training program for the opportunity to develop from the cradle.

Zaitsev's technique

St. Petersburg teacher Nikolai Zaitsev several decades ago developed a unique developmental system that includes a set of manuals for teaching a child literacy, mathematical skills and English.

The Zaitsev program is based on the leading activity of a child of early and preschool age- game. And this allows you to develop both the physical and emotional sides of the child’s personality.

Information is presented in a system, but at the same time in a playful form, which is why the child is happy to join in the lesson. Moreover, it is not so important whether it takes place alone with a parent (teacher) or with a group of children.

A relaxed atmosphere is an important condition of Zaitsev’s training system. During the lesson, children are allowed to make noise, laugh, clap their hands and stomp their feet, change playing material, moving from cubes to tablets or a board.

However, such liberation does not mean that classes are entertainment. It is in the process of such play that children not only gain knowledge, but also make an independent choice of their preferred activity.

Advantages:

• wide age range - from 1 year to 7 years;
• You can practice both at home and in kindergarten;
• crash course in learning to read through games;
• development of competent writing skills.

Flaws:

• when teaching at home, the parent will have to first learn this technique himself, since it differs from traditional teaching methods;
• experts point out that a child who has learned to read using Zaitsev’s method “swallows” endings and gets confused when dividing a word into syllables, since he previously divided it into words;
• first grade is an important milestone in the life of every child; it is at this moment that children who studied using this method begin to have difficulties, since there is a discrepancy in the color designation of vowels and consonants.

According to many parents, Zaitsev's cubes are the best reading aids of their kind. A child can learn to read as early as three years old, and this skill remains with him for the rest of his life. In addition, mothers also include game techniques that make the activity fun and spontaneous.

Cecile Lupan system

The Belgian actress Cecile Lupan was forced to develop her own method by dissatisfaction with Glen Doman's system, which was taken as a basis.

This training program can hardly be called scientific; the developed method is rather a set of activities that take into account the child’s individuality, interests and inclinations of each child.

The author of the technique in his books advises communicating with the baby literally from the first seconds of his life, and there is no need to worry that he will not understand something. Lupan is convinced that the sooner a child learns something, the sooner he will understand certain patterns and connections.

In the first months, the child only gets used to the parent’s speech, and then seemingly meaningless sounds begin to be filled with meaning. As soon as he begins to pronounce the first words, he should move on to reading (usually at one year of age).

The main idea proposed by Cecile Lupan is the following: a child needs attention-care, he needs attention-interest, which only a loving parent can provide.

Advantages:

• opportunity to engage from 3 months of age to 7 years;
• much attention is paid to early physical development;
• The technique is suitable for home practice;
• exercises affect the intellectual and emotional sphere, sensory;
• very close communication between mother and child;
• Stimulation of the baby's cognitive interest.

Flaws:

• requires complete dedication from the parent;
• a lot of teaching materials that mom will need to make;
• a kind of infant swimming training.

Since the author is not an educator, her approach cannot be said to be completely scientific. However, mothers can take some things into account, for example, creating homemade books about their child, into which they can write author’s fairy tales and insert his photographs.

Nikitin's technique

The name of the authors thundered back in the days Soviet Union. The married couple began to raise children according to their own program, which could amaze an unprepared person with unusual techniques and educational methods.

The spouses also followed the principle of children's independence in choosing activities for the child. They refused special training and activities. The kids could do what was closest to them, without restrictions. Parents only helped to deal with difficulties.

The Nikitin system includes hardening and physical education techniques. To do this, it is necessary to create a special environment in the house, including sports equipment and exercise equipment. These devices should not stand out; they are as natural as, for example, furniture.

The authors are convinced that a child should not be “overorganized” or abandoned. Moms and dads should not be indifferent to children's development and pastime; however, when participating in children's games, they should not take the position of a supervisor and controller.

The main principle of the system is the Montessori version of sensitive periods - the fading of the child’s ability to develop effectively as he grows up. Simply put, if certain abilities are not developed in time, they will not reach the optimal level.

Advantages:

• used from birth to school age;
• children's independence;
• The child’s intelligence develops well;
• improving logical thinking and imagination;
• game as a teaching technique;
• special attention is paid to physical development;
• the invention of special didactic toys - for example, Nikitin cubes, unicube.

Flaws:

• restlessness of the child due to the fact that he chooses his own activities;
• this lifestyle is more suitable for rural areas;
• hardening is considered a rather extreme type of education;
• Due to advanced development, children may not be interested in studying at school.

This system has both ardent supporters and no less categorical opponents. However, some points have not lost their relevance today, while other techniques are questionable.

Tyulenev's technique

This program, called the “method of intellectual development of a child,” was developed by P. V. Tyulenev, a teacher and sociologist. By studying MIRR, you can teach your child literacy, mathematics, and develop musical and sports abilities.

The author of the system is convinced that a child needs to be developed from the first days of life. The most important thing at this moment is to provide him with a variety of tactile stimuli so that the cerebral cortex can actively form.

The choice of activities depends depending on the child's age:

• in the first two months, the baby is shown triangles, squares and other geometric figures depicted on a piece of paper;
• from 2 to 4 months, children are shown drawings of animals, plants, letters, numbers;
• at 4 months of age they play “Toyball”, when the baby throws cubes and other game accessories from the crib;
• From 5 months, musical instruments are placed near the baby. The baby, touching them, tries to make sounds and develop musical inclinations;
• from the age of six months they master letters by looking at a special magnetic alphabet. At 8 months the child is asked to bring a letter, at 10 months - to show the letter, and then - to name the letter or a whole word;
• from the age of one and a half years, they play chess with the baby;
• from the age of 2, the child not only puts words together from letters, but tries to type them on a computer keyboard;
• With three years children try to keep a diary on a laptop or computer.

Advantages:

• diversified development of the baby;
• exercises will not require much time from adults;
• exercises are suitable for every child;
• good preparation for schooling;
• revealing all the inclinations of the baby.

Flaws:

• It’s not easy to find benefits;
• it is difficult to talk about the effectiveness of exercises;
• too strict restrictions from the author;
• The age characteristics of the baby are not always taken into account;
• restriction of the child’s cognitive freedom;
• the prevalence of the intellectual component over all others.

An ambiguous technique that many specialists do not like. However, you can also find interesting points in it that can be implemented in practice. It is only important to monitor the child’s reaction to the innovations being introduced.

Other proprietary developmental techniques

In addition to those described above, there are other developmental or educational systems. Their use allows the child to better master the preschool or school curriculum, develop certain abilities, or simply grow into a well-rounded personality.

Some of the most popular include the following teaching methods:

1. “After three it’s too late.” A Japanese entrepreneur and simply caring father wrote this literary work, in which he described the importance of a child’s early development in the first years of life.
2. Dynamic gymnastics. M. Trunov and L. Kitaev, having brought together ancient Russian gymnastic exercises, offer parents effective methods for developing the physical sphere, as well as for correcting increased or decreased muscle tone, clubfoot, torticollis, etc.
3. Gmoshinskaya's technique. The best way to instill artistic skills in a child is to draw from infancy. Even before the age of 1 year, a child can create “canvases” using his palms, fingers, and soft felt-tip pens.
4. Musical program by Vinogradov. The creator of the method is convinced that even a one-year-old child can already understand the most complex classical works. There is no need to explain the meaning of the music to the baby in detail; let him decide on his own emotions and impressions.
5. Music by the Zheleznovs. This is another musical technique for young children. The discs contain lullabies, nursery rhymes, music for finger and outdoor games, performances, massage, fairy tales, learning the alphabet, teaching counting and reading, etc.

Of course, this list is not entirely complete. However, the presented methods are enough to understand how diverse and interesting they are. When developing them, the authors took into account their experience or took their pedagogical heritage as a basis.

It is interesting that these systems can be combined with each other using the most successful individual elements. Experiments are welcome.

Pros and cons of early development

Moms and dads are convinced that they themselves decide how to raise a child. However, this opinion is not entirely correct, since the process of education is increasingly influenced by social initiatives and various stereotypes.

One of the most controversial issues– early development of children under one year old. Typically, specialists and mothers take two extreme positions: some advocate the use of developmental techniques, others are extremely negative towards any intervention. Let's consider their arguments.

Arguments for

1. The modern world places higher demands on people. In order for a child to have time to master the necessary and important skills, his abilities have to be developed from infancy.
2. Children who study in accordance with such methods usually have a higher level of development compared to their peers. Children master all kinds of skills earlier: reading, writing, counting.
3. Complex educational systems, covering the development of several aspects of personality at once, help to identify a child’s inclinations and aptitudes for certain activities. This allows you to enroll your child in specific courses in the future.
4. If a child studies at a development center in the company of peers, this allows him to socialize earlier and get used to life in a children's group.

Arguments against

1. A healthy and normally developing child is able to learn basic skills on his own when the time comes. This is why you should not “mock” the child’s psyche.
2. Intensive classes can harm a child if a parent or teacher does not take into account the age characteristics of the child’s body, its temperament and adaptive capabilities.
3. Many popular methods place the main emphasis on intelligence and “physics,” but emotional and social development are undeservedly forgotten. This can disrupt adaptation in children's society.
4. It is extremely difficult to work with your baby every day, fulfilling all the requirements and conditions of the method. If you follow all the rules, then mom has no time left for anything else. If you perform tasks from time to time, all knowledge will evaporate very quickly,” and the effectiveness will be very low.
5. Many experts pay attention to the untimely acquisition of certain skills. For example, a six-month-old baby needs to learn to sit down or crawl, since this is his most important “task,” but reading or counting is completely unnecessary at this age. Most likely, before school he will have completely forgotten all his skills and will be on par with his peers.
6. Excessive demands on a child and the desire to raise a genius can negatively affect the child’s entire future life. Children whose parents feed them unnecessary information often grow up to be neurasthenics and perfectionists. Therefore, problems with socialization cannot be ruled out.

Thus, each side has compelling arguments, which is why parents will have to choose for themselves whether to use methods or follow the natural course of child development.

As a conclusion

In the first 12 months, the child's development proceeds at an accelerated pace. At this time, the baby has time to explore the world, gain a good vocabulary, and build initial and elementary logical chains.

Many experts are convinced that if you don’t work with your baby in the first year or two, then the child will not be able to compensate for the lost knowledge and skills.

However, excessive fanaticism and adherence to literally all the tenets of developmental methods can, on the contrary, not bring benefit, but harm child development.

If you decide to use the child development methods mentioned above, you must follow certain rules. They will help avoid negative consequences and make learning more natural:

• Watch your baby's reaction carefully. If he doesn’t like the activity, he protests in the form of tears or throwing away the offered toys, you need to stop and occupy him with something else.
• The baby should not be taken away from the activity he is currently passionate about for the sake of development. If your baby prefers to play with blocks rather than look at pictures, wait until he finishes the game.
• All exercises and assignments included in the educational system you choose must be understandable and credible. You should also rehearse all activities before approaching your child with them.
• A child's education should be comprehensive. In no case should you develop only the physical or cognitive sphere. It is necessary to pay attention to all aspects of the child’s personality, including emotional and social.
• There is no need to turn the process of acquiring knowledge and skills into an automatic action. It is important to stimulate the child’s interest in the process itself, to develop curiosity, inquisitiveness and observation.

Having considered all the main nuances of each method, you can make a preliminary selection of the most preferable training system. However, you should focus not on the opinions of other parents, but, first of all, on the characteristics of the child. After all, its development is a responsible matter!

Even today your child is an unintelligent baby, but very soon an active one-year-old baby will be running around the house. To know whether the baby is acquiring all the necessary skills on time, you need to track his development month by month.

First year of life: child development calendar

We present to your attention a detailed calendar of child development from birth until he reaches 12 months of age. The period up to one year is that stage of life when the baby learns everything around him, studies himself and those around him, therefore this is one of the most important life stages. Therefore, we read carefully. But first we want to show you a short video summary of a child’s development month by month:

First month

The first month of life is considered a period of adaptation for both mother and newborn baby. The baby's body gradually gets used to the new environment. If the child is healthy and nothing bothers him, he can spend most of the day sleeping. During short periods of wakefulness, the baby chaotically moves its arms and tucks its legs in at the knees. From the first days of his life, he begins to listen to the conversations of others, the sounds of rattles and a musical mobile.

• Physical development

A newborn baby spends 70% of its time sleeping. In the first weeks of life, the baby often makes convulsive movements with its arms. Physical activity is based primarily on reflexes: sucking (reflexive sucking); grasping (putting a finger in the child’s palm, he tightly squeezes his fingers); search (the reflex allows you to find the breast nipple during feeding).

• Psychomotor development

Towards the end of 1 month, the baby brings his hands to his face (eyes, mouth) so that they are in sight. Lying on his stomach, during this period the child tries to turn his head from side to side, but still does not support its weight.

Key points in the development of a child in the first month of life:

• feedings on demand (can be up to 10-12 times a day, including at night);
• the child’s physical activity is based on reflexes (sucking, grasping, searching);
• crying is caused by discomfort;
• recognizes the mother's voice and smell, reacts to it;
• can focus his gaze on an adult's face or a stationary object for a few seconds.

Second month

In the 2nd month of life, the child gradually develops a routine for eating and going to bed. By this age, the baby is already making his parents happy with his smile. A two-month-old baby is able to feel the emotional state of its mother. While awake, the baby moves its legs and arms more actively, especially when communicating with an adult.

• Physical development

In the second month of life, the baby holds his head more confidently. Lying on his stomach, the baby can hold his head for 10-15 seconds and turn it in different directions. A two-month-old baby's movements are more coordinated.

• Psychomotor development

What can a 2 month old baby do? He loves to look at faces, focuses his gaze for a long time on objects located at a distance of 20-30 cm. The sounds of humming “a-a-a”, “e-e-e”, etc. appear. He responds to a familiar voice with a smile and smiles when communicating with an adult.

Key points in the development of a child in the second month of life:

• reacts to sounds, turns his head towards its source;
• examines his own palms and fingers, squeezes them into fists and examines them;
• makes the first awkward attempts to reach the rattle;
• the newborn’s reflexes gradually fade away;
• The child’s visual apparatus improves; from this age the baby begins to show interest in bright objects.

Increase in height - 3 cm.

Third month

At 3 months, the child changes every day, turning from a baby completely dependent on his mother into an active, sociable baby. By three months, the baby gets rid of newborn reflexes and learns to consciously control his body. The child becomes more and more interested in what is happening around him; new faces and voices arouse his curiosity. The baby may quietly “coo” and coo in response to communication.

• Physical development

A three-month-old baby rests confidently on his forearms while lying on his stomach. Controls fingers, opens and closes them. Holds your head well in an upright position. At this age, intestinal colic may begin to bother you. A warm diaper placed on the tummy before feeding, a light massage of the abdomen in a clockwise direction, placing it on the tummy and special herbal teas (dill water, fennel) will help get rid of them.

• Psychomotor development

At this age, the baby can already grab and hold toys. The humming contains the drawn-out sounds “b-u”, “sh-i”, etc. When addressed by an adult, he actively moves his arms and legs, makes sounds, and rejoices.

Key points in the development of a child in the third month of life:

• knows how to turn from back to side in both directions;
• easily recognizes the source of sound and light and turns towards it;
• tries to grab and hold the rattle;
• pulls objects and his fingers into his mouth;
• examines his face with his hands, lifts and pulls his legs towards him.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 800 g.
Increase in height – 2.5 cm.

Scheme of physical development of children from birth to 12 months:

Fourth month

At 4 months, the baby’s neck muscles are already sufficiently strengthened. The baby has mastered the ability to hold his head up and enjoys looking around at what is happening around him of his own free will. The child’s field of vision expands; now he sees not only the overall picture, but can also notice individual features. The grip of the baby's palms has become stronger, and the baby can now not only hold the rattle, but also try to transfer it from one handle to another.

• Physical development

A four-month-old baby can already easily roll over from side to back. Lying on his stomach, he raises his head and chin high. The movements of his hands and eyes are coordinated. Tries to grab a suspended toy, reaches for it.

• Psychomotor development

At four months, the baby recognizes familiar objects and faces from a distance. He smiles in response to his parents' speech. A four-month-old baby begins to imitate some sounds. It hums for a long time and in a singsong voice. Distinguishes mother from other adults. When strangers try to play with him, he becomes wary, but then becomes animated.

Key points in the development of a child in the fourth month of life:

• while lying on his back, makes the first attempts to sit up, raising his upper body;
• lying on his stomach makes the first crawling movements;
• when feeding from a bottle, supports it with his hands;
• follows moving objects with his eyes, fixes his gaze;
• curiously examines his reflection in the mirror in the arms of an adult.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 750 g.
Increase in height – by 2-3 cm.

Fifth month

At 5 months, the baby can clearly see distant objects. He may smile at his mother standing in the middle of the room, and notice you a few meters away from the crib. A five-month-old baby peers with interest at the working TV screen. The child has already learned to roll over on his own and is trying to crawl on his stomach.

• Physical development

Five-month-old babies experience a new leap in development. Lying on his stomach, the baby rests on the surface with the palms of his outstretched arms. Supported by his armpits, he stands firmly on his legs. The baby is able to take a toy from the hands of an adult and hold it.

• Psychomotor development

At 5 months, the baby hums melodiously with varied intonation and volume. Captures the difference between affectionate and strict tones. When communication is interrupted, if the mother leaves, he kicks his legs and screams indignantly.

Key points in the development of a child in the fifth month of life:

• being raised to a vertical position and touching the surface with his feet, he tries to push off with his legs;
• hums and imitates sounds made by adults (“ma-ma”, “a-gu”);
• reaches for toys, grabs them and pulls them to his mouth;
• enjoys playing with an adult, but may cry if the game stops;
• At 5 months, many children begin to erupt their first teeth.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 700 g.
Increase in height – 2 cm.

Sixth month

A child at 6 months better expresses his emotions and desires and often voices them. Now he can cry not only when he is uncomfortable or wants to eat. Crying may be caused by a desire to change activities or play with a different toy. Active strengthening of the back and neck muscles contributes to the ability to sit; the child can sit without support for a short time. But he will learn to squat on his own a little later. Lying on his stomach, he pulls up his legs one by one and tries to get on all fours in order to crawl.

• Physical development

At this age, when pulled up by the arms, the baby sits up from a position lying on his back. Sits with adult support or support in the form of pillows. Masters crawling forward. The child is already able to hold a toy and transfer it from one hand to another.

• Psychomotor development

A six-month-old baby can already distinguish his name from others and reacts to its pronunciation. The baby begins to babble, with individual syllables (“pa”, “ba”, “ma”). During this period, the baby loves to be in his mother's arms. The baby stops crying when he is picked up.

Key points in the development of a child in the sixth month of life:

• masters crawling “on his belly”, by the end of the 6th month he can crawl 20-30 cm towards an object;
• getting on all fours, he learns to sway back and forth, which helps strengthen the skill of crawling;
• uses both hands in play, transfers toys from one hand to the other;
• plays on an educational mat with an unbreakable mirror, prefers musical toys;

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 650 g.
Increase in height – 2 cm.

We invite you to view detailed review about how the first year of a child’s life goes:

Seventh month

At 7 months, the baby experiences a real leap in emotional development. His character and temperament begin to emerge. He not only absorbs information, but also applies everyday life acquired knowledge. The child distinguishes large objects (watch, TV, mirror) and is able to show them. By the end of the month, the child will be able to briefly support his own weight on his feet and stand up independently, holding onto support with both hands.

• Physical development

A seven-month-old baby sits without support, supported on the palms of his hands. Enjoys throwing toys on the floor or knocking them against each other. Easily turns from stomach to back. Babies at this age are real fidgets.

• Psychomotor development

The baby babbles for a long time while in the crib. Distinguishes between close and unfamiliar people. Reacts to strangers by crying loudly. He can study his mother's face for a long time using his hands. Likes to look at pictures and leaf through books.

Key points in the development of a child in the seventh month of life:

• reaches for an object or towards mother with both hands;
• sits down with the help of an adult and sits without support;
• tries to attract attention, shows interest in simple games (“peek-a-boo”, “okay”);
• actively sings sounds, a simple onomatopoeia of animal voices appears (“ha-ha”, “quack-quack”);
• loves to leaf through books and look at bright pictures.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 600 g.
Increase in height – 2 cm.

Eighth month

The child is much more active than in previous months. He can sit up and move around by crawling and stands up in his crib. The baby easily distinguishes his parents from strangers and will be able to find their faces even in photographs. Shows a desire to hold a spoon independently when eating. Understands simple requests - to show something or bring one of his toys.

• Physical development

An eight-month-old child enjoys walking and masters step-steps near any available support. Sits independently, and while crawling can stand up and swing on all fours.

• Psychomotor development

Babbles, repeating the syllables “ma-ma-ma”, “ba-pa”, etc. Masters the goodbye hand movement. Loves to play “peek-a-boo” and “okay”. When asking a question, he tries to look for a familiar object or person.

Key points in the development of a child in the eighth month of life:

• holding onto support, walks with side steps;
• easily navigates and moves from one place to another;
• the child no longer likes to lie down, he tries to take a vertical position at any opportunity;
• actively babbles, the vocabulary will be replenished with new sounds and simple words.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 550 g.

Ninth month

At 9 months, the baby feels confident standing on his feet and tries to take his first hesitant steps, holding on to support. He has not yet learned to get down on the floor without falling, so he may fall often. By the end of the month, the child will learn to better maintain balance and balance. The baby is already drinking well from a sippy cup with a spout and is learning to drink from an adult mug.

• Physical development

The baby is actively starting to learn to walk independently. A nine-month-old baby sits down and stands on its legs, holding onto a support, without the help of an adult. Walks with support from both hands.

• Psychomotor development

He begins to imitate himself, repeating random sounds and syllables. Reacts to given name. He plays “okay” and waves “bye-bye.”

Key points in the development of a child in the ninth month of life:

• sits up from a lying position on his back/stomach independently;
• while crawling, it can turn around and move in any direction, not just forward;
• remembers the names of surrounding objects well and, upon request, shows them;
• reacts to the word “impossible”, understands prohibitions;
• babbles a lot in his own language, understandable only to those close to him.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 500 g.
Increase in height – 1.5 cm.

Tenth month

The baby can maintain balance and even take several steps in a row until an adult picks him up. At 10 months, a child can play continuously for 15-20 minutes, get carried away with a pyramid or cubes. Can turn pages in books. Strives to play with other children at a party or on a walk.

• Physical development

A ten-month-old baby, holding onto a support with only one hand, can take independent steps. Squats and stands up at will for any object. The main method of movement is no longer crawling, but walking.

• Psychomotor development

Strives to copy adult speech, listens attentively to the conversation. Recognizes and finds familiar objects at the request of an adult (“give me Lala”, “where is the ball?”)

Key points in the development of a child in the tenth month of life:

• can stand for several moments without support;
• takes 2-3 steps forward without support;
• crawls on hands and knees, supporting body weight on them;
• loves to throw toys out of the crib/playpen;
• shows body parts on himself and on an adult.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 450 g.
Increase in height – 1.5 cm.

Eleventh month

Babies at 11 months show curiosity about everything that surrounds them. The child strives to explore an object in a variety of ways - shaking it in the air, throwing it or hitting it on a surface. He loves to play the game “hidden toy” and finds it easily. In books, he looks at the correct picture when he hears the name of a certain object.

• Physical development

At 11 months, the child stands confidently without support. Actively learns to take the first step without support. Loves to move, dance to music, and play with other children.

• Psychomotor development

Pronounces conscious babbling words (“ma-ma”, “pa-pa”, “av-av”). Reacts to the word “no”. Plays with a pyramid. Knows and shows parts of his body.

Key points in the development of a child in the eleventh month of life:

• actively moves (sits, lies down, stands up independently);
• partial to praise, also understands strict speech;
• can point with a finger at the desired object;
• new steps in communicating with an adult: waving “hello”/”bye” with a pen, nodding affirmatively or negatively waving his head;
• can independently pick up small pieces of food with his fingers.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 400 g.
Increase in height – 1.5 cm.

Twelfth month (1 year)

By the age of one year, the child has already grown stronger as a small person. Here is a detailed description of what a one-year-old child can do. In short, he worries less in the presence of strangers, behaves assertively, and actively expresses his desires. Begins to demonstrate possessive tendencies towards mother or toys. The child’s vocabulary grows very quickly, the baby understands all speech addressed to him and tries to respond.

• Physical development

A one-year-old child stands confidently and walks without support. The baby is active in combing his hair, bathing, and dressing. Tries to hold a spoon independently and eat thick food from it; learns to drink from a mug.

• Psychomotor development

Pronounces the first words, correlating them with actions - “give”, “bang”, “am-am”. Fulfills simple requests - “go to mom,” “give me a cube.” Knows the purpose of simple objects (telephone, comb, toothbrush).

Key points in the development of a child in the twelfth month of life:

• can walk a short distance without support or support;
• bends over and picks up objects on the floor;
• can step over an obstacle in the form of a threshold or a lying toy;
• looks for the necessary item at will, even if he did not see where it was put;
• expresses his needs and desires in simple words. Calling mom and dad. Vocabulary by this age is 8-12 words.

Weight gain (on average) by the end of the month – 600 g.
Increase in height – by 2-3 cm.

A useful story about how to care for a baby:

Differences in the development of boys and girls

Pediatricians have long noticed that there are differences in the development of newborn babies of different sexes. And although each child is individual, some patterns exist. For example:

– Boys are born larger than girls in height and weight. Thus, in full-term male newborns, the average height at birth is 53-56 cm, while in girls it is only 49-52 cm;

– speaking about children’s standards for general physical and mental growth, it is noted that the development of boys is slightly behind their peers already at the time of birth. But this difference is unnoticeable and lasts no more than 2-3 weeks;

– representatives of the fair sex are smaller at birth, but later the physical development of girls accelerates. On average, their bone skeleton is formed earlier than that of boys.

Table with height and weight standards for children under one year old

Using a centile table, you can track the approximate norms of a child’s monthly weight gain, and how the baby’s body length should increase. Height and weight standards for children are given in terms of minimum/maximum values, so they can be used as a guide.

Table of key moments in child development from 0 to 1 year

A brief overview of the table, which shows the development of a child up to one year old by month, will be an excellent “cheat sheet” for young mothers.

In this article:

The birth of a child is a great joy and an important event for every family. In the first months after birth, parents monitor the development of the baby, focusing on his mastering new skills, introducing complementary foods, training simple rules hygiene.

In the second year of a baby’s life, most parents begin to think about how to develop their baby and what methods to use for this. Let's talk about what the baby has achieved by the age of one year, what skills he has mastered and what ways can be used to stimulate his development in the future.

Physical and intellectual development: what has the baby learned?

Sitting in one place without changing position for a long time is impossible for a one-year-old child. The baby is constantly moving, getting acquainted with the world around him, practicing the skills he has mastered. Some children only by this time try to walk without support, continuing to move quickly on all fours, exploring everything that comes their way.

A one-year-old baby enjoys doing the following:

• manipulates toys and improvised objects;
• puts toys and objects in different containers;
• throws toys or objects, knocks them, drags or pushes them;
• climbs stairs and climbs onto low furniture;
• plays with the ball (catches, kicks, throws);
• opens door handles;
• screws caps on bottles, etc.

A baby at this age has a fairly high level of development of fine motor skills, so he copes with many actions where it is necessary to use his fingers.

Cognitive activity in a one-year-old child is also at a high level. He enjoys experimenting with various objects that come to his hand, and shows a keen interest in moving objects and mechanisms. At this age, the baby is able to:

• combine items;
• build towers from cubes;
• assemble simple puzzles from two or three pictures;
• collect insert toys;
• conduct comparative analysis items;
• group objects;
• play with water and sand;
• try to draw;
• know the meaning of many words that he does not yet pronounce;
• understand the prohibitions;
• follow instructions;
• look for hidden objects;
• copy the actions of adults when playing with toys.

After a year, the baby can also notice the active development of speech. The baby enjoys communicating with his parents, tries to repeat words, finishing poems, songs, fairy tales, listens when they read to him.

It is important for parents at this age to devote enough time to the child, to stimulate his early development through games, exercises, and applied creativity, thus developing his potential.

The role of early child development

When planning the early development of a child, not all parents understand what tasks should be set for the baby and what materials to use for this. Experts insist that early development should be based on improving the child’s motor skills (and therefore speech),
enriching his vocabulary.

To develop fine motor skills, that is, sensitivity of the fingertips and manual dexterity, you can use special purchased or homemade toys. This could be a large mosaic, lacing games, puzzles, or a logic cube. Containers with bulk cereals, kinetic sand, buttons, beads, pasta are also suitable, from which a child, together with adults, can make designer beads.

But to develop a child’s thinking and logic, parents are recommended to choose games that correspond to the Montessori method. Suitable natural materials, fabric
shreds, again buttons and laces, with which the baby can play.

During games, you can tell your child about geometric shapes, colors, textures of materials, offering to compare tactile sensations. After a year, the child will be able to distinguish objects not only by color, but also by shape and size, if he is regularly trained, unobtrusively paying attention to external signs items and toys.

Creative potential: is it time to develop it?

Early development of creative potential stimulates the development of memory, intelligence, attention, and also helps the formation of speech skills. Children who are taught this way find it easier to connect with
peers, know how to follow the rules of team play.

During games aimed at developing the child’s creative potential, you can use finger paints, crayons, salt dough, clay, colored cardboard and paper, old magazines, books and toys.

Every day for 10-15 minutes the baby can be hydrated take on a new creative task. For example, you can start with a series of crafts made from salt dough, clay, plasticine, which can be decorated with shells, buttons, beans, or simply painted with paints.

When your child gets tired of modeling, you can introduce him to appliqué, offering to create compositions from ready-made paper parts, as well as natural materials: pine cones, dry leaves and flowers, chestnuts. You can use both glue and plasticine in the process.

Creative activities in the company of adults bring great pleasure to children. They feel responsible and try to earn the praise of mom, dad, grandma or grandpa.

Why develop your child's design skills?

Speaking about how important the early development of a baby after one year is, it is worth noting special role in this process of modeling and design skills. One-year-old children are already capable of carrying out such actions, despite their apparent complexity. During the simulation and Through construction, the child develops attention, logic, patience and imagination.

Kids learn to compare objects, analyze their shape, size, and select the right ones. In the process of such games and exercises, the child manages to complete the process, moving towards the goal - this is very important at this age.

Your child can be taught to design and model using ordinary blocks or construction set parts. Over time, the baby will learn to play with these objects on his own, building entire cities, grouping cubes and construction set parts by color, shape and size.

It is important for parents to understand that each child develops according to his own schedule, so you need to continue studying even with those kids who still have difficulty completing even simple tasks.

There are several of the most effective methods that are used today by adults for the early development of children after one year. Let's look at the most popular of them.

Makato Shichida technique

The original technique of the Japanese Makato Shichida is widely used both in Japan and in other countries of the world. The author claims that every child is born a genius man, but can help him stay that way
early development in close connection with parents. The author is confident that all the information a child receives from adults should be systematized and repeated many times in a certain sequence.

To simplify the task, Makato Shichid suggests using flash cards with different images, which you can start showing to your baby as early as three months after birth. In this way, the baby’s photographic memory will be trained, and the right hemisphere of the brain will actively develop. You need to work with your baby every day - morning and evening.

The baby will need to show pictures at a minimum interval - up to 1 second. The technique received a positive assessment from both parents and teachers. The main problem preventing its implementation is the lack of didactic material for parents to conduct lessons. However, those who wish can make them with their own hands from cardboard and pictures cut out from old books.

Voskobovich's technique: principles and fundamentals

The early development of children after one year in the 90s was difficult to imagine without the use of Vyacheslav Voskobovich’s methodology. The main principle of this technique for children is the use of functional didactic material that promotes the development of logic, imagination,
mathematical abilities of the child, as well as stimulating modeling and design skills.

According to the methodology, kids find themselves in a “fairytale forest”, where each of its inhabitants needs help, which consists in jointly completing some creative task. Children are most delighted with the “geokont” material - a board with nails and colored rubber bands, with which you can carry out a variety of manipulations, thus stimulating the development of creative modeling.

After a year, it will no longer be difficult for children to come up with different geometric shapes and help fairy-tale characters.

An excellent option for exercises within the framework of the technique is the Voskobovich square, which is a square base with triangles on it. One side of the square is red, the other is green. While playing with a square, children have the opportunity to develop logical thinking and imagination by adding figures and searching for figures hidden in the house.

Another technique of the author is the “Splash-Splash” boat, which helps develop mathematics abilities in children after a year. With such a boat, the child will be able to have fun for a long time, building the decks according to the arrangement of the colors of the rainbow, changing their direction, arranging flags by color and size. The disadvantage of the method is that it is expensive teaching material, which is not so easy to buy and impossible to make with your own hands.

Basics of Gmoszynska's technique

With kids who already know how to sit, you can start painting with finger paints, smearing them on paper, squeezing them in your fists.

As the baby grows, the exercises will become more complex and, what is important, regular, without a break for holidays.

“Seven Dwarfs” - a method for early learning of children at home

This technique is suitable for children who are homeschooled from one year to seven years. You will need to work with children
special manuals, which will contain instructions for parents regarding conducting classes with children, depending on their age and training.

The pages of each manual are removable, so as you study, you can hang them around the house to reinforce the material. Working with children according to the method will need to start with 5 minutes, gradually increasing this time.

“Good Tales” from Lopatina and Skrebtsova

As part of the methodology, children from one year of age work with a collection of poems and fairy tales that will develop good feelings and moral concepts in children.

Adults will have to work with kids, making sure to pay attention to discussing what they read, pushing
the child to evaluate the actions of the heroes, albeit at the most primitive level. During such classes, the baby will have the opportunity to improve speech skills, develop patience, memory, attention and, of course, creativity.

Summarizing all of the above, we note that among the many methods it is not at all necessary to choose one and work only according to it.

The early development of children can be carried out using several methods at once, experimenting, combining, adding something of your own. The main thing is to pay attention to the child, encouraging and praising him for his first, even minor successes.

Early development today is one of the most popular phrases in discussing children and their achievements by a certain age. Every mother wants her child to be the smartest, most developed and stand out from his peers. How to achieve this? How to unleash the natural intellectual potential of a baby and not harm it with excessive loads? How to organize early development classes for children under one year of age correctly and using what methodology?

What is “early development”

Many people are familiar with the phrase “early development,” but not everyone has a clear idea of ​​what it is. There are a huge number of myths floating around many techniques. Raising a child in this way has both fans and those who are extremely negative. In fact, everything is not as complicated and scary as it seems at first glance.

Early development is integrated approach to raising a child, when games, activities and communication in the family are aimed at maximizing the mental and physical potential of the baby. Moreover, these classes should begin not from 3-4 years old, as was previously customary, but right from the first months of life.

Myths about the early development of babies under one year old

1. It is difficult to convey any information to children under one year old, so some classes and techniques are simply pointless.
2. This is completely wrong! Yes, children in the first year of life are more based on feelings than on reason, but they can be taught many things. Classes will greatly contribute to psychomotor development, which, in turn, will have a great impact on the child’s physical and intellectual skills.
3. Early development is dangerous for children under the age of one and a half to two years.
4. This again is not entirely true. Any danger may be associated with the fanatical desire of the mother to develop her child by any means and give him encyclopedic knowledge. Overloads can indeed be dangerous for the baby. But if the activities are not forced on the child and do not take a lot of time, then they will not bring anything but benefit.
5. Early development is very difficult.

There is nothing complicated! You just need to play with children, like mothers do every day. Only games and activities should be chosen so that they not only allow you to have fun, but also teach the baby something, and also develop his psyche, motor skills, sensory skills, and allow him to learn. the world around us.

Which early development method to choose for a newborn

Early development methods are very diverse; it is not easy to choose just one among them. But this is not required. You can get acquainted with them all and choose what is most interesting and comfortable for both the child and the parents.

You can develop your baby using one method or make a “hodgepodge” of several. Some mothers prefer to independently select activities and games for their baby based on the materials they have studied. The main thing is to focus on how the child reacts to classes.

If the baby likes it and takes part in educational games with pleasure, then everything is in order and you can continue learning. But in the case when the mother sees that the child is having a hard time, he cannot understand the meaning of the lesson or is bored, which is not interesting to him, then development methods should be more carefully selected.

When it comes to the development of newborn children, there are several basic methods:

Early development according to Montessori

The motto of this technique is “Teach me so I can do it myself!” But in the case of infants, the approach is slightly different. For children in the first year of life, sensory development is important - the development of sense organs, which helps a person perceive and evaluate the world around them. In many ways, this is exactly what Montessori classes for babies under one year of age are aimed at.

It is not at all necessary to look for and buy special Montessori materials and teaching aids that will help organize activities with your child. All auxiliary educational “toys” can be made independently or purchased at a regular children's supermarket

Classes using this system can be as follows:

"Letters and numbers"

You will need large (the size of an adult's palm) letters and numbers made of textured and bright fabric (felt, terry cloth, velvet). They need to be sewn in the form of pillows and filled with different fillings - padding polyester, cereal, paper, sawdust, foam balls, fur, etc. You need to give these pads to your child and clearly pronounce the names of the letters and numbers each time.

By feeling them, the baby will develop fine motor skills, color perception, and in the future it will be much easier for him to learn the alphabet, reading and counting, because the letters and numbers will already be familiar to the child.

Such activities with a newborn can be started from the first or second month of life. Just put a letter or number in your baby's hand. This can be done several times throughout the day. Next, when the child himself reaches out to objects and takes them in his hands, you can put him on his tummy and lay out educational material around him.

This will also contribute to physical development, because in order to get to the most interesting letter, he will have to stretch or try to crawl a few centimeters.

Games with semolina

There is no need to prepare for this activity at all. It is enough to sit the baby on the floor, place a tray or newspaper in front of him and sprinkle the semolina in an even layer. Now you can draw patterns on it, feel it, sprinkle it around, try it on your tongue, write letters and numbers with your finger.

Glen Doman Method

This technique is based on a combination of the child’s physical and mental development. In the case of children, one is inseparable from the other, so it is necessary to harmoniously combine activities that are aimed at the psychomotor development of children under one year old, as well as the disclosure of their intellectual potential.

Doman, in his research, found that the more a child moves, the more successfully he masters any new knowledge and skills. The potential of the baby’s brain and body is enormous; you just need to help it realize itself.

Any lesson using the Doman method should last only a few minutes, the child should never get tired

The technique is based on demonstrating cards on which various images, letters, numbers, and photos are printed. Cards are shown several at a time, the names of the objects depicted in the pictures are carefully pronounced. Such classes are held several times a day, and the rest of the time should be occupied by active outdoor games aimed at physical development. Thanks to such activities, children easily learn the alphabet, counting, names of household items, world landmarks, and foreign words.

Of course, you shouldn’t start playing cards from birth. It's too early. It is better to start classes at 9–10 months of age. To begin with, you can put household items (chair, table, plate, glass), animals (cat, dog, hare), toys (ball, pyramid, car) on the cards. With age, you can expand and complicate the areas of learning, introduce the alphabet and numbers, words in Russian and foreign languages. Great value You should pay attention to the physical development of the child, choosing outdoor games with a ball, walking more on the street, actively teaching the baby to crawl and walk.

Drawing technique of Maria Gmoszynska

“Baby drawing” is a very popular technique that has been known and practiced in European countries for decades. According to this method, children begin to draw from the age of six months or even earlier, provided that the child sits well. For this purpose, fingers, palms, legs and bright, safe, non-toxic paints are used.

Such activities very well help to develop a child creatively, have a positive effect on the psycho-emotional development of personality, and also contribute to the development of fine motor skills and sensory skills.

You can entertain and educate your child with “infant drawing” 2-3 times a week

For the lesson you will need non-toxic high-quality paints of several bright shades, which must be special, liquid enough to paint without adding water (you can use SES, Stilla), and also:

• convenient containers for paints (stable jars with a wide neck);
• a large sheet of Whatman paper (the larger the better);
• oilcloth to lay under the “artist” and his creation.

Before starting work, you need to spread an oilcloth on the floor, lay out whatman paper so that it does not curl into a tube, you can press down the ends with something heavy. Place jars of paint nearby. Then you need to show the baby what to do. To do this, you need to dip your finger in the paint and draw something on paper. Then the child will act on his own.

There is no need to try to teach him to draw something specific; one should not suppress impulses of self-expression. Let the baby draw what he wants, in any colors, using all parts of the body. If you want to show an example, then you can draw something next to the child, but do not force him to do the same.

Methodology Cecile Lupan

Cecile Lupan's method for children in the first year of life is based on the development of the child's basic feelings, the formation of his physiology and psycho-emotional background. However, she does not insist on the use of any special teaching materials and devices.

All classes can be conducted in an everyday environment with familiar objects. You can begin to develop a child using the Lupan system from the first month of life.

The child’s physical development is based on daily gymnastics, active bathing with a circle on the neck, massage, as well as games that stimulate motor skills - crawling and walking.

• Hearing it needs to be developed by constantly talking to the baby, addressing him, and you also need to actively use songs, poems, and fairy tales.
• Vision develops with the help of bright rattles, hanging toys for the crib and stroller. For babies from six months old, you can use cards with various objects (images must be color and black and white). You can also attach a small mirror in the crib so that the baby can see himself in it.
• Touch develops with the help of objects different in shape, texture, size. You can buy various toys or make your own bags from different fabrics, filling them with various fillings (sugar, fur, shreds, cotton wool, peas, etc.).
• Smell can be developed by letting the child smell different sachets of natural herbs (here you need to be careful, if the baby is allergic or asthmatic, then it is better not to conduct such activities). You can also simply bring your child into the kitchen while cooking or in the bathroom and allow him to smell soap or shower gel.
• Taste develops as we grow older with the introduction of new foods. You should try to feed your baby as varied as possible. Of course, there is no need to fanatically shove everything you can get your hands on at your child. But it is necessary to diversify the diet with new dishes from permitted products.

Whether or not to engage in early development with a child is up to each mother to decide for herself, but it’s definitely worth paying attention to popular, trusted methods. With a reasonable approach, they will bring a lot of benefits to the baby, and give the mother more reasons to be proud of her baby.

There is probably no mother now who has not heard the term “early development.” However, opinions regarding its usefulness among parents differ significantly. Some mothers enthusiastically teach their baby to read from the age of 6 months, others are convinced that classes at such an early age have a negative impact on the child’s psyche and deprive him of his childhood. So who is right? It seems to me that most of the disagreements are due to the fact that everyone understands the expression “early child development” differently. Let's try to figure out what it is and how it can affect your baby.

Some time ago, scientists discovered one important fact - by the end of the third year of life, brain cells complete their formation by 70%, and by six to seven years - by 90% . It turns out that starting to teach a child only at 7 years old means wasting very valuable time and not using the child’s innate potential. And vice versa, if you engage in the development of the child during this “productive” period, then there will be a good “launching pad” for further learning.

A child is born with great interest in the world around him, his body is tuned to vigorous activity, he greedily absorbs any information, memorizing it at a speed that we, adults, have never dreamed of. The child’s brain works all the time, learning to compare and draw conclusions. If we actively work with a baby in the first years of his life, we simply expand the child’s information space and give him the opportunity to at least slightly satisfy his need for knowledge about the world around him.

So, early development involves intensive development of the child’s abilities from birth to 3 (maximum 6) years . But everyone’s understanding of the meaning of the word “intense” is different. Many people, speaking about early development, imagine kids cramming letters and numbers and not having a single free minute for free play and communication with peers. Unfortunately, we must admit that there are indeed followers of this approach to early development. Such parents persistently develop their children until they completely discourage them from any kind of learning. This approach to early development can hardly be called correct, because it leads to nowhere and can hardly make a child happy.

What is early development?

First of all, this is an interesting game that is designed to make a child’s life exciting. As Masaru Ibuka said

“The main goal of early development is to prevent the appearance of unhappy children. The child is allowed to listen good music and they teach him to play the violin not in order to raise him to be an outstanding musician. He is taught a foreign language not in order to raise a brilliant linguist and not even in order to prepare him for a “good” kindergarten and primary school. The main thing is to develop in a child his limitless potential, so that there is more joy in his life and in the world.”

So, early development in the correct, in my opinion, understanding is:

• Specially created, filled with interesting objects and toys that provide many different tactile, visual and sound sensations that contribute to the child’s sensory development.
• The mother’s active participation in the child’s life, the desire to make the baby’s life interesting, colorful, a lot of joint games, a creative approach to activities. It’s not enough to buy educational toys; you need to “play” them with your baby.
• Constant conversations and discussions of everything that happens around.
• Getting to know the world around you through cards, books and other aids (for example, studying animals, vegetables, fruits, professions, etc.) How not to overdo it with learning with cards, read.

A reasonable approach to early development or how not to go too far

When Taisiya was just born, I, like many mothers, was wary of intensive early development. What if it harms my daughter’s emotional health? After all, this is precisely what psychologists are afraid of. But when I began to delve into the essence of various methods and activities in more detail, I realized that early development, if you approach it without fanaticism, is not cramming and coaching at all, but interesting games, which are designed to make a child’s childhood brighter and more interesting. It’s just very, very important not to overdo it with these very games. There is no need to take the words “early development” as “raising a genius!”, and constantly pester your child with activities, without leaving him a moment of rest and free play.

Often parents try to realize their own ambitions and unfulfilled dreams at the expense of their child, or they want their child to be better developed than their neighbor’s. In pursuit of results, you can overload the child and discourage him from any desire to study at all.

Give your child as much freedom as possible in choosing an activity . Do not impose activities that are not interesting to him. Perhaps you have been in a situation where you think your child needs to draw, because he hasn’t picked up a pencil for a long time, but for some reason he flatly refuses. Don't insist! I have noticed more than once that such activities “through force” only discourage Taisiya from any desire. And even if you manage to persuade her, she still sits there, dissatisfied, and reluctantly moves her pencil over the paper. I don’t want to draw now - this is a child’s right, everyone has their own interests. It is quite possible that tomorrow or even in a week the child will have a desire.

Stop the activity before the child gets bored. For example, more than once I had to deal with a situation when, it would seem, just having started gluing some craft or building a building out of cubes, Taisiya lost interest in it and refused to continue the activity. But I’m not used to giving up what I started, I need to finish it! Here the temptation immediately arises to persuade your daughter to finish what she started. However, as experience shows, such persuasion does not lead to anything good. Even if the child agrees, he will do everything without desire, and next time he will not even want to look at such an activity. Of course, you need to offer to continue, but without any pressure! In general, it is better to deliberately offer your child crafts and activities that are not too complex, so that the child has enough patience until the end.

Try to turn any activity into a game . Let it not be “Okay, now we are assembling a pyramid,” but a funny scene, a bear will come to you and invite you to play together, of course, nothing will work out for him, the rings will fall out, and the baby will definitely want to help the clumsy bear.

Do not set standards for time and number of classes per day . Anything can happen: your baby may be unwell, he may be in a bad mood, he may be interested in a new toy, or you have urgent matters. There is no need to try at all costs to fulfill the daily quota for classes, and then reproach yourself for the unattained result.

Do not burden your child with knowledge “in reserve” . Try to ensure that the information you study corresponds to the interests and age of the baby, so that he can use it in the near future. For example, study geometric shapes when the baby is already interested in playing with geometric frames and sorters, colors - when the child is already able to distinguish them (after a year), etc.

1. Never compare your baby with other children (although this is very difficult, I know from myself :)), all children are different, they all have their own inclinations! Always evaluate the baby’s development not in relation to the neighbor’s boy Petya, but only in relation to the child himself. Thanks to your activities, the child develops earlier, more fully, than he could if you did not pay any attention to his development at all.

So, when developing your baby, remember that your first priority is make the child happy ! Intellectual development is not the most important thing in life. It is important to maintain a good relationship with the baby, to preserve and support his creative inclinations, the ability to feel and empathize.

Don't listen to those who are against

If you are thinking about the need for early development or are already a supporter of it, you have probably encountered opponents of early childhood development. One of the main arguments of such advisers is “A child should have a childhood.” As a rule, it is used by those people who do not fully understand the essence of development at an early age. Probably, in their opinion, a happy childhood means carefree games with dolls for girls and with cars for boys (what else?), aimless hanging out on the street or around the apartment from corner to corner, and no mental stress (“it’s too early for you” ).

Most likely, opponents of preschool development of children have never seen how a one or two year old child’s eyes light up when he puts together a puzzle or cuts with scissors, when he asks “Mom, let’s talk in English some more,” or when he enthusiastically retells his favorite poems and sings songs .

It is also worth noting that children who were constantly taught in early childhood have a much easier time at school and in adulthood, they are more diligent and receptive to knowledge. For children brought up on the principle of “a happy childhood without unnecessary stress,” it will indeed be difficult to come to terms with the need to study that suddenly falls on their heads.

So, if you decide that early development is for you, then be sure to get started. Soon I will definitely try to write an article in which I will consider the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular developmental techniques. Perhaps it will help someone decide on a “development strategy”. On the site you will also find many useful materials that will help you in preparing activities with your baby. For example,

Last year I wrote several publications, I hope none of the readers wrote me into the camp of his opponents ;-), because this is not so. The thing is that child development is a very delicate work and for successful results it is necessary to use high-quality developmental materials (tasks, exercises, developments, methods, programs), which were developed by people who deeply understand development processes.
Content

Why am I writing about early development?

Let me start with the fact that previously targeted development is an intervention in the natural course of development, thought out and balanced to the smallest detail by nature and our ancestors. People tend to want more, but it’s time for us to get used to the fact that we will pay for every wrong step.

Often, children of ambitious parents, as a result of their efforts, lose interest in learning even before school, and in the years of early development, the achievements of these children are the envy of their acquaintances. Any school psychologist, when identifying the reasons for the lack of interest in learning, will definitely ask whether the child has been involved in early development and, if the answer is affirmative, will issue a verdict - “over-engaged.”

To be honest, it’s unpleasant for me to read articles on the topic of harm to early development, but I myself could not ignore this topic, since too many mothers make mistakes. Previously (when there was no Internet, no opportunity to read scientific research, results, problems with academic performance) it was possible to repeat other people’s mistakes indefinitely, but now you and I have a great opportunity to use other people’s experience and we simply must use it!

I do not propose to abandon the ideas of early development, I propose to analyze what modern pedagogy offers us and choose the best - theories, methods, exercises, classes, everything that has no side effects!

Current trends and misconceptions

The first thing I want to draw attention to is that in development, as in everything else in our lives, it is necessary to observe dosage. Here, as in nutrition, little by little anything is possible. When focusing on one type of activity, be prepared for an imbalance - only in a computer game, if your character has leveled up the strength skill, then with this skill alone you can complete the game. In life, everything is different - the human brain has a certain sequence of maturation of brain structures and by maximizing one skill of the baby, you forever deprive the child of the maximum potential for developing another skill!

Let's consider the most popular approaches to the development of children (read more about this)

1. Most “developmental” games provide subject knowledge about the world around us - colors, shapes, other concepts of the world around us + logic + fine motor skills + outdoor games. Given a small dosage, this is, in my opinion, the most attractive of the popular development approaches. It is better to give all this to the baby in as much quantity as he wants and no more (this corresponds to the Montessori method).
2. Children of more ambitious parents were less fortunate - in addition to the entire list of point 1, they are taught to read and count from the cradle, disrupting the sequence of maturation of brain structures and dooming them to melancholy and loss of interest in studying in school. elementary school.
3. Mothers who strive to invest in their child the maximum amount of knowledge and skills in standard ways (regular thematic classes in large doses, teaching reading, counting, swimming, dancing, etc.) are most often doomed to failure, since they make a deep intervention in the development process, and this is fraught. It would be more correct to say that their children have the least chance of realizing their potential (growing up as independent creative individuals).

Another mistake I would highlight in modern trends is an abundance of information divorced from reality offered for memorization. The dominant type of memory in children is figurative (associative). By offering a child an encyclopedia with pictures, we essentially invite him to create images for each picture. But the image in a child’s memory is not just one image, it is a whole system! Each image should have a number of characteristics understandable to the child, and if the image is not supported by anything other than incomprehensible words, then it will simply clutter up the memory.
I often thought about many questions when studying with Yana: “Why am I showing her the elephant? What is connected in her head with an elephant besides a plastic figurine and an incomprehensible phrase “he lives in Africa and India, etc.”? “Now I am convinced that I was just creating information noise in her head to the delight of myself and my grandmothers, who are happy from the magnificent “erudition” of their beloved granddaughter. Now I blame myself for acting “like everyone else” and filling the child’s head with untimely information divorced from reality.
Yes, I think that elephants, giraffes, fire engines, etc. have no business. in a child’s head for at least one year! The time for elephants will come when fairy tales and cartoons about them begin to be age-appropriate, as well as when going to the zoo and other cases when the child is given the opportunity to reveal the most complete image of these animals. And even if you find fairy tales for the little ones about an elephant and accuse me of limiting knowledge for a child, then it’s unlikely about a cheetah, rhinoceros, musk ox and many others ;-). Anyone who wants to argue with this must read the article to the end.

Volume of encyclopedic knowledge

I really want to argue the inappropriateness of untimely pumping up with encyclopedic knowledge, which advanced mothers completely abuse. Just a year ago, I, like others, believed that the more information you put into a child, the better. Lately I've found this to be a modern misconception.

When Yana learned 12 colors, I asked myself, “How many colors should a child know?” Is 12 in a year and a half a lot or a little? My daughter’s colors turned out great and with further training she could easily add a few dozen more to her memory. In these reflections, I came across a post by one mother about how her daughter, at the age of two, blinded a cobalt worm (I’ll make a reservation right away, I’m not aware of this mother’s approaches to development, perhaps upon closer examination everything is very harmonious, it’s just that her specific post brought me to for very productive thoughts). Those. the girl distinguishes and knows the names of many shades. After reading this post, I felt sad, because I myself don’t know cobalt color and I was even more tormented by doubts whether Yana needed it and dozens of other shade names. I admit, I really want Yana to “know everything.” And then a simple question came to my mind, which any of you can answer: “does the level of artistic skill depend on the number of names of shades that the artist keeps in memory?” AND next question: “What should a child be taught to develop artistic taste and interest in drawing?” Of course, it is necessary to: examine and discuss beautiful paintings, use a palette to select similar/dissimilar colors, at an older age, achieve certain shades by mixing, and much more, which makes the thinking apparatus work, and not load the memory with empty images.

In my opinion, the amount of knowledge should be optimal for its high-quality processing and the main efforts should be aimed at developing thinking, and not pumping up memory. Probably, many have encountered a situation where the computer does not have enough processor power and is not able to process data arrays. Most people create this same situation for their children, but few people realize it. Unfortunately, at the moment I am doing with Yana many of the same things as others, but without much fanaticism, understanding the incorrectness of modern approaches. Having understood the mechanisms of thinking development, I think you, like me, will feel a lack of materials.

Development of thinking - my hypotheses

I hope I was able to prove to you that for proper development we must shift the emphasis from simply pumping up knowledge about the world around us to developing thinking.

Now remember what ways of developing thinking at an early age you know. Of the most popular ones, the only ones that come to mind are educational aids, toys, and that’s it! It's a modest list, isn't it? I think those who read this post will not be able to limit themselves to them :)

Well, I think it's time to write theoretical basis their hypotheses for the development of thinking:

1. To perform mental operations at the first stage it is necessary load high-quality images with connections into the baby’s memory. It is especially important to take into account the quality of book images at a very young age - animals in pictures can be duplicated in plastic figures and revived with simple and atmospheric stories about them. When reading different books about the same characters, go back and compare. When a child learns to perceive books, he himself will begin to correlate real-life objects and book images. In my opinion, images without connections in a child’s memory are a garbage phenomenon that simply takes up space, just like clothes that don’t fit us in size and style are hanging in the closet. Why do we buy it and hang it in our closet? Throw it away immediately! And get those images that can be actively used! In the end, clothes can be adjusted to fit the figure, and images can be supplemented with information about them. Just don’t forget that an image is a very multifaceted concept and to reveal it you need to use as many means as possible (fascinating stories, beautiful illustrations, melodies, new tastes, aromas, textures, places, etc.).

2. The possibilities and variety of mental operations depend more on the number of relationships and quality of images, and not on the number of images themselves. The logic is that the more complete images that the brain manipulates, the more practice and therefore better results. If the images are incomplete (without connections with each other or with a minimum of connections), then the brain does not operate with them, such images clutter the brain.
Connections between images can be both direct and associative. Direct connections - by feature (color, shape, type, etc.) Associative connections between images are random connections of unrelated objects. For example, there was heavy snowfall and the child saw a truck for the first time. Most likely, a snow-truck connection will be created in the child’s brain. Thus, by noticing various moments in reality and in books, the mother can help the baby create associative connections, thereby making the images in the baby’s head clearer and of higher quality.

3. At the third stage it is necessary to work on expanding the range of mental operations. One of the points of increasing the number of operations will be the optimal number of images. If there are too many monotonous images, the brain may begin to perform the same type of operations with the entire set. Here you can cite everyone’s favorite TV series as an example. For the most part, they are of the same type, but the brain perceives each series as a separate system of images and processes them anew. Here is an example of chewing gum for the brain, which, if abused, directly leads to the degradation of the thinking apparatus. Most useful story games include a simple set of toys and other little things that the child begins to combine in all sorts of ways. If the child is provided with a variety of high-quality and beautiful toys, then the combination in this case has already been done by the manufacturer - he has made a set of food for the child to feed the doll, and your child can simply perform mechanical actions with a minimum of combinations - put food into plates and bring it to the dolls’ mouth.

4. Improving the quality of mental operations. A mental operation of the highest level creates an independent system of images, which in turn leads to an expansion of the range of operations! This is already the beginning of creative thinking. The simplest operation for creating images is predicting the result. We purposefully begin working on this operation from the first year of life. Elementary forecasts for the first year of life - “fell, it will hurt,” “put it in water, it will become wet,” etc. To consolidate all this, we dilute it with images:
- “the bear fell - they picked it up, everything is fine” = the image has not changed;
— “the mug fell and broke” = new image “broken mug”;
- “the tower fell / the pyramid fell apart - we need to reassemble it” = new image “broken tower”;
- “baby fell - it hurts/wow” = new image of “crying baby”.
Just as one of the most effective tools for developing thinking is drawing (this also includes modeling). By the end of the second year of life, it allows you to materialize a system of images from thoughts into drawings and operate with them at a new level, creating an endless cycle:
— generation of new images;
— performing transactions with them;
— generation of new images obtained as a result of operations with previous ones;
- and so on until mom calls for food or a change in activity is required.

5. With the development of thinking through images and connections between them, memory will inevitably begin to improve itself! This is based on the mechanisms described in the theory of mnemonics, which is recognized by official science as the most effective method for developing memory.

This is the ideal theory of thinking development in a nutshell. Actually, this theory is a puzzle of early development that I have been putting together in my head for more than a year. Of course, the question arises about the practical side of its application. Separate parts of the practice can be found in the heritage of ancestors and right-hemisphere development methods. I will go into more detail on this in my next post on early development. Next, I want to highlight another important point that if you are a mother of a baby, you should not miss, especially considering the ease of its implementation.

Montessori - development without negative consequences

It is precisely because of the danger of ruining the baby’s potential that the most authoritative experts for me persistently recommend Maria Montessori’s method to everyone. I haven’t written in detail about this technique (and in vain, I promise to improve), because its basics are accessible and logical for most mothers even without familiarity with it.

This technique is based on a system of requests and proposals. If a child wants to draw, according to the Montessori method, it is believed that the optimal period has come to improve the level of drawing skills, the child wants to sing - it is necessary to seize the moment and create conditions favorable for this, etc.

In addition, Montessori pays a lot of attention to jointly performing household work with parents and providing the child with the tools and tools necessary for development. After all, if a child does not have paints in sight and does not know where they are, then it is unlikely that he will ever want to paint with paints.

I consider the basics of the Montessori method as a structured description of fairly obvious things that you can simply accidentally forget about, so sometimes reading books about this method is very useful.

Any author’s technique has interesting accents. Maria Montessori pays a lot of attention to material for the development of logic (inset frames, counting material of various shapes). I've been really into this lately. We simply provide the child with all this goodness and restrain ourselves and others from prompting as much as possible, thus getting the fastest possible experience for your baby. natural course of thinking development! There is no need to spend large sums on this; choose inexpensive and neat materials (pay attention to other puzzles). After learning one, introduce a new one. Hide the studied materials for a month or two or six months. So much so that the child has time to forget the decision and the materials are like new to him. After all, after some time they will be perceived at a different level. Another option is to exchange them with familiar peers.

The method is not without extremes - some sources indicate that tables, chairs and a bunch of other serious expensive equipment, special storage racks, etc. are required for classes. In fact, I see the Montessori method as the most practical and easy to implement. In the future I will definitely describe how we use it.

Instead of a conclusion

In this post, I tried to outline the essence from which I start when choosing classes for Yana. In the future, I have planned a whole series of posts on this topic, including a review of available practice, as well as joint search/development and distribution of the right materials for the development of thinking.

Update: My further search for the right approach to the development and upbringing of children led me to study ( professor, academician, psychologist, doctor of biological sciences, head of the Institute of Developmental Physiology Russian Academy Education ) . In my opinion, M.M. Bezrukikh is a person whose opinion in the field of children’s development should be trusted and listened to first of all. We should not follow the lead of manufacturers of children's goods and services, unreasonably forcing the natural course of development. Being ahead of peers in “skills” greatly flatters parents’ pride, but can lead to negative consequences. It is necessary to set the right goals for the child’s development.

Surprisingly, I discovered a reflection of my “image loading” theory. This is the book recommended by M.M. Armless, as a guide to the proper development of children.

By the way, I recently chose a program for teaching in elementary school for Yana (let me remind you, she is now 1.10) and it fits perfectly with my vision of children’s development. Perhaps mothers who have older children will guess which one;-), but this will also be discussed in a separate post.

And yet, I don’t know how ready you, my readers, are for such articles. I would like to know your opinion, since the material is difficult to understand. If you are interested in publications on this topic, please mark in the comments the phrase “Write more” 😀 .

If you liked the material, write about it on your favorite forum about babies and add a link to this page to your post or repost this post on a social network:

• (review of puzzles from 2 to 60 elements)
• (choosing the right guidelines for early development);
• (side effects developmental techniques and a list of what a baby needs for harmonious development from 1 to 2 years old);
• (big / small, etc.).

About the author Mom is boring

In the recent past, I was a software engineer. Favorite platforms ASP.NET, MS SQL. 14 years of experience in programming. Blogging since 2013 (year of Yana’s birth). In 2018, I turned my hobby into my favorite job. Now I'm a blogger!

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Early development - creating an individual approach: 34 comments

1. Elena

   It is very strange that the author, after reading so much material about early development, draws his own conclusion about the dangers of early reading. I wonder on what basis?
   I’m not for extremes either, but here’s what’s interesting: it’s known that for more than 3,000 years in Jewish pedagogy children have been taught to read from the very beginning and at 3 years old their children are already reading, but who has more Nobel laureates than others?
   In terms of development, our children are 7 years behind their children at the start, and in terms of humanities for all 17. These studies were done by our scientist, teacher, author of the early development system P.V. Tyulenev "The WORLD of a Child". They were made after the discovery, when, according to the author’s methods, a baby crawler, not yet able to walk, began to put words together from letters.
   I highly recommend reading his articles and books. Perhaps you will look at everything completely differently.

   1. Post author

      Elena, I don’t have telepathy. If you write about extremes, please clarify what exactly What do you mean by them?

      As for the age of learning to read, it seems to me that you are going to extremes when you write about reading from the moment of conception))). Well, at least criticize me that I am an ossified Soviet conservative, but I prefer to choose, first of all, classes for my child those that he can perceive as effectively and efficiently as possible. Those. focus not on the average recommended age (4, 6.7 years ...), but Learn to understand your child's level of development- this means not teaching reading from the cradle, but at the same time not delaying reading until the age of 7, but looking for a middle ground.

      Well, one more thing: I really ask you to understand my articles not the way you want, but the way I wrote them. Believe me, when I wrote this article, I had no intention of recommending that everyone delay learning to read until school. I am very sorry that people do not notice extremes in themselves, but easily find them in others, without delving into the general meaning of what is written and at the same time draw conclusions based on words taken out of context. You write about reading from conception and accuse me of going to extremes!? Think about it)).

      P.S. Meanwhile, Yana will turn 5 years old in a month, and today I marked another important point in her development. Yana has already developed a good reading mechanism - today she on its own initiative I read a book of 20 pages with poems of 4-6 lines on each page.

      1. Elena

         Well done Yana! 🙂 I understand you as a mother who, not knowing the abilities and capabilities of young children, goes by feel...
         The science of early development was created in Russia in the period from 1959 to 1988, when methods were created and tested in practice: “Reading, typing, counting, knowing notes, doing business, and even leading (learning to be a leader) ... - earlier than walking ", 1988, - author P.V. Tyulenev, President of AOSED -
         RNAS. You can look on the Internet, texts and videos, where children of 2-3 years old still type on an electric typewriter, and on laptops - at 1.5 years old... (2016).
         I specifically list some of the methods that have been working for 30 years so that you can get an idea of ​​how far science has gone from our everyday consciousness.
         In the book “Children’s Giftedness and Unraveling the Mystery of the Control Pyramid...” the author writes that what is considered the norm in Jewish families is “upbringing from the very conception” for 3 thousand years. Well, in our country, early reading is still considered an extreme for our families.
         Americans differ from us in that they strive to be leaders in everything. But it is with them that I observe extremes.
         For example.
         The extreme, in my opinion, is to show a child, according to G. Doman’s “programs,” 14 times a day sheets of paper with tens, hundreds and thousands of dots, believing that the child will remember all this and it will be useful for him... - at the same age P. In, Tyulenev teaches a child not only to count correctly on his fingers, but also to type all numbers and numbers from 1 to several hundreds - on a typewriter (1989!).
         I also consider it extreme to show a baby dozens, hundreds of words in Doman style so that he remembers them, without knowing any letters, syllables, or how to read - this is not a method, but some kind of primitivism, anti-methodology and extreme. At the same time and even earlier, children, according to the Russian Tyulenev method, not only read everything fluently at 1 year 4 months, but also type words and phrases: both under dictation and those invented by themselves, that is, phrases composed by the child since 1989 and texts that can be found on the page http://www.tyulenev.ru/recordmir.htm.
         In the program “For every family of gifted and talented children, it is considered the norm for children to become familiar with five (5) foreign languages ​​- up to 3 years of age
         I read the diary of Bella Devyatkina’s mother, a girl from the “Best of All” program, who at the age of 4 knows 7 languages. She introduced her baby to foreign languages ​​from the age of one month and did not believe that the child could perceive and assimilate all this. And, truly, it turned out to be a miracle for her that it was so simple for a child.
         What for us adults seems such a serious approach and difficult to learn is just a game for small children :)
         This is what P.V. writes. Tyulenev (30 years of experience and practice):
         “... Raising a child prodigy is the norm rather than the exception if parents know how to create a developmental environment in the family for children from 0 to 10 years old.
         Without any complex special lessons, children can begin to read simultaneously with “walking” and “talking” at the age of 1 - 2 years.
         You will learn how to help your baby develop abilities before the age of one, how to become a musical genius, polyglot, president, businessman, artist...
         It is known that mathematical abilities are most easily developed in the preschool period, which can be made an extremely effective time for developing the talents of your children in a relaxed playful way, by creating a developmental environment at home. After reading the book, you will be able to prevent many of your child’s future problems related to schooling and social adaptation. You don't need any special knowledge. ..."
         Back in 1996, the author came to the conclusion that children become phenomenally gifted and are several times superior in intelligence to all their school teachers: “early reading children” master the basic school curriculum at the age of 7, and the curriculum at the age of 8–9 years. high school and enter their first university at the age of 9 - 10 years!

         In 2006, such children, by the age of 17-18, had already received four bachelor's degree diplomas in economics, pedagogy and psychology, law and philology with knowledge of 3 foreign languages. Here, for 4 diplomas about V.O. savings are obtained... in 10 - 15 years! These are the opportunities you and your child have - you can probably discover and realize them if you join the program “For every family - six gifted and talented children of the era of the Developed Man”...

         These are not extremes, but the scientifically proven capabilities of modern children, which, as I understand, parents and children reveal in this very “CHILD’S WORLD” system.
         Since 1988, P.V. Tyulenev has a lot of followers who understand almost nothing about the real early development of children - don’t fall for them! - otherwise your child will have to go to school for 12 years, like everyone else. Here you will not be able to win 6-7 years, as in the book “Read, count ... - before you walk.”
         In addition, everyone writes that after “training” at school, the child ceases to be gifted and talented. Many children turn out to be unhealthy and pick up bad habits. 🙁
         Everyone is now writing that terrible American textbooks were imposed on schools, which were written by just anyone, often by people far from practical pedagogy.
         After these textbooks, the child stops thinking anything at all. It’s not like in Soviet textbooks, which were developed by scientists, proven teams of authors.

2. Lily

   I’m very interested in what curriculum you chose for school☺Please share?)

3. Svetlana

   Good article. I learned a lot of useful things. Thank you.

4. Anonymous

   write more, Ekaterina!

5. Anonymous

   Write more, boring mom! 🙂

6. Tatiana
7. Irina

   I recently found you and am reading avidly! Everything is very responsive and impressive!))) We are still 1.2 and we are very interested in your opinion about the Baby Club development network. It combines several techniques, including Mantessori and Zaitsev's cubes, and much more. It seems that the approach there is gentle, short classes alternate with physical activity in the entertainment area. After reading you about the harm of early learning letters and numbers, I became interested in how my daughter would perceive Zaitsev’s cubes as letters or as pictures.. thank you!)))

8. Sun

   I read you avidly, write more! Tell me, how do you feel about printouts of black and white geometric shapes for the little ones 0+ and later color pictures with the outlines of animals, trees, etc.? No letters or words, just pictures. They are recommended for the development of vision. From your point of view, is it worth showing them how many times a day so as not to overdo it?
   My son is 4 months old, we just listen to Mozart, look at the mobile, are interested in rattles and that’s all. What should be done for children of this age? I looked for you, but didn’t find it.
   It’s also extremely interesting to see your opinion about different applications on your phone, geometric shapes spin there, different animals make sounds, etc. My son is simply delighted with such applications, but I am afraid for his eyesight (what if I ruin it with my phone) and suddenly there will be mental strain. At what age can you include your phone in the process?

9. Tatiana

   great article! write more =)

10. Maria
11. Elena

    Ekaterina, thanks for the article. Through studying the Montessori method, I learned about Gordon Neufeld, a developmental psychologist. His presentation of the theory of child development completely changed my understanding of what my child needs for normal development, the development of his (in my case her:-) human potential. If you are interested, there is a Russian-language blog “Caring Alpha”, and the official website, of course. Sincerely:-)

12. Sophia

    Hello! My baby is almost 10 months old, I found your site by accident, but as they say, accidents don’t just happen. I tried to find harmony in early development methods, but analyzing one is more difficult than doing it together. We really need your work. Write more, I always look forward to your articles and they always contain the main thoughtful thought, and the most important thing is very understandable and accessible. I wish you and your daughter happiness and health.

13. Catherine

    Write more!
    For me, the mother of an almost one-and-a-half-year-old child, this is a very relevant and pressing topic. I can’t say that I read a lot of literature on baby development, but I intuitively felt a certain absurdity of the process when you start naming and commenting on images, explaining unknown things to a child in unknown words. And nothing but words... After looking at books with animals in this way for a couple of weeks, I developed a strong desire to take my daughter to the zoo. Which was successfully implemented. And whoever thinks that children have nothing to do at the zoo every year, you are mistaken. A storm of emotions and delight (although our dad very much doubted the timeliness of this event). I hope that now for her, at least some of the pictures come to life))). Therefore, I would like to read about experience and ideas for implementing the stages of development indicated in the post. And I look forward to developing materials!

14. Alfia

    Ekaterina, I would really like to know your opinion about Masaru Ibuka’s book “After Three It’s Too Late.” In it, by the way, the author writes that the child’s brain is not capable of being overloaded with information: “Just don’t be afraid to “overfeed” or overstimulate it: the child’s brain, like a sponge, quickly absorbs knowledge, but when it feels that it is full, it switches off and stops perceiving new information. information. Our concern should not be that we give the child too much information, but that there is often too little of it to fully develop the child.”

15. Elena

    Of course, write more!!!))) Very interesting indeed! My baby is only six months old, but I regularly look through articles about development and principles of understanding the world. On a subconscious level, as soon as I started to be interested in toys, I tried and am trying to provide a choice for the little one, despite the oohs and aahs of the grandmother, who herself chooses what her beloved granddaughter will play with in my absence. For some reason, my approach doesn’t suit her(((The way I was raised and educated, of course, I have no complaints, but that was a long time ago and I want to raise and develop my child based on my own principles, and people like you really make me this is inspiring!!! Thank you very much for your articles!!!

16. Catherine

    Of course we need more! 🙂 I am a mother and a practicing child psychologist: many of the conclusions seemed to me exactly those that lead specifically to harmonious development. Regarding M. Montessori technology, I, including myself, came from my own experience to the conclusion that it is one of the most “natural” for children. In kindergarten they often focused on the fact that she was expensive. But, if you delve into our certification systems, then this approach, although not justified, is understandable. But at home, yes, a lot is available. 🙂 I always drew the attention of parents to this system in early age groups.
    Following the child is the main thing, in my opinion. I also like the principle: “not to dominate, but to guide.” This is when you offer something to a child, and then see whether you like it or not, whether it’s worth digging into it more or putting it aside for a while, and then trying again someday. At home, after such themed days and games, I always leave the material, games, etc., even if, in my opinion, they did not produce the necessary desired effect. in the child’s access area so that Marinka can try it on her own - and it works! Yes, sometimes in ways that never even occurred to me!
    Interesting, very interesting information about information presented. :)) I also often think and reflect on this. Working in the system, we generally encounter this every day: what is desirable for young children, and what is accessible to older ages. I often read online that many mothers complain about the kindergarten program, saying that ours at home is cooler. And it should be cooler mainly due to the principle of an individual approach, which in kindergarten, of course, is not always the case due to the number of children. But the selection of topics is, in my opinion, very optimal in such programs. After all, it’s not mandatory to tell kids about the ancient world? They would laugh, and then be horrified, realizing... It’s another matter when the baby himself is interested in the child...
    And this principle is also important on the other hand. Some children know many colors and even shades a year, but I played with the baby for a long, long time so that she could remember the main four... But at 3.5 years old, after the first one, she showed how to tie knots, amazingly performed appliqué algorithms, and the stage Drawing a person - a tadpole passed in one week, independently realizing that the arms and legs are not attached to the head... Children are different, you need to listen to them. Preschool childhood is important, and it is surprising that knowledge and ideas are all the more valuable if they are acquired independently. And the established guidelines are something that a child, in principle, can, but is not obligated to do - for this, his brain will orient itself. 🙂
    And the very principle of presentation is very well described: of course, any theory is a versatile, fascinating reinforcement with practice: theater, games, experimental activities, and for older children this is a method of projects, when you look for information yourself, supplement it, find points of contact with reality... This also applies to the subject-development environment (for some reason the elephant stuck in my soul 🙂): if an image appeared in an illustration, it must be supported in other various forms of reality. Of course, that’s all - it’s often impossible to reproduce everything, but it’s worth making the effort to create such “bases.” This helps to classify reality in children's minds: analyze, synthesize and generalize.

    Yes, we are looking forward to it!

17. Olga

    The idea is clear. Write more :) Mine is only a year old and we don’t have any kind of consistency in our classes, everything is chaotic and irregular. The first “swallows” - returns - are just beginning to appear, and it’s difficult for me to maintain my interest in classes - I can’t understand what’s working and what’s not. That is, we are doing something, I don’t seem interested. But I see that after some time he actively repeats it. So, I remember. The eldest child is especially “effective”. If you did something in front of her, it was 100% effective. This article by you is very good and deep, it is already such an essence that you can think about.