Child Crafting

Here is a simple chart to illustrate why reading to your child during his/her early years is so beneficial.

Reading Readiness

So start reading!

“The time to start reading to a child as soon as he can sit on your lap.” - Angelo Patri

Since this post is pretty short, let’s end off with a meaningful poem.

The mind of a child is a beautiful place,
An Eden where many things grow,
A garden of beauty where sheltered by love
Grow flowers in row upon row.

The mind of a child is a wonderful place
Where wishes and dreams are quite real,
And kittens and puppies and gingerbread men
Can talk and can actually feel.

The mind of a child is a mystical place
Where character grows like a tree
And children become either better or worse
From actions of you or of me.

- Herbert Parker

I Took a Piece of Plastic Clay
by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day-
And as my fingers pressed it, still
It moved and yielded to my will.

I came again when days were past
The bit of clay was hard at last.
The form I gave it, still it bore,
And I could change that form no more!

I took a piece of living clay,
And gently fashioned it day by day,
And molded with my power and art
A young child’s soft and yielding heart.

I came again when years were gone:
It was a man I looked upon.
He still that early impress bore,
And I could fashion it never more.

There is a long way to go, and you can’t guide your child every step of the way. What you can do is to help your child develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in life. That’s a very important responsibility.

Learning starts in infancy, long before formal education begins, and continues throughout life. Early learning begets later learning and early success breeds later success, just as early failure breeds later failure. Success or failure at this stage lays the foundation for success or failure in school, which in turn leads to success or failure in post-school learning. Recent studies of early childhood investments have shown remarkable success and indicate that the early years are important for early learning. Moreover, early childhood interventions of high quality have lasting effects on learning and motivation. As a society, we cannot afford to postpone investing in children until they become adults, nor can we wait until they reach school age - a time when it may be too late to intervene.

James J. Heckman, PhD, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences

Nurture is more important than nature when it comes to developing your child’s capabilities. You may not be able to control how smart your child is at birth, but you dictate their intellectual development from than on.