Early development or How to make a child’s childhood bright?

What changes occur in the mother's body in the first week of pregnancy?

In the first week, menstruation begins and ends. The bleeding surface of the uterus is healing. A follicle, a tiny sac containing an egg, begins to mature in a woman’s ovaries. This process is regulated by hormones produced in the ovaries and brain. Although other organs and tissues also indirectly influence the maturation of the egg: for example, the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, adipose tissue.

With an ideal menstrual cycle, the follicle maturation phase lasts about 2 weeks. By the time of ovulation (rupture of its membranes), it will reach the size of an apricot kernel.

If you are tracking your ovulation using an ultrasound, it will confirm the growth of a dominant follicle this week. Based on the size of the bubble, the doctor will be able to predict the approximate date of release of the egg.

Development of a child of preschool and school age

The main task of a child from the moment of his birth is to explore the world. Each baby develops at his own pace, endlessly making small discoveries and delighting parents with his achievements. And, of course, every parent wants to help their child develop actively and with interest. The life of modern mothers and fathers is full of questions and doubts related to when is the best time to start a child’s early development, whether schoolchildren need additional classes, what direction to choose and whether it is necessary to start at all. Let's try to understand this whirlpool of questions.

Why is early childhood development necessary?

A child’s childhood before entering school is divided into several periods, each of which is a unique time in development, self-awareness, and the acquisition of new skills and abilities. It is this time that determines the health, well-being, learning abilities and behavior of a person in the future.

Child development: the advantages of properly organized early development

• active formation of new neural connections in the brain;
• mental flexibility and the ability to think creatively and outside the box;
• positive emotions and the joy of discovery;
• overcoming shyness and the ability to communicate with children and adults;
• love of knowledge in the broad sense of the word;
• the possibility of closer contact with the baby. Thanks to early development, we not only give the child additional tools for understanding the world around us, but also make the infinite world understandable and open. We provide an opportunity for harmonious development and self-knowledge. The child's development occurs naturally and comfortably.

Why do we need additional classes for schoolchildren?

It would seem that a student’s life consists almost entirely of studying, so why might he need additional classes? School is not the whole world. For example, when schoolchildren learn that they can learn English through games, constantly changing activities and without using their native language, everything around them turns upside down. Understanding that the usual ways of acquiring knowledge are not the only possible ones and that besides school there are many platforms for self-expression, makes children move forward with particular zeal.

Additional classes for schoolchildren are more likely to meet the needs of the children. If at 7–11 years old the leading activity through which personal development occurs is study, then at 12–15 years old intimate and personal communication becomes the main activity, and adolescents aged 15–17 years become increasingly interested in their future and how they will use their knowledge. At each age stage, additional classes help:

• develop a habit of study;
• learn to systematize and apply in practice knowledge obtained from different sources;
• gain self-confidence;
• find like-minded people and expand your circle of acquaintances;
• deepen your knowledge in interesting areas;
• expand ideas about the world and ways of knowing it.

Child development: how to choose the right direction?

You should not wait for your child to come to you and ask you to take him to certain lessons. But when choosing additional activities for your child, adhere to several principles:

Principle 1. Be on the child’s side.

Think about which side you take when choosing a new activity. You should not try to make your dreams or unfulfilled childhood desires come true by sending your son or daughter to any club or section. Always be on the child’s side, consider his interests and needs, and not your own ambitions.

Principle 2. Be yourself, and not chase fashion.

Fashion trends also exist in the field of additional education. But remaining yourself is always more important than chasing trends. What interests unite your family? What can you share with your child? If you love swimming, you know where to look. If you love to travel, then learning English is perfect! Additional education should meet the interests of the child and the family as a whole, your common values, because the support and involvement of parents is the key to a child’s success.

Principle 3. Strive for harmonious development.

The younger the child, the faster his development occurs. That is why it is very important that additional classes meet the needs of the harmonious cognitive, physical, psycho-emotional and social development of children. An excellent example of a harmonious approach to learning is Helen Doron schools. Thanks to the thoughtful scientific basis of teaching, children at Helen Doron not only learn English, they move a lot, develop coordination (Infinity Walk, Brain Gym), learn a lot about the world around them, the laws of nature, the culture and traditions of different peoples, and participate in social projects ( for example, collecting waste paper or rescuing dolphins), and also make friends and have active holidays together as whole families.

Principle 4. Organize everything correctly.

Always remember that it is important for even the smallest child to have free time to play, and even more so for a teenager. You should not enroll in all centers and clubs at once, do not overload your children’s schedule; they, like adults, need personal time - for walks, fantasies, games and communication with family and friends. The development of a child requires system and order in everything. Don't be late for extracurricular activities or miss them, so your child can learn responsibility and take their learning seriously. Set the right examples!

Child development is not a race of achievements, but an exciting journey around the world, full of amazing events. Early development of children and additional activities for schoolchildren will certainly make a huge contribution to the future, develop mental flexibility and the ability to think creatively and outside the box, and instill an interest in knowledge. It's never too late to start. But the sooner you start, the more exciting discoveries you will make together with your child!

To-do list in the first week of pregnancy

If you are planning a pregnancy, now is the time:

• Give up bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol). Nicotine and alcohol increase the risk of early miscarriages and negatively affect fetal development.

• Start taking folic acid. Folic acid is involved in cell division and tissue growth. Sufficient consumption of this vitamin is especially important in the first weeks after conception, when the formation of the main organs and systems of the fetus occurs. Folic acid deficiency often leads to disturbances in the development of the nervous and cardiovascular systems in a child. In addition, it increases the risks of miscarriage, placental abruption and stillbirth. To avoid problems, doctors recommend starting to take folic acid before conception, so that by the time pregnancy occurs, it has time to accumulate in sufficient quantities in the body.

• Reduce coffee consumption. Up to 2 cups per day. Animal studies have shown that high doses of caffeine increase the risk of birth defects in the fetus.
• Consult your doctor about any medications you are taking. Many drugs have a negative effect on pregnancy.
• Prepare your partner for conception.
  Dad makes the same contribution to the child's health as mom. Therefore, recommend that your partner switch to a healthy diet and stop smoking and drinking alcohol. If your partner is constantly taking any medications, he should also consult a doctor.

Child development - tips on child development from Childdevelop

Pedagogical science does not define clear criteria for such a concept as the early development of children. The only stereotype fixed in the heads of parents is that a child should be able to read and know the basics of mathematical calculation by school. Information about child development is contradictory and varied. Let us only focus on the fact that in the period from 2 years to 6 years, a child learns about the world and receives information about its patterns and basic concepts. It is during this period that it is necessary to focus on the development of basic skills and abilities. The main thing here is to formulate the child’s concepts in coordinates - what is good and what is bad. Proponents of early development during this period of children’s lives suggest starting to study foreign languages ​​and specializing the child in a certain direction - from music to higher mathematics.

What's negative about this? One. Do not deprive your child of a carefree and happy childhood. Give freedom of action and choice. Here are some basic child development tips from Childdevelop.

Answers to frequently asked questions

1.What is the embryonic period of pregnancy? How is it different from obstetrics?

The embryonic period is counted from the moment of fertilization of the egg. This concept can be found in professional medical literature, but in practice it is not used. When discussing the course of pregnancy with you, the doctor will only have in mind the obstetric period.

2. At what stage do pregnancy symptoms appear? Can I feel nauseous or have a tummy tug in the first weeks?

For most women, the first signs of pregnancy appear at 4-5 weeks. Although some mothers recall that they noticed some changes in themselves even before the delay of menstruation (i.e., at 3-4 weeks). The first “harbingers” of pregnancy may be increased sensitivity of the nipples, drowsiness and pulling sensations in the lower abdomen. Then nausea, vomiting and a feeling of lightheadedness in the morning appear.

3. When will your belly start to grow? Will others notice my early pregnancy?

The belly will begin to noticeably increase after week 12 (in the second trimester). Until this point, you will most likely wear the same clothing size. People around you will begin to notice changes after 16-18 weeks, when your belly is already quite rounded.

4. From what period can pharmacy tests determine pregnancy?

Tests with high sensitivity are able to detect pregnancy approximately 7 days after conception (from 3-4 weeks of obstetric period). It is at this time that a hormone begins to be synthesized in a woman’s body - human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), on the detection of which their action is based. However, before a delay or in the first days of non-occurring menstruation, tests often give false negative results, because the concentration of the hormone in the urine is still very low. If you still have doubts, repeat the test 2-3 times at intervals of 3 days or take a blood test for hCG in the laboratory.

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How to choose the optimal time for pregnancy and childbirth? Each season has its pros and cons. Choose and decide for yourself.

From time immemorial in Rus', children were conceived in the fall and born in late spring and summer. The time for weddings was in October. This was due to religious traditions and the season of field work. Just in September, the time for harvesting ended, and the peasant could rest. And as you know, everyone worked in the fields - both men and women. It is not difficult to understand how this affected the health of children, who were hardened and accustomed to work from an early age.

But if we consider the time of conception and birth from a scientific point of view, then each season can find its pros and cons. Choose what is more important to you and decide for yourself.

Early childhood development methods

A variety of early development methods allows each parent to determine for themselves the main directions in working with children. Read about the pedagogical methods of Montessori, Doman, Nikitin and other scientists to determine which ones are right for your child.

Montessori method

Maria Montessori is one of the educators who determined the way of pedagogical thinking of the last century, according to the position of UNESCO. The system of raising children, formulated by her in the first half of the 20th century, is still considered the most effective method of early development and is popular with parents.

The essence of the Montessori method is to provide the child with freedom to choose activities and develop independence from the first years of life. Maria discovered a condition in children from 3 to 6 years old in which they are able to concentrate for a long time on an activity that interests them. She called this state normalization.

By offering the child alternative tasks that are “useful” in the opinion of adults, such concentration cannot be achieved. It is normalization that stimulates self-development and self-learning, which gives the maximum educational effect. This principle formed the basis of her pedagogy.

Montessori developed a school concept taking into account the characteristics of all ages of children, starting from 1 year. Today it is most often used for children 3-6 years old. The concept has the following features:

• creation of an educational environment: didactic materials, manuals, developmental subjects, methods personally developed by the author;
• children independently choose the materials that interest them; adults do not have the right to impose tasks on them;
• the teacher is present at the lesson as an observer and intervenes in the child’s work only on the principle of “help me do it myself”;
• children move freely around the classroom;
• acquaintance with the world and its phenomena occurs through one’s own discoveries in the process of working with materials, and not through lectures by a teacher;
• the methodology does not imply assessments, certifications or exams;
• The learning process is not aimed at obtaining academic knowledge, but at developing the senses.

The popularity of the technique lies in the fact that it is based on the development of fine motor skills. The Montessori environment is considered the best in the field, and many of its components can now be purchased in stores for home learning. Fine motor skills are one of the main areas of early childhood development, and here the Montessori method has no equal.

At the same time, such an educational system has a number of disadvantages: the game method of education is not used at all in the classroom, the emotional and creative potential of children remains undiscovered. This will have to be done additionally.

Classes in Montessori schools are not suitable for timid and shy children, as well as children with developmental delays - they need to be accompanied by a teacher.

Waldorf school

This educational system rejects early childhood development in its traditional sense. It is believed that in order to develop intellectually, a child must first mature emotionally. Therefore, in the preschool period, the child is taught mainly self-service skills, and the development of intelligence begins only upon entering school.

The main principle of the Waldorf school is to reveal the child’s natural talents at a pace that is comfortable for him, without stress and fear and without evaluating his achievements.

The first school was founded in Germany at the beginning of the last century. At that time, all pedagogy was reduced to memorizing material, which caused bewilderment among representatives of the working class. At the same time, a school was created for them in which their children did not have to study textbooks and cram. They received all the necessary knowledge in the process of labor and creative activity.

Today Waldorf schools are spread all over the world. More than 400 of them have been created in Europe; in Russia, such schools have been opened in St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Samara, Zhukovsky and other cities.

Basic principles of the methodology:

• education begins at age 7 and lasts 11-12 years;
• the first year is an adaptation year, children are taught discipline, they are supervised and given minimal academic knowledge;
• the principle of mental economy - the child learns only what he is intellectually ready for;
• textbooks are not provided: children take notes, which they file in a general notebook, returning to them as needed;
• Academic grades are awarded only in high school; there is no competitive element in studies;
• the teacher and class teacher play a big role in the life of the student, they help to understand the material and pass it through themselves for better assimilation;
• much attention is paid to the development of creative abilities in children: musical, artistic, theatrical;
• family involvement: children are assigned joint projects with their parents, and reporting concerts are held at the end of each quarter.

Graduates of Waldorf schools have high emotional intelligence, they are culturally developed and mentally balanced. At the same time, they lack deep academic knowledge in the exact sciences and are unable to enter technical universities. If you notice a child's inclination towards mathematics, it is better to choose another school.

The warm and friendly atmosphere of the school makes students feel comfortable, but it resonates with the outside world, and children often have difficulty adapting to real life after graduation.

Glen Doman Method

Glen Doman is a world-famous physiotherapist, special education teacher, and creator of his own early development methodology. Initially, the work of an American doctor was associated with helping children with developmental disabilities: mental and physiological.

Doman tried to find a way to teach children with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and similar diseases. But, putting his methods into practice, he noticed that the normotypical siblings of his patients were also involved in the educational process and showed fantastic results.

This is how Glen Doman’s method for children under 7 years old was invented and patented. It is based on the results of a study on the development of a child’s brain from birth to 3 years (active phase) and from 3 to 7 (less active phase). Doman convinces that not a minute should be wasted - starting from 3 months, the child must be developed both physically and intellectually: broaden his horizons, teach reading, counting, and provide encyclopedic knowledge.

To do this, Glen suggested using a system of cards (Doman cards), which need to be regularly shown to the child, constantly increasing the volume and complicating their content. One A5 or A4 size card should have a white background, one item should be depicted on it, and its name should be written at the bottom in large bold font.

When an adult shows a child one card for a few seconds and says the name out loud, the baby not only learns what the object is, but also remembers how to spell the word. In essence, a child learns to read, but begins not with letters and syllables, but immediately with words. This method was subsequently called the global reading method.

Doman also suggested teaching counting using cards, initially using dots rather than numbers. Each card has a certain number of dots. The child learns to understand which card has more of them, which has fewer, can count them in his head and even solve the first mathematical examples. And only at an older age do children begin to study numbers that indicate the number of dots. Doman believed that this method was more understandable for children and, therefore, more effective.

Particular attention in the Doman method is paid to physical development in children under 7 years of age. Physical activity also promotes brain development. To do this, he invented a lot of simulators and exercises that can be used from 3 months of life.

A comprehensive methodology for early development shows good results, especially when working with children with special needs. Today you can buy the famous Doman cards in any children's store or make them yourself.

The technique really helps broaden the horizons of children, but it is not without its drawbacks:

• mastering reading with the help of cards makes it difficult to further move on to books that have an order of magnitude fewer pictures;
• Without knowing letters and syllables, it is difficult for a child to master reading books - he misses unfamiliar words and loses the meaning of what he read;
• the technique does not pay attention to the development of fine motor skills;
• working with cards requires painstaking daily work, which is quite difficult to implement in modern life;
• there is no gaming activity;
• there are no exercises to develop creativity and emotional intelligence;
• difficulty in calculating the load on the child’s brain, which can lead to overwork.

Cecile Lupan system

Cecile Lupan is an ordinary French mother who has made raising children her profession. Having become a mother for the first time, she became interested in the ideas of Glen Doman, but, having applied them from her own experience, she improved his technique.

The main principle of the Lupan system is that the child’s development and his knowledge of the world around him should occur with the help of the mother. The mother brings the child into this world, and she must give him all the knowledge about it. It is important to understand the difference between the attention a child needs for harmonious development and excessive care. The mother’s task is to awaken the child’s interest in the world around him, in knowledge and to provide him with the opportunity to choose.

By analogy with Doman, Cecile believes that a child should be developed from the first days of life. Briefly, its education system can be divided into 3 areas:

• physical development;
• reading;
• horizon.

In the first year of a child's life, the attachment between child and mother is formed. During this period, touching, stroking, hugging, sleeping together, infant swimming and gymnastics are important.

Cecile also recommends actively practicing global reading at this time, but not with Doman cards. She suggests making cards with the names of household items (closet, bed, table, sink, etc.) and placing them next to these items throughout the house, reading them out periodically.

To further master reading, Lupan recommends taking photographs of the child in different circumstances: near the bed, at the table, in the sandbox, with a dog, etc. These photographs can be pasted into an album, signed, and then looked at together, reading and explaining to the child what was written.

Creating individual study guides is another feature of Cecile's method. She is convinced that every child needs a special approach, and no one is able to choose it better than their own mother.

The basic principles of her methodology:

• Mom is the best teacher:
• no knowledge test required;
• classes are held in a playful way and end before the child feels tired;
• there is no point in practicing every day - it is more important to study at the peak of enthusiasm;
• “yes” to encouragement, hugs and kisses from mom during training.

The advantage of Cécile Lupan's approach is that it brings the child's individuality to the fore. Her system takes into account most of the shortcomings of the methods of Maria Montessori and Glen Doman, however, it itself also has a number of disadvantages:

• involves the mother’s complete dedication for 5 years of the child’s life - a woman will not be able to find time for anything else while observing all the principles of the system;
• many teachers believe that early reading (before 5-6 years of age) creates difficulties in its further development;
• Cecile’s method does not imply communication with other adults (teachers) and even children - only with siblings; the whole life of children revolves mainly around their mother.

You can learn more about Cecile Lupan’s technique in her book “Believe in Your Child.”

Nikitin's technique

Soviet teachers Elena and Boris Nikitin are the authors of a technique tested on their own 7 children, popular in Germany, Japan and a number of other countries. Despite the effectiveness of the methods, educational toys and aids, the Nikitins’ educational system has many opponents.

At first glance, the methodology seems Spartan - it implies the active physical development of children and the organization of home space accordingly (exercise machines, wall bars, horizontal bars), daily hardening, as well as constant training of children - from an early age, testing knowledge and competitions with each other.

The main idea that formed the basis of the Nikitins’ methodology was NUVERS - the irreversible extinction of opportunities for the effective development of abilities. The couple argued that every child is born with enormous abilities, the development of which requires specific time and appropriate conditions. Having missed this time in childhood, at a later age a person will no longer reach heights.

Therefore, the Nikitins based their education method on the principle of “advancement.” Parents should create a rich developmental environment at the first manifestations of certain abilities in the child. For example, as soon as a child begins to speak, he should immediately have cubes with letters, cards with words, an ABC book, etc.

The Nikitins urged parents to take a conscious approach to raising their children, paying them maximum attention. To help responsible fathers and mothers, teachers have invented a lot of manuals, logic problems and toys for preschool children. The most famous of them have long been included in the ranking of the best educational materials:

• “fold the pattern” game - a set of 16 cubes, each face of which is painted a specific color to create unusual patterns;
• Unicube - introduces children to three-dimensional space; fractions - a collection of circles divided into equal parts for visual learning of mathematical fractions; children's watch and thermometer - adaptation of well-known devices for children, etc.

Classes using the Nikitins’ method are not just a developmental lesson, they are a way of life for the whole family, where physical activity and intellectual development are harmoniously combined, and all this is based on iron discipline and parental authority.

The personal experience of the Nikitin family proves the effectiveness of their system - all 7 children studied brilliantly, four of them entered universities after the 8th grade. The disadvantage of their methodology is the lack of knowledge among most parents that allows them to competently organize the educational process.

In addition, the Nikitins tried to create universal instructions suitable for every child without taking into account individual characteristics. In general, a large number of benefits created by spouses for the development of children are still relevant today and can be used by every child.

Zaitsev's technique

Nikolai Zaitsev is called an innovator of Russian pedagogy, although his famous method is already more than 50 years old. In the 60s of the last century, Zaitsev looked at the process of learning to read from a different angle. Traditionally, children are taught to read letters, syllables, and then words. He also proposed a method of reading by “warehouses” - by analogy with the appearance of speech.

The warehouse is similar to a syllable, but can be shorter than a syllable: it can be either an independent vowel or a consonant, a pair of a consonant and a vowel, a consonant and a soft sign. For example, the word “drink” has one syllable, but two words - pi-t. The word “hill” has three warehouses - go-r-ka. It is according to the warehouses that the baby first pronounces words, why not teach him to read according to the same principle?

Nikolai Aleksandrovich created special manuals for reading about warehouses, but he gained wide fame thanks to his cubes, on the edges of which these very warehouses are written. Zaitsev believed that the game format of teaching is much more effective than studying ABC books. During classes, he allowed the children to clap their hands, stomp their feet and laugh, rejoicing at their success. And he considered boredom to be the main enemy of progress, so he constantly changed class formats and didactic material.

Despite the pedagogical success, Zaitsev’s method was never approved by the Ministry of Education - in Soviet times, deviations from traditional forms of education were not recognized. And later Nikolai Alexandrovich no longer initiated the widespread implementation of his system.

Nevertheless, his algorithms for teaching reading are actively used by teachers in kindergartens and development centers, and by parents at home. The technique is suitable for children from 1 year to 7 years. In addition to reading, it can be used to study foreign languages ​​and mathematics.

Conception in summer - birth of a child in spring

pros

1. Lots of vitamins (fresh fruits and vegetables), good health.
2. Minimal risk of contracting acute respiratory infections and flu.
3. An opportunity to relax at sea and gain strength.
4. A lot of positive emotions in connection with the holidays in the summer.

Minuses

1. The last months of pregnancy take place during the flu season and an increased likelihood of injury (ice, slush). Hardening up on the eve of pregnancy, a sports lifestyle and vitamins, as well as accompanying your husband during walks will help you.
2. Childbirth takes place during a seasonal weakening of the body and a deficiency of natural vitamins - load up on vitamins in the fall and winter, and take tablets in the spring.

Conception in autumn - birth of a child in summer

pros

1. Lots of vitamins during conception (fruits, vegetables).
2. You can relax during the velvet season in the south and get positive emotions.
3. Lactation also falls during a period rich in vitamins.
4. Less chance of seasonal injuries.

Minuses

1. The first months of pregnancy occur during the cold season, which poses a danger to the fetus. Prepare well for conception: harden yourself and take vitamins.
2. The last months of pregnancy are summer. If the weather is hot and stuffy, it is difficult to bear, especially with late toxicosis - buy a fan and do not go outside during the day, but walk in the evening or early in the morning, when the air is fresh and there is no stuffiness.
3. Long daylight hours are not conducive to the production of the pregnancy hormone melatonin, which is very important in the last months. The pineal gland produces the hormone mainly at night, so it is most abundant in late autumn and winter. If you're healthy and happy, you'll get through pregnancy with the amount of melatonin you have.

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 more deeply into the essence of various methods and activities, I realized that early development, if you approach it without fanaticism, is not cramming and drilling at all, but interesting games that 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 single minute 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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, while developing your baby, remember that your first priority is to make your 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.

Conception in winter - birth of a child in autumn

pros

1. In the last months of pregnancy there are many natural vitamins (fruits and vegetables). They are especially necessary for the fetus for birth and the adaptation period.
2. Lactation also takes place under conditions of vitaminization of the body.

Minuses

1. The first months of pregnancy are at the peak of influenza and acute respiratory infections epidemics. This is very dangerous, since in the first two months the formation of the main organs of the child occurs. Protect yourself from infections with vitamins and a healthy lifestyle.
2. Towards the end of pregnancy, the production of the pregnancy hormone melatonin decreases. This is not scary for a healthy and seasoned body.
3. The first months of a baby's life fall during the cold season - this is not very good for walking. If the child is healthy, they begin to harden him from the first days (air baths, etc.), and walk with him in any weather (a stroller and a hood will protect him from wind and rain).

How to deal with the development of a child from birth?

Many people believe that a child should have a carefree, happy childhood and it doesn’t matter whether their child learns to recognize colors, geometric shapes, letters, whether he can read, count, write, draw, and so on before school or at his desk. Others are so caught up in the baby's development that they have no time for car dolls.

When a child is constantly busy learning from the cradle, this discourages him from learning further at the same pace. There is no consensus on what is better: to set the child-boat adrift or to still guide him in this endless ocean of life. We will not convince anyone or persuade anyone to any particular opinion, but will simply help those who have decided to develop their child.

Photo: Depositphotos

Where and how to start?

First you need to remember three golden rules for developing a child’s abilities:

1. Game. All children love to play, and it is during the game that it is better to give them knowledge about this world and its features.

2. Honesty. Develop your child when you have the desire to do so, from the bottom of your heart. If the child does not feel your sincere desire to engage with him, then he will absorb the information inattentively and without enthusiasm.

3. Fantasy. Imagine yourself for a while as a small child and perceive learning and development through the prism of a child’s worldview and sensations.

For the first few months, the baby sleeps almost all the time, and eats during breaks, and he acquires his initial knowledge about this world by listening to the speech and voice of his parents. You need to talk to your baby as often as possible and about everything that surrounds you and him.

Play with your voice: raise your intonation if you are talking about something unusual or interesting; switch to a whisper if you want to tell him about something mysterious and mysterious. Comment on all your actions, call a spade a spade, talk not only about what you see, but also about your feelings and mood. Come up with affectionate names and nicknames for your child. Any person, even a tiny one, likes to be tenderly called by name. The emotional sphere is very important for the development of a child at an early age.

Photo: Depositphotos

The main source of information for a child in the first months of life is vision and hearing . Make sure your baby has something to look at while awake. Show bright toys, simple contrasting pictures, photographs of loved ones, and even the child’s reflection in the mirror. The optimal distance for showing a child any objects is 20-30 cm.

A game to develop attention : smoothly move the toy in different directions in front of the child’s face several times, then fix the toy in one position for a few seconds so that the child can see the unknown object better, then hide the toy and show it again.

In the first two months of life, children respond better to contrasting black and white images ; let there be 5-6 such pictures in your arsenal. Hang 1-2 pictures near the crib or on the wall, where you often pass with the child when he is in your arms, and change the image every 2-3 days. Drawing the child’s attention to the pictures, tell in detail what is drawn on them, your opinion, feelings, make up mini-stories. In addition to showing pictures, it is useful to take the baby in your arms and give tours around the house.

Photo: Depositphotos

To develop hearing, it is better to use rattles with different sounds, or you can make such musical toys yourself: put various fillers in jars so that the sounds differ significantly from each other. You will soon be surprised at how selective your child is in choosing a tune.

Music develops your hearing well . From birth, play calm, pleasant music for your child - now there are a lot of CDs with classical music for babies on sale, lullabies, calm melodies, sounds of nature... Introduce your baby to different rhythms. Listen to fast, loud, melodic, slow music.

When the child begins to consciously reach for objects and clenches his fists, you can hang a fidget or mobile near his crib. The baby may not be able to grab a spinning object yet, but he puts in so much effort! An alternative to a mobile phone can be a baby horizontal bar or an educational mat.

The child is pleased to realize that he can move toys himself and cause some sounds. Try sewing small bells or jingling rattle balls to your socks, or you can make ringing bracelets for your arms. When moving an arm or leg, the baby will make sounds, so he will develop an associative connection - movement and sound.

Photo: Depositphotos

It is also very useful to develop tactile sensations : give the child objects that are different in shape and content. Playing with bags that are made from different fabrics and filled with various materials (cereals, beads, rustling bags, cotton wool, sawdust, etc. - everything that can be folded into a small bag and hermetically sealed) is perfect for this purpose. In addition to this game with bags, you can let your child touch warm, hot, loose, hard, rough, smooth things - the more varied his sensations are, the more beneficial this will affect the baby’s development.

To develop motor skills, buy your child a durable small children's piano with large music buttons - it will be your baby's favorite toy! A child can make sounds, tap keys, look at drawings, and listen to his own piece of music endlessly and each time with genuine interest. For such musical play, it can be planted on pillows, or it can be placed on its tummy. We immediately develop motor skills, hearing, attention, and tactile sensations!

Water games are not only useful, but also interesting! As soon as the child learns to hold his head while lying on his tummy, you can send him on a “free swim”: put him in a bathtub filled 10-15 cm with warm water. If the child still has difficulty holding his head upright, support him by the chin. Let the bathtub have 2-3 bright toys for playing in the water, which the child will reach for, cheerfully clapping the water with his hands and feet. And if you take a full bath of water, you can safely walk along the bottom; such exercises strengthen and develop the muscles of the back and legs. Over time, when the child begins to get up on all fours and crawl on his own, bathing may become his favorite pastime.

Photo: Depositphotos

You need to constantly develop a child, increasing the amount of information given with age. If earlier you called things with monosyllabic primitive names, now try to clarify details, color, shape, size, position in space, etc. In addition to simple pictures on a white background, show your child tables, maps, diagrams posted on the walls of your house. And when the baby learns to sit, paper pictures can be replaced with children's electronic presentations, where the slides automatically replace each other.

Explain, repeat often, show your interest in the process so that the child feels that they are just playing with him and not seriously teaching him. Of course, the baby will not immediately understand what you are telling him so passionately about, and will not remember all those pictures that you show him so often, but he will constantly feel your attention to him, hear your gentle voice addressed to him. And most importantly, he will not discover this world alone!

Tags: baby development, ability development, baby, attention development, child development, baby development, small children

Conception in spring - birth of a child in winter

pros

1. Conception occurs during the most joyful period of nature's rebirth - the season of love. It brings a lot of positive emotions.
2. The last months of pregnancy occur in favorable conditions, when the vitamin reserve has not yet been depleted.
3. In the last months of pregnancy, the production of melatonin, the pregnancy hormone, is highest.
4. Good weather conditions to make it easier to tolerate late toxicosis (it’s not hot outside).

Minuses

1. During the period of conception, parents may experience vitamin depletion, which is observed in most people in the spring. Take vitamins.
2. In the last months of pregnancy, there is a high probability of injury (ice, slush).
3. The first months of a baby’s life fall during an epidemic of influenza and acute respiratory infections - harden and take care of the child, use oxolinic ointment.
4. Not very good conditions for walking in cold and windy weather - dress your child according to the weather, buy a reliable stroller with a hood.

As you can see, any disadvantages can be overcome and even turned into advantages, for example, bad weather is good for hardening a child. In addition, in the first months the baby is reliably protected by maternal immunity, which he received at birth and continues to receive from breast milk; he is not so afraid of viruses. The main thing is that the child is dressed appropriately for the weather, and not sweating in several layers of clothing.

Material for publication provided by Peter the Great

A long period of modern society experiencing a crisis in family relations has led to an understanding of the need to develop and implement programs of targeted psychological and social assistance to families and children.

It has been scientifically proven that a child feels the mother’s condition almost from the first days of pregnancy, therefore any physiological, emotional, neuropsychic disorders in a woman can have a detrimental effect not only on the development of the child, but also on its subsequent interaction with the environment (A.S. Batuev, L.V. Sokolova).

Pregnancy is a special period in a woman’s life, during which her consciousness, relationships with the world change and the foundation of the relationship with the unborn child is laid. How harmonious the relationship in the mother-child system will be depends on the combination of many factors from the moment the child is conceived until the first years of life after his birth.

Conception can be considered the first stage in the formation of a relationship between a mother and an unborn child. The motives for conceiving a child can differ significantly between a woman and a man, be conscious or unconscious, constructive (contributing to the strengthening of the family, the personal growth of spouses, the successful birth and development of a child) and destructive. The most positive motive for motherhood is pregnancy “for the sake of the child,” and negative motives include the desire to meet the social expectations of others, protest (pregnancy “to spite” a man or parents), the desire to preserve relationships, leaving the present, etc. (N.V. Borovikova ).

The connection between the period of conception and the stage of the family life cycle is also important. Thus, conception at the stage of premarital relations may be accompanied by unconscious non-acceptance of the child; pregnancy at the stage of confrontation can further aggravate family contradictions. The most favorable period for the birth of a child, according to researchers, is the period of compromise in the family development cycle or the immediate period of its maturity (I.V. Dobryakov).

The order of birth also has a significant impact on the development of the child, since the first and each subsequent child in the family is born in a fundamentally different family situation (the number of family members, the experience of the parents, and the nature of interaction are different).

Further development of the relationship between mother and child occurs as pregnancy progresses. Long before the actual birth, all the child’s organs and systems not only develop, but also begin to function, ensuring his connection with the mother and the outside world, his psychological and emotional reactions. Women also experience serious hormonal, physiological and psychological changes. She gets used to changes in the functioning of internal organs and forms her internal position towards future motherhood. Maternal competence in the future, satisfaction with her role, attitude towards the newborn, and choice of parenting strategy depend on how successfully adaptation to pregnancy proceeds. For example, a mother’s excessive anxiety about her health and the health of the fetus during pregnancy, fear for the outcome of childbirth, subsequently leads to the formation of an increased value for the child and the choice of an overprotective parenting style. A woman’s negative attitude towards her pregnancy creates a low value for the child; other life priorities are chosen instead of motherhood; the parenting style, as a rule, does not correspond to the personal and age characteristics of the child, which can lead to the formation of a wide range of behavioral and neuropsychiatric disorders in children (G. G. Filippova).

The process of childbirth, according to psychologists, can also determine a person’s mental and physical reactions throughout the rest of a person’s life. It is believed that at the moment of contractions, the child experiences not just strong external pressure, but also a feeling of increasing anxiety from the impending danger, the inability to determine its source and ways out. Subsequently, the child, fighting for survival, becomes an active participant in what is happening, his behavior acquires a certain direction and purpose. The very act of birth is associated with liberation and at the same time an irrevocable rejection of the past. The process of struggle for survival ends in relief and relaxation, but the joy of liberation is combined with anxiety and fear. Physical and mental injuries received during childbirth, associated with a threat to life, with a sharp change in living conditions, largely determine the further development of the child, and can manifest themselves in anxiety, unpleasant bodily sensations, guilt, aggressiveness, etc. (S. Grof).

The period of pregnancy and the postpartum period is generally recognized as a time of increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders in mothers. After birth, the child is psychologically dependent on the mother. Even if the baby is full-term and healthy, improper organization of care can create a chronic psychologically traumatic situation.

For a newborn child, the mother is the guarantor of safety and survival in this world. If the mother has neuropsychic disorders (for example, postpartum depression, neurotic conditions, etc.), she is not able to satisfy the child’s need for a warm, emotionally close, joyful relationship. If after birth the child’s need for intimacy, comfort and security is satisfied, his level of basal anxiety decreases, his self-confidence increases, and his activity is directed toward understanding the world around him. The formation of a secure attachment between mother and child in childhood becomes the basis for successful adaptation in the next stages of the child’s growing up, contributes to the formation of initiative, a sense of competence, and the correct formation of boundaries for the child’s behavior and his interpersonal relationships with others. Otherwise, anxiety is high, and the child’s activities are aimed at ensuring safety, rather than development and cognition. Violation of the formation of attachment leads to delays in psycho-speech development, high anxiety, the formation of various forms of oppositional and protest behavior, impaired development of self-regulation, communication skills, etc. As a rule, a violation of the mother’s attachment to the child leads to the choice of pathological forms of education that do not correspond to the personal and age characteristics of the child (J. Bowlby, M.D. Ainsworth).

Thus, we can say with confidence that the development of a child from the moment of conception to the first years of a newborn’s life becomes an important period in the formation of the child’s future mental health. It is during this period that the relationship between mother and fetus, and then mother and newborn, arises, which underlies the formation of the child’s cognitive and personal characteristics. In this connection, the need for medical and psychological support of pregnancy and preparation for childbirth is absolutely obvious, which should cover all stages of motherhood: pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, interaction with the newborn and other aspects. The purpose of such support is not only the timely prevention of psycho-emotional disorders in the mother, but also the prevention of a wide range of behavioral and neuropsychiatric disorders in children.

Rosalia Khairulovna Kisenova, medical psychologist, Novosibirsk Regional Children's Clinical Psychoneurological Dispensary

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Find out when your baby is due and what week you are in your pregnancy. This will help you make plans for the coming months.

Child development in the first year of life

02/22/2020 Reading time: 5 min 34248 0

Caring for the health and well-being of their child is natural for all parents. But mothers and fathers experience the greatest anxiety in the 1st year after the birth of the baby. During these 12 months, the child goes through a truly enormous journey from a helpless newborn to a child who is actively exploring the world around him and knows how to interact with it.

Each stage of this path has its own characteristics, and a table of child development by month, which shows the main indicators of height and weight, will help you understand them partly.

The development of a child by month, or rather the basic physical parameters of growth and weight gain given in the table, can be classified as average, since they do not take into account the individual characteristics of the baby’s body. In any case, every month of life brings new achievements for the child!

1st month

At the age of one month, the baby already tries to raise his head for a few seconds when he is in a position on his stomach. Reacts well to loud sound and bright light. In response to loud and sharp sounds or bright light, the baby “defends himself” - he waves his arms and then presses them to his body.

2nd month

By holding your baby in your arms so that his body is in an upright position, you will see that he briefly tries or is able to hold his head. The child is no longer afraid of sounds and light, but tries to smoothly follow the object of interest to him. He tries to grab moving objects that are within his reach with his fingers, although this does not always work.

3rd month

Now the baby holds his head in an upright position. And in the position on his stomach, he is already able to lean on his elbows and try to lift his upper body. He makes attempts to roll over, grab the sheet, reach for toys, but his coordination is not yet very good, and not all attempts are successful.

4th month

At this age, the baby can already push off well with his feet when you hold him vertically. Toys evoke a strong emotional response in him. Having become interested, the baby raises his head and reaches for a bright object in an attempt to grab it.

5th month

The child rolls over from his back to his stomach and attempts to rise independently to take a sitting position. But he cannot stay in it for long. But he already firmly holds in his hand the object of interest to him and carefully studies it, distinguishes close people from strangers and begins to understand his mother’s emotions by the intonations in her voice.

6th month

The baby learned not just to sit, but to sit down on his own. He easily rolls over from his stomach to his back and vice versa. Taking the child by the hands, you can observe how he is already consciously, and not reflexively, trying to walk. He reaches for a fallen toy, and if he manages to get it, he picks it up without outside help.

7th month

This is the age when it is no longer enough for a baby to sit still. He is actively mastering crawling, and, leaning on furniture or other durable objects, he can stand. The baby is increasingly interested in the world around him. He recognizes objects well (especially his favorite ones), and studying his own reflection in the mirror becomes one of the most exciting activities.

8th month

At this age, a child can play with his favorite toys for a long time. You can play “Okay” with him. He shows a wide range of emotions - from fear to joy, and when holding the hands of mom or dad, he can confidently step his feet on the floor.

9th month

Now the baby not only knows how to stand up on his own and move around, leaning on furniture, he can even refuse the help of adults and try to do everything himself. But here it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the child’s development and not rush him to take his first independent steps.

10th month

This is the age when it is no longer enough for a baby to show emotions with facial expressions. Now he can do this with the help of monosyllabic words and hand movements. He perfectly imitates everything he sees and hears: his parents’ gestures, their intonation, their activities. Can engage in simple activities for a long time: open and close a dresser drawer or cabinet door, throw and pick up a toy, etc.

11th month

Communication skills have developed to the extent that the baby can express his agreement and disagreement, approval and disapproval with the correct gestures and facial expressions. Refusing something, he shakes his head and nods in agreement. He already knows what sounds animals make, and when asked to show something or do something, he usually readily agrees.

12th month

The child is interested in absolutely everything that happens around him: the noise of traffic outside the window, the movement of water while swimming, more complex toys. He knows how to perform difficult tasks expressed in words: upon request, he closes or opens the door, brings the necessary items from another room.

All babies are different, and if some of the skills described appear a little earlier or a little later, don’t worry or be upset! You can always ask your pediatrician about all the developmental features of your child.

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