Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children (APA Lifetools: Books for the General Public) by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff & Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Author:Roberta Michnick Golinkoff & Kathy Hirsh-Pasek [Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781433822407
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2016-05-15T22:00:00+00:00

How Do We Create Environments That Foster Content?

The easy answer is to turn off the television and make sure that children are not glued to screens. But even some screen time isn’t bad—it all depends on the content the screens show. In computer games such as Sim City children plan what they want in their city, and some video games sharpen children’s hand–eye coordination. We are not Luddites. We recognize that older children especially can learn from screens.

What really matters in helping children love learning is taking their interests seriously. Following their interests is bound to build engagement because the topic is already meaningful to them. Is your child fascinated by spiders? As a child, one of us read every book she could find on spiders. If you are seeing dollars signs, think again. The public library is a fantastic place for families. When our children were little and all the way through grade school before they could go themselves, we went every week and took out books. Imagine the power children feel when they get to pick their own books. We loved those books as much as they did and read them over and over until the next time we went to the library.

We also took our children to arts performances. Again, we bet you are seeing dollar signs. But there are local orchestras, singing groups and dance groups that enjoy performing for audiences. Kids generally love the arts and it can spur interests that they will want to read about or draw pictures of. One of us took our child to see the show 42nd Street in New York, and we tap danced together all that night!

Don’t forget children’s museums for spurring your child’s love of learning. These are the last bastions of playful learning in America and they fuel children’s imaginations at the same time. Centered as they are on what children find interesting and compelling, children’s museums offer content, social interaction, physical activity (we still love climbing in the web at Port Discovery in Baltimore), and opportunities to learn without sitting in a seat and conforming to the pace of other children. Furthermore, many museums have days that are free; watch for those! Research by Catherine Haden and her colleagues has shown that talking about what you have seen after you come home builds your children’s memory.73,74

But you can spur your children’s memory even after a visit to the laundromat! Those large overbearing machines and the noise and money to put in the slots are all fodder for children who have never been to one. Tell Mommy or Daddy what it was like there: Was it a quiet place or a noisy place? Tell Mom (or Dad) about its special smell and how you liked it. Tell Mom (or Dad) about the new friend you made while we were waiting! Any place you go becomes an adventure to learn from if you are a child—especially if you have a parent who talks with you about what you are noticing and follows up with good answers to your questions.

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