How do young children learn in 0-7 yrs ?

Many new things surround a young baby who has descended on to the Earth after a long journey of using his strong will to push and pull inside the mother’s womb, which becomes quite overwhelming for him. No wonder, the first expression of the child is crying, as his senses are bombarded with many earthly things. But this newborn, which may seem to us quite incapable of doing simple tasks of life comes to learn the three most important tasks of life in his first three years- Walking, Speaking & Thinking, merely through imitating adults around him.

 

Did we offer him classes in walking and speech?

 

This young child is full of wisdom and strong 'imitative forces' that we, adults have lost. This little child is in awe and full of reverence for the adults around him especially his parents, who he observes consciously and unconsciously day in and out. He looks up to them, to be able to walk, talk and think just like them one day!

 

So how do young children really learn?

 

When our three/four-year-olds refuse to eat fruits/vegetables or when they are often talking in loud voices, wouldn’t we naturally scold them and explain not to do so? While doing this, we are hoping as parents and educators that explaining ‘what is right and wrong’ will help children ‘understand’ and form good habits.

 

But the reality is that we would be feeling exhausted and frustrated even after months of trying to ‘explain’ to our child and him unable to follow these instructions. We would then wonder, why isn’t this bearing any fruits of change in our child?

 

Well, we will be surprised to know that the method we are offering/using with our children is at fault!

 

It is widely accepted in our modern-day society today, that children learn through explanation and reasoning. But young children, especially between the ages of 0-7 years learn primarily through imitation. They take in what they experience and make it part of themselves. If the child is truly healthy, they should continue to learn through imitation even until 9 years of age. Though the ability to imitate starts to decrease, once young children begin to lose their milk teeth.

 

So what does ‘imitation’ really means?

Interestingly the kindergarten teachers would be able to explain this most accurately. When they receive a new child in their KG class, and as they begin to observe this young one day after day and also hold regular interactions with the parents, the teacher understands how well the child is ‘imitating’ the outward as well as inward gestures of the parent.

 

Imitation is:

~ Children imitating their parents and keeping their shoes before entering the house just like their parent does.

 

So the important question is, how I as a parent keep my shoes before entering the house? Do I flip it over in hurry and enter the house or do I take enough time to take them off and keep them at its right place in the cupboard/shelf?

 

The child does just the same in parents' presence and their absence too, as he is an imitative being.

 

~ How do I fold my dried clothes and arrange my cupboard?

Our child is perhaps imitating this while putting toys away after their play.

 

~ Is there clarity in my speech when I talk to others or do I speak too fast and in a muffled voice?

 

Perhaps my child is also imitating this form of speech and surely the tone as well which is often used at home by the parents, which could be rushed/casual/strict/angry etc.

 

How can I use imitation consciously in my daily life as a parent/educator so that my child can learn about life in an easily digestible/age-appropriate way?

 

~ Adults could make use of less speech and more gestures of ‘doing’.

 

That is, 

 

a) If I have to toilet train my child then I will simply wake up in the morning with the child, have the usual morning routine of perhaps, drinking some warm water ‘together’. When the time comes to take the child to the toilet, we just hold the child gently and bring him to the toilet seat and make him sit there. We don’t start to explain at length -why they have to sit on the pot and how it is beneficial for their health. We simply do the ‘act’ with them- we pick them up and make them sit on the toilet seat! When we do this in a matter of fact way, day after day (just like bathing/brushing), the child begins to imitate the gesture too. (Indeed, repetition, when used along with imitation, is the magical key to working harmoniously with young children!)

 

Our young children don't hold meaning to words as we adults do. So they would most likely be repeating our lecture on 'benefits of going to the toilet' and all the important things explained to them with our adult logic, merely as a ‘parrot’. Then why do I as a parent/ educator use these words/language that is not age-appropriate and doesn’t help the child to learn about daily life?

 

b) When our child regularly refuses to eat vegetables, it is time for us to see what images are we leaving during the mealtimes with the child? What are my eating habits? Are we being too choosy about food or something else in our daily life, which the child is unconsciously imitating? Do we inwardly feel and practice gestures of gratitude for our food and the meals?

 

The young child under 7 or 9 years is truly like a sponge. They will imitate everything they see or hear, whether it is helpful or harmful. But more than this, the child will absorb attitudes, both negative and positive. This asks of us parents and closest family members including the early years teachers to be very responsible in our conduct and be constantly working towards self-improvement. We must remember that children look up to adults. In long term, it is not the peers in the kindergarten or in the park that shape a young child's attitudes, behaviors, and habits but parents, families, and all of us adults around him.

 

How do explanations and reasoning at a young age affect my child?

 

Making use of rational and logical thinking in the early years is detrimental to the physical health of the child. We have forces residing in our etheric/energy body/prana/chi, which is busy building our physical body well between 0-7 yrs. If we push etheric forces towards the development of rational and logical thinking, before the foundational work of the physical and emotional body is completed then it compromises the child's physical & emotional well-being in adult life.

 

Rudolf Steiner* compared early years to the Alpine rivers, that stay underground in its early phases when flowing through the high mountains but it re-appears towards the plains. What we sow during our foundational years is what we shall reap in our adulthood.

 

Raising a young child may require a whole village but most importantly it requires the adults closest to the child to do a lot of inner work that makes them ‘worthy of imitation’ for this young child. Let’s remember that the young one is still finding his feet on this Earth and is looking forward to being able to ‘trust’ the world around him, which gives him the confidence that the world is ‘worthy and good’ to live in.

 

*Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), founder of Waldorf Education was a highly trained scientist and respected philosopher, born in Austria, who later in his life came to prominence for his spiritual-scientific approach to knowledge called “Anthroposophy.” Steiner's spiritual-scientific methods and insights have given birth to practical holistic innovations in many fields, including education, banking, medicine, psychology, arts and agriculture.