When is a Child Ready for Learning?
Is my child ready to start school?
This question is asked by every parent.
I am in favor of sending the child to school later.
And if we are talking about a child with neurodivergent development, then of course, the later the better.
To understand what neurodiverse development is and how to help your child with Autism or ADHD, you need to understand how a neurotypical child develops.
The age of four to five years is a period of relative calm. The child came out of the self-affirmation crisis and, on the whole, became calmer, more obedient, more accommodating. The need for friends becomes more and more strong, interest in the surrounding world increases sharply.
The age from 3.5 years to 5 years is often called the “why-why” period, as children are actively interested in everything around them and ask a lot of questions. The younger preschool age is characterized by a high intensity of physical and mental development.
- Why doesn’t the ship sink?
- Why doesn’t the plane crash?
- Why is the sea salty?
- Why does a crab shed?
Do not rush to send your child to primary school, if you feel that your child is not psychologically ready for learning, has not passed the developmental crisis of 3 years, or is stuck in the typical negativism of a 2-year-old.
If the child has many fears. If the child did not have a period of “why”.
It is not the most important thing to teach a child to read, write, and solve examples!!!
The most important thing is to develop his psychological “I”, the sense of self, so that the child has a natural desire to learn, so that curiosity arises, so that the world is interesting and the child feels safe.
Then the development will be harmonious and you will bring up a happy person. And this is the main task of the parent.
A Davis Stepping Stones program can help children aged 3.5 to 8 develop independence, curiosity, sense of humor, in a word – develop their personality.
This article has been translated and adapted from an original Russian language social media post.
