How To Help Your Baby Become A Math Genius (Or Not)
Raise your hand if you don’t want a brilliant child.
Honestly. Ensuring our child’s good health, happiness, kindness and compassion may well be our highest priorities, but wouldn’t we do all in our power to have the brightest, most talented, top-of-the-class kid? Or, at least, one who doesn’t have to struggle too hard to make the grade?
And here is where it gets really unfair. If we didn’t have enough issues to puzzle out as new parents with bleary-eyes and sleep-starved brains (like diapering with cloth or disposable, making breast or bottle feeding work, bed sharing or crib sleeping, and interpreting our baby’s cries), we are then presented with a torrent of persuasive, conflicting advice about how to help our babies become the quick thinkers and successful, highly motivated learners we hope they will be. No matter what choices we make, we are bound to have doubts.
A mom commented (on my post Baby, Interrupted - 7 Ways To Build Your Child’s Focus And Attention Span) that the information I share on my site has made her question the early learning programs she bought for her son. She asked what I thought she should do to utilize them. I suggested that she wait until her boy was 4 or 5, and then allow him to peruse the videos, flashcards, etc., if he was interested in doing so.
She replied:
“Hmm. Wait until he’s 4 or 5 years? For the math thing the whole idea of doing it now is because baby’s until 2.5 years are able to perceive true quantity and that makes it much easier for them to learn math. And when I look at how terrible I am at math, I don’t want him to miss this opportunity…
I like the idea of taking the middle path — to teach him what will benefit him to learn at an early age, and to leave the rest alone on the floor for him to examine if he’s interested.
Do you have any tips I should bear in mind to not affect his attention span negatively?”
This mommy’s worries about math, since she has struggled with the subject herself, make total sense. After all, being a parent is our golden opportunity to do better, to learn from our mistakes and correct them for our child (therefore ensuring not only our child’s success, but the evolutionary assent of our lineage!)
It is true that infants and toddlers begin to perceive quantity. They also learn fractions, addition and subtraction, even multiplication, division and geometry. In recent studies reported in Berkeley psychology professor Alison Gopnik’s New York Times article “Your Baby Is Smarter Than You Think”, babies as young as eight months old demonstrated astonishing capacities for “statistical reasoning, experimental discovery and probabilistic logic” that allow them to “rapidly learn all about the particular objects and people surrounding them.”
But Gopnik warns, “Sadly, some parents are likely to take the wrong lessons from these experiments and conclude that they need programs and products that will make their babies even smarter. Many think that babies, like adults, should learn in a focused, planned way. So parents put their young children in academic-enrichment classes or use flashcards… “ Instead, “Infants and toddlers need plenty of open-ended play time to be able to build the brain synapses necessary for higher learning abilities.”
Babies relish the time to learn this way, naturally and organically, with joy, wonder, and all five of their senses. When infants and toddlers examine the patterns on a blanket or cotton scarf, mouth the shape of a teething ring, experiment with blocks, balls or plastic beads, stack cups, pour water, shovel sand, make mud pies, watch and interact with us or even just stare at corners of the ceiling they are stimulating neural connections that build a strong foundation for math and language skills.
Parents can help by giving simple acknowledgments. “Your bucket is ¾ full.” Or, “You gave me two blocks and you kept one.”
But interrupting a baby’s inborn desire to explore and discover to give a lesson in letters, numbers or reading is like painting a house before the foundation is built. It discourages him from working on what is really important, and wastes both our child’s time and ours.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed observing babies naturally practicing math skills. In one of my parent/toddler classes, a 2 year old boy spent much of the 90 minutes each week repeating the task of fitting little plastic dolls into the opening of a huge Arrowhead water bottle. I sensed him counting inside his head with quiet concentration as each doll ‘plunked’ to the bottom of the bottle.
One of my most flabbergasting moments ever as a parent was when my 4-year-old daughter was staring at a framed poster on our wall, “Les Animaux de La Ferme”. There are three vertical rows of different breeds of cows, five in each row. After a minute or two my daughter proclaimed. “Five by three is fifteen!” (BTW, this same child just achieved a perfect score on her math SAT.)
Do we want our toddlers to learn how to use simple math and language symbols, or do we want them to truly understand mathematical concepts, develop their higher learning skills, be deep thinkers and creative problem solvers — discover who they are and what they are passionate about?
So, the short answer to this dear, caring mom’s question is: Any time we interrupt what an infant or toddler might be working on to “teach” him, we discourage focus and attention span. Attempting to plant seeds of knowledge in our babies inadvertently plants seeds of doubt. How can our child believe that the activities he chooses are valuable, when we signal that we want him to do something more…or different?
The truth is we don’t know where our children’s talents lie, but if we trust our baby, allow him to explore and experiment, and choose activities he is naturally drawn to, he will utilize the gifts he has to the fullest, and with great confidence. He may become that math whiz we hoped for…or something even cooler.
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25 Responses to “How To Help Your Baby Become A Math Genius (Or Not)”
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Piaget was correct – sensory motor play and development precede and prepare for children’s cognitive development. Nice post, Janet!
Can I throw this one out? I have seen so many parent “concerned” about their young child’s academic performance but not committed to communicating with their child. These “programs” do give SOME parents a foundation, a common schema, for interacting with their children. Play based math with young children shouldn’t be a taboo, but it shouldn’t supplant exploratory time and incidental learning that occurs when a parent/caregiver observes and provides positive feedback and further “organic” opportunities for growth. It may be more of a teaching tool for parents than the children themselves. When I first saw the guy on TV with the baby and the flashcards I thought, “How grotesque!” But on reflection, hey if it a way (NOT my way) for a parent to spend 1:1 time with their child the benefit may not be what the parent expects but maybe they will learn that paying close attention to their child’s communication can pay off big time. Do WE need the programs? No. But some children need their parents to need them so they can have a little 1:1 time together. Granted this is Not the ideal attachment but perhaps they are Baby Steps!
Hi Dawn,
Thanks so much for “throwing” your thoughts out both here and on the Facebook page. I understand what you are saying about parents needing a specific structure to be able to enjoy interacting with babies. It isn’t always easy to know how to connect with a pre-verbal person. Infant expert Magda Gerber taught us that the perfect time for that structure, that one-on-one attention is while we “care” for our baby — during bathing, feeding, diapering and bedtime rituals.
I’m not saying it is taboo for parents to teach, but I do believe that teaching academics, even with a light touch, can easily create a relationship in which the child feels that he must perform to please the parent — he is not interesting enough on his own. When an infant or toddler is valued for who he is and what he chooses, his self-confidence grows. But if lessons are the only way a parent enjoys giving attention, I agree that it is better than nothing!
So glad to read this article.
I believe it takes great courage to follow the RIE philosophy..To stand apart from the “baby business” that for years has been threatening, cajoling and literally frightening us to death. If we don’t start “early” our children will be left behind forever.
As parents and caregivers we are innunated with products that continually interfere with growth and development.
The belief is the more gadgets, sounds, cards, videos and talking bears the better.
Any parent that chooses to allow their child to play uninterrupted is out of the loop…not a part of…
All your articles continue to stress benefits of the RIE philosophy.
Quiet times to learn and explore without interruption.
I wish there were a “gimmick” of some sort attached to RIE. One that drew people to the importance of this time to grow and develop without pushing and prodding to do things before a child is ready. But common sense, observation and respect is not always the “in thinking”.
For more than 30 years I was privileged to interact on a daily basis with infants and toddlers and I can attest to the fact that social-emotional development has a greater link to academic success than early introduction to flash cards and math. RIE changed the lives of many of the children in our small school through uninterrupted play.
I am a parent of three adopted children. All of my children had challenging beginning to life. The RIE philosophy had much to do with who they are today.
After all these years I can look back and with absolute certainty know that this philosophy works.
Roseann, thanks for sharing your perspective!
I read an excellent essay recently called “The Chloroformed Mind: The Case Against Teaching Math”:
http://www.ordinary-gentlemen.com/2010/03/the-chloroformed-mind-the-case-against-teaching-math/
Hi Olivia! Interesting article…thanks for sharing it.
I never had a single flash card or video, and by the time I was 4 or 5, I could read, write, AND do math. I don’t believe for one second that I’m that super-special and others can’t learn to count Cheerios at age 2. *eyeroll* I think Cheerios are cheaper than flash cards, and definitely taste better!
what do you think of teaching baby sign language….?…..
Hi Mary Ellen,
I think that teaching sign language can only be positive, but that it is unnecessary. If it helps parents to realize that their infant is a communicative person, wonderful! Infants are definitely ready to begin communicating with us right away, but because they don’t speak, we might not understand that in the beginning.
Personally, I never used sign language, but my children were all good early communicators, because I talked to them from day one.
One of the aspects I love most about Magda Gerber’s philosophy is the idea that babies learn all they need to know naturally when we treat them respectfully, meet their physical needs, give undivided attention sometimes, and allow for lots of play and exploration. We don’t have to give lessons.
I believe that sign language is an amazing way to communicate with infants and toddlers as well as spoken language. I don’t really understand a difference as if one language is inferior to the other. I don’t believe a lot of parents “give lessons” of sign language but use both as their household language to communicate. Some do like programs which in turn help them learn but I know many parents as well as us as parents just use both languages in day to day lives and make it natural. Not as strict “lessons”.
I really enjoyed the article that Olivia suggested about the case against teaching math and it brought two thoughts up for me: what do you and/or the RIE approach think about story-telling and singing with/to infants?
Hi Alexandra,
Storytelling and singing is WONDERFUL! So is reading! Great as part of a bedtime ritual, or just for cozy time together. That is not the same as sitting a baby down for a lesson.
Janet, I am working in a nursery in NZ and we have been following a lot of Magda Gerber’s RIE practices. It has been amazing to really see the babies at work. I am also very passionate about music and have seen how magic musical conversations between infant and carer can be (music is after all their first language). We mostly incorporate music and song spontaneously through routines and transition times one on one. I am wondering how we can create a musical time to sing songs and partake in musical experiences as a social group without ‘entertaining’ or interrupting the babies’ flow. Is it enough that we don’t force babies to participate and ensure that they are given the time to respond and be musically creative rather than perform. I am aware we don’t need to ‘teach’ babies but I believe that song and dance are the cornerstones of culture and is so often overlooked nowadays. I would be very interested in your thoughts.
Kerry, thank you for asking. I totally understand and LOVE that you want to share your passion for music with the children in your care. And I think you are wise to be sensitive about interrupting, entertaining and teaching the babies when self-directed learning is so developmentally appropriate and important.
Although quiet background music would probably not interrupt the babies’ ‘flow’, singing during transitional times (as you have been doing) is the best time, if you don’t want to interrupt. You might also consider sharing music together at the end of the day, while everyone is clearing up and getting ready for the parents to arrive.
As professional caregivers and as parents we have the challenge of balancing our enthusiasm to share experiences with our children with patiently waiting for readiness (the time when the child can actively participate) and also encouraging discovery. Babies create simple ‘music’ (or sounds, at least) on their own, and often enjoy echoing each other. As with all stimulation, less is more for babies. I have a post about music and babies if you are interested… http://www.janetlansbury.com/2009/09/in-tune/
I am a mother of a 17 month old girl and I had her do the Baby Can Read program. I did this because I struggled with reading and vocabulary in school. My daughter has been successful with the program and can read better then my nieces and nephews who are 3 and 5 years old. I am not bragging because I watch my nieces and nephews during the day and want them to succeed as well. I only let my daughter watch the videos at the most twice a day (30 minutes) and no other TV. The rest of the day she is allowed to explore play and be a toddler. Now I have been teaching her more new words on a daily basis and has learned them after two or three times after seeing and hearing the word. I think she can read close to 200 words. I don’t see what can be wrong with this? My other nephew (who is 8 months older then my daughter) throws tantrums because he can’t communicate what he wants …my daughter who has been able to develop her speech at a faster rate does not throw fits because she is able to communicate to me what she needs. I am still struggling with the idea of parents being scolded for teaching their kids how to read when they are able and ready to learn? Is there any information or studies to show how this is not beneficial? So far I have not seen it…if I do in the next few years I will let you know…
Emily, I appreciate your thoughtful comment. You bring up important issues and I’m writing a post in response… It should be up in a few days. Thanks!
Just posted this in response: http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/09/experts-agree-really-babies-dont-need-to-read/
Before returning to the elementary classroom after the birth of my daughters, I taught family math classes that incorporated songs, stories, finger play, and exploration for 4 and 5 year olds. The most valuable tool I provided for families was sharing the understanding that math is everywhere and that narrating and talking about it in a natural environment is best. The hardest thing for me to deal with was parents wanting their young children (4-5 year olds) to take the class for older children because they already knew…(fill in the blank) when the classes were not skill based, but were designed for developmentally appropriate inquiry and exploration.
Dawn, that must have been frustrating. Yes, I think it is hard for parents to realize that the things our infants and toddlers children learn, especially if the learning is self-directed, don’t disappear if they are not being “taught”. A natural, early reader will continue to progress independently with his of her reading skills. The child doesn’t need instruction in reading (or math or music) to hold on to the knowledge she has. And, in fact, the instruction can interfere with an instrinsic desire to learn.
Thank you so much for confirming what my mother keeps telling me. I want to do the baby can read thing. I read to my son and write letters, sometimes I spell tings mostly his name(made a jingle of it). my friends laughs at me and says I’m crazy hes too young and I feel 9months is old enough to start doing it daily and making flash cards. I have to keep the tv off more because I think hes in love with ni hoa, kai-len (chinese cartoon, teaches chinese). I want him to learn other languages but I’m not sure how to go about it. The hardest part being a new mom is trying not to expect so much and having patience because every child is different.
The best way for a young child to learn other languages is to have one adult caregiver speak only that language when with your child – so if Mom speaks English and Dad speaks English and Chinese, then Mom only speaks English to the child and Dad only speaks Chinese to the child. Unfortunately, the way single language families often have to do that is by hiring a nanny or having their child attend daycare/school. If you can afford to have you child attend a bilingual Montessori school when he turns three, that’s a good way to introduce other languages while promoting all sorts of other stuff like independence and concentration and confidence. But there are studies that show that very young children associate the language with a specific person, at first, before they’re able to separate it, so it’s important not to speak a mish-mash of languages to your child. For expanding his language, the best thing you can do is offer him groups of real objects or child safe miniatures and repeat the language often. Don’t use flashcards until he gets older, and even then it should only be picture cards and only as he is interested. Put them in a place where he can choose them when he’s interested and let him initiate, or offer to give him a lesson but accept it if he says no.
I really enjoyed ‘Einstein never used flashcards’. I can’t remember the authors off the top of my head. The main take home point for me is that many of the skills we prize (reading, math) are actually the culmination of many other processes. We often don’t see those going on (even things as simple as learning what the text is on a page, which direction we read) but they gradually build up to the skill we recognize.
Yes, Elly, that’s a really good point. I think one of the biggest challenges of parenting, and it’s a worthy one, is being able to trust what isn’t necessarily evident in our child — have faith in the valuable processes that are invisible to us.
i’m just not sure why we’re in such a hurry to have our babies read? i think if you care whether your child can read at age 9 months, your child will certainly not be illiterate when s/he is ready to read when age appropriate. clearly if your childrens educator can’t make it happen, you will make it happen.
i understand that we all have concerns as parents for our children’s well being. some are completely irrational (like the ones I have everyday of my son getting hit by a car or getting caved in by walls from an earthquake) and i think the concern for not getting left behind in school are completely valid. with issues like public schools in the US losing so much funding, the world seems like it’s getting to be a harder place.
i’m not trying to discount illiteracy in this world. it certainly is a problem but i doubt any parent who visits this website will let their child go uneducated b/c everyone cares enough to look up early childhood development issues online (you will be surprised how many parents never look at ANYTHING) .
i know i’m rambling and repeating myself but i feel like it’s such a race. first, it was “does your child sleep thru the night?”. then it was “does your child crawl/walk?”. next it’s “can your child talk?” now it’s “can your child read?” don’t countries like sweden start teaching how to read at like age 7 and they have the one of the highest literacy rates?
I know my child will definitely be reading eventually but until then we’ll be out playing outside!