What is early child development in your understanding. Early development: what does it give to modern children

The problem of intensification of development causes a lot of controversy among teachers, pediatricians and psychologists. Some experts are convinced: the sooner classes begin with a child, the sooner he will acquire skills and opportunities useful for later life.

Other experts are sure that early education is just a tool for satisfying mom or dad’s ambitions and pumping out money. Some doctors even believe that some methods are harmful to children's health.

What early development methods are popular today? Below is information about the advantages and disadvantages of such programs. All this will allow parents to make their own judgment about each of them.

3 types of child development

The term “early development” refers to a wide variety of phenomena. For some, early education is synonymous with premature and inadequate interference in the natural course of development of a little person.

According to experts, early development is the use of active educational methods in age period from 0 months to 2 - 3 years.

However, such upbringing often conflicts with traditional educational systems, in which a child’s education begins at 6 or 7 years old.

Psychological literature traditionally divides the early mental development of a child into three types according to the degree of adequacy to the age characteristics of the child:

  • premature. Let's bring simplest example: a newborn cannot be taught to sit, stand, and especially walk. In general, with premature development the child is not able to perceive information due to psychological and physical “imperfection”;
  • later. It's no secret that in childhood There are so-called sensitive periods of development, when the child best perceives certain information: visual, speech, etc. In case of delayed development, the process of mastering skills and knowledge becomes less productive. For example, it is too late to teach a child to skate at age 12 if you want to raise a great skater;
  • timely. This is a traditional option for the development of children, in which the information provided corresponds as much as possible to their age and psychological characteristics.

The last option seems to many to be the most adequate and correct. However, in real life all three varieties are found child development.

In this case, we are more interested in early learning. Does it always correspond to premature education? No. If you correctly assess your own and your children’s capabilities, as well as follow the methodology and common sense, you can more likely talk about advanced development.

Child development early age involves creating conditions that would facilitate the most effective acquisition of skills and knowledge in infancy.

Conditions mean:

  • organizing a developmental environment - filling corners with various objects and play aids that expand motor activity, develop children’s sensory skills, vision and hearing, etc.;
  • introducing the child to musical, artistic and literary works;
  • intensification of communication with the child both from the mother and from other household members. This means stimulating children's speech, adults pronouncing their actions;
  • acquisition or production of special teaching materials and manuals (this is especially true for Montessori and Doman methods).

Early education is not just preparation for kindergarten or school education, but the creation of conditions for harmonious and comprehensive development, memory training, attentiveness, imagination, logical thinking, processes of analysis and synthesis of information.

Below are time-tested and modern methods of early child development, which are most often used by parents at home or by specialists in educational centers.

Let us make one important reservation: an ideal developmental program that takes into account all aspects of a child’s personality simply does not exist. Each child is a bright individual, so what suits one may not be necessary for another.

This is why parents, when choosing the optimal method, early education you should know about the strengths and weaknesses of the preferred system, its advantages and disadvantages. This will help pay attention to the “sinking” directions.

The most popular methods of early development of children from 0 to 3 years old

If you decide to purposefully and regularly work with your baby using a certain developmental method, you need to understand that the preparatory work and the actual classes will take you a huge amount of time, and the result can only be assessed after a couple of years.

We should not forget about the natural needs of the baby. For example, at 6 months of age, it is much more important for a child to learn to sit or crawl than to learn letters and words or swim. Common sense will only enhance the effectiveness of the techniques used.

The main principle of this worldwide popular educational system is to help the child demonstrate independence skills when learning in specially created conditions.

The educational program, developed by the author at the beginning of the 20th century, takes as a basis individual approach to the child’s personality from the moment of his birth. This is necessary to reveal the inclinations and intellectual potential of each child.

The method includes 3 main parts: the child, the teacher and the organized environment. The central area is occupied by the baby, around whom a special environment is created that allows for independent study.

The teacher only helps children without interfering particularly with the natural course of development.

The main tenet of the program is monitoring the child and refusing to interfere in his affairs, except in situations where the child himself asks for support or help.

  • sensory;
  • mathematical;
  • speech;
  • practical life;
  • space

The designated area is filled with various teaching materials (Montessori avoided the word “toys”) that correspond to the child’s age: books, sorters, pyramids, containers, brushes and dustpans, etc.

IN classic version The method involves starting classes at 3 years old, but some exercises will interest children older than one year of age.

Montessori groups are always of different ages: in some classes there are children from 1 to 6 years old, in others there are children from 7 to 12 years old. This division has certain advantages, since older children take care of the kids, and they, in turn, learn from their older friends.

Advantages and disadvantages

This technique has both positive and negative aspects, which should be discussed in more detail.

Advantages:

  • stimulation of mental processes with the help of special didactic materials taking into account sensitive periods of child development;
  • a huge selection of manuals and educational materials;
  • improving self-care skills;
  • formation of self-discipline.

Flaws:

  • many classes still require the participation of a teacher or parent, since they will need to explain to the child the rules of interaction with a specific aid;
  • very expensive Montessori materials (though you can make them yourself);
  • To strictly follow all the precepts of Montessori, the child must be taken to a special center. Moreover, it is important to make sure that teachers actually work entirely according to this methodology, and do not use individual elements;
  • Most of the exercises are aimed at intelligence, sensory skills, and logical thinking. However, the creative, emotional and play areas develop to a lesser extent;
  • The traditional method rejects role-playing games and reading fairy tales, considering these teaching techniques to be unimportant.

In general, the Italian doctor’s method is popular among Russian and foreign parents. However, in the author’s version, the system is used extremely rarely; rather, mothers and fathers take some of the most successful moments from it, diluting them with activities and exercises from other educational programs.

This educational and educational program puts forward the following postulate - the maximum development of the capabilities of each child and his confidence in own strength.

Unlike many other developmental systems, this technique refuses to provide the child with any types of intellectual tasks if he is not yet 7 years old.

So, children only start learning to read in the third grade. Before entering school, children are given toys made from natural materials(straw, pine cones, etc.).

Waldorf school teachers place another emphasis on the comfort of the educational process. There are no grades in the lessons, there are no competitive “notes”, classes are filled with a small number of students - no more than 20 children.

The priority in the program is artistic and theatrical activity children, improving imagination. For the same purpose, the methodology prohibits children from using modern gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and TVs.

Teaching principles are built taking into account the age factor:

  • a child under 7 years old learns through imitation of adults;
  • children aged 7 - 14 years old connect the emotional component to the process of acquiring knowledge;
  • From the age of 14, logic and intelligence are activated.

Advantages:

  • focuses on imagination and creativity;
  • comfort of the educational process;
  • development of an independent personality.

Flaws:

  • too late development of intellectual functions;
  • absence preparatory classes to schooling;
  • poor adaptation to modern realities (a telephone is a necessary thing for a child today).

This technique is unique, so many parents are wary of it. On the Internet you can find a variety of comments about the Waldorf school: both positive and negative. Is it worth doing this program? It's up to the parents to decide.

The American scientist Doman, studying the characteristics of the psyche and learning of children with brain damage, established the following pattern - developmental activities are effective only during the period of greatest activity of the cerebral cortex, that is, under the age of 7 years.

More detailed information You can find out what classes the author offers and what the basic principles of this educational program are by reading an article by a child psychologist.

The main task of parents is to maximize the enormous potential of a newborn child.

Glen Doman's method consists of from four main components:

  • physical development;
  • check;
  • reading;
  • encyclopedic knowledge.

The American doctor was convinced that the nervous system of a child under one year old is so unique and perfect that even at that age the baby is able to memorize and systematize various facts and information.

Surely many mothers are familiar with the term “Doman cards”. This teaching material consists of cardboard cards of a certain size, on which there are words, dots, mathematical operations, photographs of plants, birds, animals, famous people, etc.

The amount of information is amazing. For better systematization and ease of use, cards should be divided into groups. Throughout the day, the parent displays these cards for a few seconds, regularly introducing more and more new images into circulation.

Advantages:

  • intensification of child development;
  • active involvement of parents in activities with children;
  • expanding children's opportunities by providing the child with a large flow of information;
  • development of children's attention.

Flaws:

  • you will simply need a huge amount of didactic material;
  • little attention is paid to fine motor skills, sensory development and subject activity;
  • Doman cards do not develop a child’s logical thinking, ability to analyze and systematize facts;
  • the methodology does not pay due attention to creativity and play activities;
  • It is possible to overload the child's nervous system due to too much information, as a result of which the child develops tics, enuresis and other problems.

The Doman system is a typical example of intellectual techniques. The child is not taught, but rather trained with the help of cards. At least that’s what many mothers and neurologists think. However, other parents praise this training program for the opportunity to develop from the cradle.

St. Petersburg teacher Nikolai Zaitsev several decades ago developed a unique developmental system that includes a set of manuals for teaching a child literacy, mathematical skills and English.

The Zaitsev program is based on the leading activity of a child of early and before school age- game. And this allows you to develop both the physical and emotional sides of the child’s personality.

Information is provided in the system, but at the same time in game form, which is why the child happily joins in the activity. Moreover, it is not so important whether it takes place alone with a parent (teacher) or with a group of children.

A relaxed atmosphere is an important condition of Zaitsev’s training system. During the lesson, children are allowed to make noise, laugh, clap their hands and stomp their feet, change playing material, moving from cubes to tablets or a board.

However, such liberation does not mean that classes are entertainment. It is in the process of such play that children not only gain knowledge, but also make an independent choice of their preferred activity.

Advantages:

  • wide age range - from 1 year to 7 years;
  • You can practice both at home and in kindergarten;
  • crash course in learning to read through games;
  • development of competent writing skills.

Flaws:

  • at homeschooling the parent will have to first learn this technique himself, since it differs from traditional teaching methods;
  • experts point out that a child who has learned to read using Zaitsev’s method “swallows” endings and gets confused when dividing a word into syllables, since he previously divided it into words;
  • first grade is an important milestone in the life of every child; it is at this moment that children who studied using this method begin to have difficulties, since there is a discrepancy in the color designation of vowels and consonants.

According to many parents, Zaitsev's cubes are the best reading aids of their kind. A child can learn to read as early as 3 years old, and this skill remains with him for the rest of his life. In addition, mothers also include game techniques that make the activity fun and spontaneous.

The Belgian actress Cecile Lupan was forced to develop her own method by dissatisfaction with Glen Doman's system, which was taken as a basis.

This training program can hardly be called scientific; the developed method is rather a set of activities that take into account the child’s individuality, interests and inclinations of each child.

The author of the technique in his books advises communicating with the baby literally from the first seconds of his life, and there is no need to worry that he will not understand something. Lupan is convinced that what earlier child learns something, the sooner he will understand certain patterns and connections.

In the first months, the child only gets used to the parent’s speech, and then seemingly meaningless sounds begin to be filled with meaning. As soon as he begins to pronounce the first words, he should move on to reading (usually at one year of age).

The main idea proposed by Cecile Lupan is the following: a child does not need attention-care, he needs attention-interest, which only a loving parent can provide.

Advantages:

  • opportunity to engage from 3 months of age to 7 years;
  • much attention is paid to early physical development;
  • the technique is suitable for home practice;
  • exercises affect the intellectual and emotional sphere, sensory;
  • very close communication between mother and child;
  • Stimulation of the baby's cognitive interest.

Flaws:

  • requires complete dedication from the parent;
  • a lot of teaching materials that mom will need to make;
  • a kind of training.

Since the author is not an educator, her approach cannot be said to be completely scientific. However, mothers can take some things into account, for example, creating homemade books about their child, into which they can write author’s fairy tales and insert his photographs.

The name of the authors thundered back in the days Soviet Union. Married couple began to raise children according to her own program, which could amaze an unprepared person with unusual techniques and educational methods.

The Nikitins did not recommend limiting the child’s experimental nature with devices, so they had a negative attitude towards any strollers (including strollers) and playpens, calling them prisons.

The spouses also followed the principle of children's independence in choosing activities for the child. They refused special training and activities. The kids could do what was closest to them, without restrictions. Parents only helped to deal with difficulties.

The Nikitin system includes hardening and physical education techniques. To do this, it is necessary to create a special environment in the house, including sports equipment and exercise equipment. These devices should not stand out; they are as natural as, for example, furniture.

The authors are convinced that a child should not be “overorganized” or abandoned. Moms and dads should not be indifferent to children's development and pastime, however, when participating in children's games, they should not take the position of a supervisor and controller.

The main principle of the system is the Montessori version of sensitive periods - the fading of the child’s ability to develop effectively as he grows up. Simply put, if certain abilities are not developed in time, they will not reach the optimal level.

Advantages:

  • used from birth to school age;
  • children's independence;
  • The child’s intelligence develops well;
  • improving logical thinking and imagination;
  • game as a teaching technique;
  • special attention is paid to physical development;
  • the invention of special didactic toys - for example, Nikitin cubes, unicube.

Flaws:

  • restlessness of the child due to the fact that he chooses his own activities;
  • this lifestyle is more suitable for rural areas;
  • hardening is considered a rather extreme type of education;
  • Due to advanced development, children may not be interested in studying at school.

This system has both ardent supporters and no less categorical opponents. However, some points have not lost their relevance today, while other techniques are questionable.

This program, called "method intellectual development child" was developed by P.V. Tyulenev, a teacher and sociologist. By studying MIRR, you can teach your child literacy, mathematics, and develop musical and sports abilities.

The author of the system is convinced that a child needs to be developed from the first days of life. The most important thing at this moment is to provide him with a variety of tactile stimuli so that the cerebral cortex can actively form.

The choice of activities depends depending on the child’s age:

  • in the first two months, the baby is shown triangles, squares and other geometric figures depicted on a piece of paper;
  • from 2 to 4 months, children are shown drawings of animals, plants, letters, numbers;
  • at 4 months of age they play “Toyball”, when the baby throws cubes and other game accessories from the crib;
  • From 5 months, musical instruments are placed near the baby. The baby, touching them, tries to make sounds and develop musical inclinations;
  • from the age of six months they master letters by looking at a special magnetic alphabet. At 8 months the child is asked to bring a letter, at 10 months - to show the letter, and then - to name the letter or a whole word;
  • from the age of one and a half years, they play chess with the baby;
  • from the age of 2, the child not only puts words together from letters, but tries to type them on a computer keyboard;
  • With three years children try to keep a diary on a laptop or computer.

Advantages:

  • diversified development of the baby;
  • exercises will not require much time from adults;
  • exercises are suitable for every child;
  • good preparation for schooling;
  • revealing all the inclinations of the baby.

Flaws:

  • It’s not easy to find benefits;
  • it is difficult to talk about the effectiveness of exercises;
  • too strict restrictions from the author;
  • are not always taken into account age characteristics baby;
  • restriction of the child’s cognitive freedom;
  • the prevalence of the intellectual component over all others.

An ambiguous technique that many specialists do not like. However, you can also find in it interesting points that can be implemented in practice. It is only important to monitor the child’s reaction to the innovations being introduced.

Other proprietary developmental techniques

In addition to those described above, there are other developmental or educational systems. Their use allows the child to better master the preschool or school curriculum, develop certain abilities, or simply grow into a well-rounded personality.

Some of the most popular include the following teaching methods:

  1. “After three it’s too late.” A Japanese entrepreneur and simply caring father wrote this literary work in which he described the importance of the early development of a child in the first years of life.
  2. Dynamic gymnastics. M. Trunov and L. Kitaev, having put together ancient Russian gymnastic exercises, offer parents effective methods for the development of the physical sphere, as well as for the correction of increased or decreased muscle tone, clubfoot, torticollis, etc.
  3. Gmoshinskaya's technique. Best method instill in your child artistic skills - drawing from infancy. Even before the age of 1 year, a child can create “canvases” using his palms, fingers, and soft felt-tip pens.
  4. Musical program by Vinogradov. The creator of the method is convinced that even a one-year-old child can already understand the most complex classical works. There is no need to explain the meaning of the music to the baby in detail; let him decide on his own emotions and impressions.
  5. Music by the Zheleznovs. This is another musical technique for young children. The discs contain lullabies, nursery rhymes, music for finger and outdoor games, performances, massage, fairy tales, learning the alphabet, teaching counting and reading, etc.

Of course, this list is not entirely complete. However, the presented methods are enough to understand how diverse and interesting they are. When developing them, the authors took into account their experience or took their pedagogical heritage as a basis.

It is interesting that these systems can be combined with each other using the most successful individual elements. Experiments are welcome.

Pros and cons of early development

Moms and dads are convinced that they themselves decide how to raise a child. However, this opinion is not entirely correct, since the process of education is increasingly influenced by social initiatives and various stereotypes.

One of the most controversial issues is the early development of children under 1 year of age. Typically, specialists and mothers take two extreme positions: some advocate the use of developmental techniques, others are extremely negative towards any intervention. Let's consider their arguments.

Arguments for"

  1. The modern world places higher demands on people. In order for a child to have time to master the necessary and important skills, his abilities have to be developed from infancy.
  2. Children who study in accordance with such methods usually have a higher level of development compared to their peers. Children master all kinds of skills earlier: reading, writing, counting.
  3. Complex educational systems, covering the development of several aspects of personality at once, help to identify a child’s inclinations and aptitudes for certain activities. This allows you to enroll your child in specific courses in the future.
  4. If a child studies at a development center in the company of peers, this allows him to socialize earlier and get used to life in a children's group.

Arguments against"

  1. Healthy and normal developing child able to learn basic skills on his own when the time comes. This is why you should not “mock” the child’s psyche.
  2. Intensive classes can harm a child if a parent or teacher does not take into account the age characteristics of the child’s body, its temperament and adaptive capabilities.
  3. Many popular techniques place the main emphasis on intelligence and “physics,” but emotional and social development undeservedly forgotten. This can disrupt adaptation in children's society.
  4. It is extremely difficult to work with your baby every day, fulfilling all the requirements and conditions of the method. If you follow all the rules, then mom has no time left for anything else. If you perform tasks from time to time, all knowledge will evaporate very quickly,” and the effectiveness will be very low.
  5. Many experts pay attention to the untimely acquisition of certain skills. For example, a six-month-old baby needs to learn to sit down or crawl, since this is his most important “task,” but reading or counting is completely unnecessary at this age. Most likely, before school he will have completely forgotten all his skills and will be on par with his peers.
  6. Excessive demands on a child and the desire to raise a genius can negatively affect the child’s entire future life. Children whose parents feed them unnecessary information often grow up to be neurasthenics and perfectionists. Therefore, problems with socialization cannot be ruled out.

Thus, each side has compelling arguments, which is why parents will have to choose for themselves whether to use methods or follow the natural course of child development.

In the first 12 months, the child's development proceeds at an accelerated pace. At this time, the baby has time to explore the world, gain a good vocabulary, and build initial and elementary logical chains.

Many experts are convinced that if you don’t work with your baby in the first year or two, then the child will not be able to compensate for the lost knowledge and skills.

However, excessive fanaticism and adherence to literally all the dogmas of developmental methods can, on the contrary, not bring benefit, but harm child development.

If you decide to use the child development methods mentioned above, you must follow certain rules. They will help to avoid negative consequences and make learning more natural:

  • Observe your baby's reaction carefully. If he doesn’t like the activity, he expresses protest in the form of tears or throwing away the offered toys, you need to stop and occupy him with something else;
  • The baby should not be taken away from the activity he is currently passionate about for the sake of development. If your baby prefers to play with blocks rather than look at pictures, wait until he finishes the game;
  • all exercises and tasks included in the educational system you choose must be understandable and credible. You should also rehearse all activities before approaching your child with them;
  • The child’s education should be comprehensive. In no case should you develop only the physical or cognitive sphere. It is necessary to pay attention to all aspects of the child’s personality, including emotional and social;
  • there is no need to turn the process of acquiring knowledge and skills into an automatic action. It is important to stimulate the child’s interest in the process itself, to develop curiosity, inquisitiveness and observation.

Having considered all the main nuances of each method, you can make a preliminary selection of the most preferable training system. However, you should focus not on the opinions of other parents, but primarily on the characteristics of the child. After all, its development is a responsible matter!

Early development today is one of the most popular phrases in discussing children and their achievements by a certain age. Every mother wants her child to be the smartest, most developed and stand out from his peers. How to achieve this? How to unleash the natural intellectual potential of a baby and not harm him with excessive loads? How to organize early development classes for children under one year old correctly and using what methodology?

What is “early development”

Many people are familiar with the phrase “early development,” but not everyone has a clear idea of ​​what it is. There are a huge number of myths floating around many techniques. Raising a child in this way has both fans and those who are extremely negative. In fact, everything is not as complicated and scary as it seems at first glance.

Early development is A complex approach to raising a child, when games, activities and communication in the family are aimed at maximizing the mental and physical potential of the baby. Moreover, these classes should begin not from 3-4 years old, as was previously customary, but right from the first months of life.

Myths about the early development of babies under one year old

  1. It is difficult to convey any information to children under one year old, so some classes and techniques are simply pointless.
  2. This is completely wrong! Yes, children in the first year of life are more based on feelings rather than on reason, but they can be taught many things. Classes will greatly contribute to psychomotor development, which, in turn, will have a great impact on the child’s physical and intellectual skills.
  3. Early development is dangerous for children under the age of one and a half to two years.
  4. This again is not entirely true. Any danger may be associated with the fanatical desire of the mother to develop her child by any means and give him encyclopedic knowledge. Overloads can indeed be dangerous for the baby. But if the activities are not forced on the child and do not take a lot of time, then they will not bring anything but benefit.
  5. Early development is very difficult.

There is nothing complicated! You just need to play with children, like mothers do every day. Only games and activities should be chosen so that they not only allow you to have fun, but also teach the baby something, and also develop his psyche, motor skills, sensory skills, and allow him to learn. the world.

Which early development method to choose for a newborn

Early development methods are very diverse; it is not easy to choose just one among them. But this is not required. You can get acquainted with them all and choose what is most interesting and comfortable for both the child and the parents.

You can develop your baby using one method or make a “hodgepodge” of several. Some mothers prefer to independently select activities and games for their baby based on the materials they have studied. The main thing is to focus on how the child reacts to classes.

If the baby likes it and takes part in educational games with pleasure, then everything is in order and you can continue learning. But in the case when the mother sees that the child is having a hard time, he cannot understand the meaning of the lesson or is bored, which is not interesting to him, then development methods should be more carefully selected.

When it comes to the development of newborn children, there are several basic methods:

Early development according to Montessori

The motto of this technique is “Teach me so I can do it myself!” But in the case of infants, the approach is slightly different. For children in the first year of life, sensory development is important - the development of sense organs, which helps a person perceive and evaluate the world around them. In many ways, this is exactly what Montessori classes for babies under one year of age are aimed at.

It is not at all necessary to look for and buy special Montessori materials and teaching aids that will help organize activities with your child. All auxiliary educational “toys” can be made independently or purchased at a regular children's supermarket

Lessons on this system can be as follows:

"Letters and numbers"

You will need large (the size of an adult's palm) letters and numbers made of textured and bright fabric (felt, terry cloth, velvet). They need to be sewn in the form of pillows and filled with different fillings - padding polyester, cereal, paper, sawdust, foam balls, fur, etc. You need to give these pads to your child and clearly pronounce the names of the letters and numbers each time.

By feeling them, the baby will develop fine motor skills, color perception, and in the future it will be much easier for him to learn the alphabet, reading and counting, because the letters and numbers will already be familiar to the child.

Such activities with a newborn can be started from the first or second month of life. Just put a letter or number in your baby's hand. This can be done several times throughout the day. Next, when the child reaches out to objects and takes them in his hands, you can put him on his tummy and lay out educational material around him.

This will also contribute to physical development, because in order to get to the most interesting letter, he will have to stretch or try to crawl a few centimeters.

Games with semolina

There is no need to prepare for this activity at all. It is enough to sit the baby on the floor, place a tray or newspaper in front of him and sprinkle the semolina in an even layer. Now you can draw patterns on it, feel it, sprinkle it around, try it on your tongue, write letters and numbers with your finger.

Glen Doman Method

This technique is based on a combination of the child’s physical and mental development. In the case of children, one is inseparable from the other, so it is necessary to harmoniously combine activities that are aimed at the psychomotor development of children under one year old, as well as the disclosure of their intellectual potential.

Doman, in his research, found that the more a child moves, the more successfully he masters any new knowledge and skills. The potential of the baby’s brain and body is enormous; you just need to help it realize itself.


Any lesson using the Doman method should last only a few minutes, the child should never get tired

The technique is based on demonstrating cards on which various images, letters, numbers, and photos are printed. Cards are shown several at a time, the names of the objects depicted in the pictures are carefully pronounced. Such classes are held several times a day, and the rest of the time should be occupied by active outdoor games aimed at physical development. Thanks to such activities, children easily learn the alphabet, counting, names of household items, world landmarks, and foreign words.

Of course, you shouldn’t start playing cards from birth. This is too early. It is better to start classes at 9–10 months of age. To begin with, you can put household items (chair, table, plate, glass), animals (cat, dog, hare), toys (ball, pyramid, car) on the cards. With age, you can expand and complicate the areas of learning, introduce the alphabet and numbers, words in Russian and foreign languages. Great importance should be paid to the physical development of the child, choosing outdoor games with a ball, walking more on the street, actively teaching the baby to crawl and walk.

Drawing technique of Maria Gmoszynska

“Baby drawing” is a very popular technique, which European countries known and practiced for decades. According to this method, children begin to draw from the age of six months or even earlier, provided that the child sits well. For this purpose, fingers, palms, legs and bright, safe, non-toxic paints are used.

Such activities very well help to develop a child creatively, have a positive effect on the psycho-emotional development of personality, and also contribute to the development of fine motor skills and sensory skills.


You can entertain and educate your child with “infant drawing” 2-3 times a week

For this lesson you will need non-toxic quality paints several bright shades, which must be special, liquid enough to paint without adding water (you can use SES, Stilla), and also:

  • convenient containers for paints (stable jars with a wide neck);
  • a large sheet of Whatman paper (the larger the better);
  • oilcloth to lay under the “artist” and his creation.

Before starting work, you need to spread an oilcloth on the floor, lay out whatman paper so that it does not curl into a tube, you can press down the ends with something heavy. Place jars of paint nearby. Then you need to show the baby what to do. To do this, you need to dip your finger in the paint and draw something on paper. Then the child will act on his own.

There is no need to try to teach him to draw something specific; one should not suppress impulses of self-expression. Let the baby draw what he wants, in any colors, using all parts of the body. If you want to show an example, then you can draw something next to the child, but do not force him to do the same.

Methodology Cecile Lupan

Cecile Lupan's method for children in the first year of life is based on the development of the child's basic feelings, the formation of his physiology and psycho-emotional background. However, she does not insist on using any special teaching materials and devices.


All classes can be conducted in an everyday environment with familiar objects. You can begin to develop a child using the Lupan system from the first month of life.

The child’s physical development is based on daily gymnastics, active bathing with a circle on the neck, massage, as well as games that stimulate motor skills - crawling and walking.

  • Hearing it needs to be developed by constantly talking with the baby, addressing him, you also need to actively use songs, poems, and fairy tales.
  • Vision develops with the help of bright rattles, hanging toys for the crib and stroller. For babies from six months old, you can use cards with various objects (images must be color and black and white). You can also attach a small mirror in the crib so that the baby can see himself in it.
  • Touch develops with the help of objects different in shape, texture, size. You can buy various toys or make your own bags from different fabrics, filling them with various fillings (sugar, fur, shreds, cotton wool, peas, etc.).
  • Smell can be developed by letting the child smell different sachets made from natural herbs (here you need to be careful, if the baby is allergic or asthmatic, then it is better not to conduct such activities). You can also simply bring your child into the kitchen while cooking or in the bathroom and allow him to smell soap or shower gel.
  • Taste develops as we grow older with the introduction of new foods. You should try to feed your baby as varied as possible. Of course, there is no need to fanatically shove everything you can get your hands on at your child. But it is necessary to diversify the diet with new dishes from permitted products.

Whether or not to engage in early development with a child is up to each mother to decide for herself, but it’s definitely worth paying attention to popular, trusted methods. With a reasonable approach, they will bring a lot of benefits to the baby, and give the mother more reasons to be proud of her baby.

Previously, no one particularly developed children; what kindergarten provided was enough. Yes, and we started working with the child when he was four years old, and now everyone is talking about development from the cradle. Advanced mothers begin choosing early development courses when the baby has just begun to crawl. What is early childhood development and why is it needed? Let's try to figure it out.

When they talk about early development, they mean that the child, in terms of his rate of development and level of knowledge, is ahead of those peers with whom special classes are not conducted. No one knows exactly what the “early” complex for a child includes, because there are a huge number of methods, and each considers something different to be a measure of development.

Modern parents They try to start “developing” the child as early as possible. Some - already before birth (yes, there are such techniques!). It seems that all parents are divided into 2 camps: some do not think about any early development, then come to their senses before school, while others take on the development of their children with such zeal that they feel sorry for the children.

The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle.

Let's try to figure out whether any developmental courses and special classes for kids are needed at all.

Many authors of early development methods (Doman, Montessori, Suzuki, Zaitsev, Nikitins, Trop) insist that the theories that are commonly called early development methods are not early, but just timely. The most intensive development of mental and creativity the child occurs between one and a half to three and a half years. Scientists have determined that by the age of 3, the development of brain cells is 70% complete, and by six years - 90%. Then many of the innate mechanisms that nature has endowed humans with die away.

For example, few people know that all hearing children are born with absolute ear for music, so among thousands of noises they are able to recognize the sound of the mother’s heartbeat. But if musical abilities are not developed, by the age of six, many children lose this gift.

And so, having learned this fact, parents begin to energetically develop the child, enrolling their one-and-a-half-year-old babies at the same time in English, rhythm, a logic course, in the pool and also in an art club, and at home hanging the rooms with Doman cards. Many parents are so inspired by the idea of ​​\u200b\u200braising a genius that they base their child’s development on the principle “what if we don’t manage to do something? What if we didn’t add something?” After all, I really want to proudly say to the mother of another baby: “What, yours doesn’t read yet? (doesn’t go to the potty on his own, doesn’t learn English, doesn’t count to 10, etc.) and we’ve been able to do this for six months already!”

Before taking classes with your child or taking him to any courses, decide what is driving you: the desire to help the child understand the world or parental ambitions. If you, first of all, want to feel proud of your parents’ achievements in the field of educating your child, then all the child’s failures will become a personal defeat for you, a confirmation of your own insolvency. And then the child will begin to suffer, on whom the parents pinned hopes, but, alas, he did not live up to.

So what to do? Not to develop a child? Also wrong.

Early child development- this is not a tribute to fashion, but a necessity dictated by the needs of the modern technological world. Traditional pedagogical science does not want to admit that a child’s potential is much higher than simply filling in a coloring book or making carrots, which is what they do with kids in kindergarten. Without special classes, children approach school without special skills and a coherent system of knowledge. First, it puts them at a disadvantage from the start. Imagine how painful it is for a 6-7 year old child to realize that he was not accepted into a good school because he doesn’t know and can’t do something - that is, that he is stupider than others! Secondly, the child still has to make up for lost time. It is especially unpleasant if this happens in 1st grade, when a child spends hours doing homework that his classmates complete in 10 minutes.

Of course, each child develops at his own individual pace, mastering his own capabilities gradually, step by step. However, if you work systematically with your child, using various techniques early development, the development of abilities occurs more intensively than in those children with whom classes are not conducted.

Which method should you prefer? What exactly should you do with your child? at what age to start? These questions torment parents.

Many developmental systems came to us from abroad and cannot be adapted to the Russian mentality. For example, Masaru Ibuki’s system, called “After Three It’s Too Late,” is built in Japanese traditions: there is a lot of attention paid to aesthetic and musical development and foreign languages. At the same time, this method completely lacks tasks for the development of physical activity, which is also important for the full development of the child.

All children are individual. Therefore, what suits one child may not suit another at all. It is best if a personally oriented system is created for the child, based on individual characteristics and the needs of this particular child. It is useless to try to chaotically shove as much information into a child as possible; you cannot focus on reading or, conversely, artistic and aesthetic development. The main task early classes There must be a diversified development of the child’s personality, his logical and abstract thinking. That is, it is important not only to teach children the basics of science, but also to teach children to independently comprehend the world and independently draw conclusions and discoveries.

The development of the child must be harmonious. Everything has its time, we must follow the path of natural human development.

By nature, every child is gifted in some area, and the goal of teachers and parents is to find these “sparks of God” in every child, unlock the child’s potential and teach them to independently develop their natural abilities.

You can’t focus on development only strengths the child and his talents, since in this case we get disharmony of development. For example, a frail “nerd” or an intellectually limited athlete. In principle, one cannot set the goal of raising a child to be a genius, since in pursuit of results one can “overload” the child, and constantly demonstrating these results to others can spoil the child’s character. Comprehensive development is much more important than a record in any one direction, because it provides the basis for the formation of a harmonious personality.

When advocating for early development, parents need to be reasonable and be wary of newfangled methods that proclaim that they need to teach their child to read before they can walk. Man, first of all, is a part of nature, and we, as a biological unit, have a certain development plan, which is wrong to violate.

A one-year-old child needs to be taught to control his body and strive to understand the world, and not sit down with numbers. At the age of about two years, a child needs to be taught to acquire knowledge and analyze information, develop his speech and desire to understand the world. Closer to the age of three, a child needs to learn how to classify data and draw conclusions, that is, it is important to develop logical and abstract thinking, as well as lay the foundations of safety. That is, everything has its time, its age.

One has to wonder what kind of mess forms in the minds of young parents who have read magazines about early development. Although all parents love their children and try to give them maximum attention, few can work with their children week after week according to a certain system. Having neither special knowledge nor teaching abilities, parents make a lot of mistakes, which then have to be corrected by professionals. That is why, in order for a child to grow up smart, it is worth enrolling him in developmental education at a children's center or some kind of studio.

Let's start with the fact that the process of forming a child as a person begins even before he is born (by the end of the third week of pregnancy the nervous system of the embryo is formed) and continues until high school age. Actually, any of us can change and develop psychologically throughout our lives, but after reaching adulthood this process is much more difficult.

In order to change the worldview of a mature person, it, as a rule, has to be “broken,” because the foundation of personality, its foundation, is laid in preschool age. Over time, more and more new “floors” are erected above this foundation. The older a person is, the more difficult it will be to get to the foundations of his character and even more so to change them. Accordingly: every parent must take care to lay the right and solid foundation for their child in time. Let's look at some important aspects separately.

Every person is surrounded by a huge amount of information. The most important component for its absorption, processing and further use is memory. Another important aspect is closely intertwined with memory – attention. You need to be able to concentrate it and distribute it correctly. Many parents have questions: “How to develop a child’s memory?” and “How to develop attention in a child?” Below are several useful tips and exercises:

  • When working with children of primary preschool age, try to accompany oral explanations with visual examples and vivid illustrations. As a rule, an object of memorization, “attached” to some image that is interesting to the child, is stored in his memory automatically, without effort. This is also called "involuntary memory".
  • Gradually teach your child to create such auxiliary images for himself. Point him to a certain object and ask him to tell him what it is, what it looks like, what it is associated with. You can do the opposite: read a fairy tale to your child and ask him to draw what he imagined while listening to it.
  • Try to involve your child in collective communication, especially starting from 4-5 years old. At this age, the so-called “ random memory“- a person learns to remember the things he needs consciously, without necessarily being tied to a vivid image. To join the team, you need to pay attention to those around you. To earn the praise of kindergarten teachers, you need to remember the requirements that they put forward. To win a collective game, you should remember its rules. This is how the child learns to independently “turn on” and “turn off” the memorization mechanism.
  • Suggest more convenient ways to absorb information. Teach your child to focus on the most important things. Read to him small text and ask to write down the key, most important words. Then offer to retell the text based on them. Solve the mistakes together. This will be very useful for the future student.
  • An effective tool for developing attention is the famous game “Find the Differences!” The goal is to compare two seemingly identical pictures and find a specified number of differences.
  • Another exercise: place several different objects on the table (to begin with, no more than seven) and ask the child to remember their sequence. After 30 seconds, take him out of the room and swap a few things around. Ask your child what has changed and invite him to restore the disrupted order. Gradually increase the number of items.

Another integral part of child development is speech. It is one of the key skills needed to full life. So how to develop speech in a child? We offer you a small reminder:

  • Talk to him as much as possible. Tell him about everything that is happening nearby, comment on objects and phenomena, call the people around him by name.
  • Walk more with your child, if possible, choose new places to walk each time. The more new impressions, the better.
  • Choose a simple poem and read it to your child regularly. After a while, start inviting him to continue the line you started.
  • When communicating with your child, remember that he perceives you as a role model. Try to speak loudly enough and clearly, do not jabber.
  • More illustrated books. Discuss the pictures together, read one by one.
  • Work on fine motor skills. It is directly related to speech. Finger games and mosaics are what you need. Construction sets with small parts are also suitable (UNDER MANDATORY PARENTAL SUPERVISION!).
  • Encourage any attempts your child makes to speak.

Finally, let's talk about how to develop a child's abilities. Sooner or later, all children begin to get involved in one activity or another. For some, this may later develop into the main business of life. But don’t rush: even if your son strums the guitar all day long, this is not a reason to predict a career for him as a great musician. Exactly, just as there is no reason to snatch the instrument from his hands shouting “Better do something useful!” First of all, watch.

Do not shy away from healthy, restrained criticism - if a person is not promptly pointed out about his mistakes, sooner or later he will reach a dead end and stop developing. There should be a place for encouragement - but only if there is real progress. Empty praise does not lead to good consequences. Try to guide your child wisely: if you see that he is making progress, sign him up for courses where he can develop his talent, give him a useful addition to his hobby for his birthday (a large encyclopedia for a novice chemist, training equipment for a future athlete, etc. .d.). Let him know that he can count on your support.

If the child does not have pronounced inclinations towards any type of activity, you can try to identify them. If you notice that your offspring is significantly ahead of his peers in something, ask how close this area is to him. It may happen that while easily “clicking” problems in mathematics, he does not have the slightest interest in this science. In this case, you cannot impose a hobby; you can only carefully try to arouse additional interest. For example, offer to solve a non-standard, “Olympiad” task in order to spur self-esteem. Or “test the waters” regarding the child’s interest in related fields of science - a young mathematical genius can “suddenly” plunge headlong into, for example, physics.

You can also undergo diagnostics aimed at identifying children's abilities. This is usually done in city psychological consultations or in government leisure centers.

You can either write your own.

What can he already do?
  • Distinguishes different colors,
  • Distinguishes sounds
  • Able to fix his gaze on a slowly moving object,
  • Tries to raise the head while lying on his stomach.
How to develop it?
  • Create a calm, friendly environment
  • Be around more when the baby is not sleeping,
  • Trying to catch his gaze, talking,
  • Children with whom they communicate a lot can already make various sounds in response by the end of the 4th week of life, that is, they make contact.

Contact with the aquatic environment is very important for harmonious and rapid child development– so that the child is not immediately afraid of the water, he should be lowered into the bath very carefully. Bathing together with mom or dad is helpful. You can arrange for your baby to ride “down the hill” and gently spin him around the entire area of ​​the bathtub. Next, you can try to master pushing off the walls of the bathtub with your feet. A very pleasant activity is walking in water. The baby's body should be slightly tilted forward, guided and helped.

To stimulate the baby’s visual organs, you should take a colored rattle in your hand, bring it at a distance of 60 cm from the baby’s eyes, hold it until the gaze focuses on the object and slowly move it from side to side with an amplitude of up to 7 centimeters.
To develop hearing, the same exercise should be done with toys that produce different sounds ( pleasant) sounds.

Second month

What can he already do?
  • Smile in response to the appearance or voice of an adult,
  • Turn towards the sound
  • Concentrate on a moving object
  • Pronounce vowel sounds clearly
  • Roll over from your side to your back.
How to develop it?
  • It is very useful to look into the child’s eyes, giving the process a playful form,
  • Toys should be hung at a height of 50 cm from the child’s eyes,
  • You should lay blankets with different textures on the changing table and lay the baby on them. This procedure replaces a kind of massage,
  • If there is no muscle hypertonicity, you can take tiny bottles, pour some water into them and carefully tie them with soft elastic bands to your legs and arms. The result is a kind of dumbbells. You can gradually increase the volume of water in the bottles.
On the baby's fingers and palms there are biologically active centers in contact with the brain. By influencing these centers, you can activate the brain. In the third month of life, the baby seems to be trying to feel everything around and grab it. The grasp reflex can be used to develop motor skills. Take a round object with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm and place it in the baby’s hand. Items ( balloons) you should take different ones in texture and weight. They need to be tied to a string and lowered into the baby’s hand one by one. At first, two identical ones - one for each handle, then different ones.
Cylinders can be used together with balls.

To develop hearing, take a bell so that the baby does not see it, ring it several times and watch the reaction. The distance between the bell and the baby’s body should be about 70 cm.
You can hang the bell above the bed on a horizontal ribbon. Moving it slowly, you should observe how the baby’s gaze moves.
Such exercises can be repeated twice a day for three to four days in a row, followed by 7 days of rest; to consolidate the results, exercise once every 3 to 7 days.

Third month

What can he already do?
  • Recognizes the faces of loved ones
  • In response to the adults' appeal, he hums,
  • Knows how to express his dissatisfaction with whims,
  • Holds an object in his hand and drags it into his mouth, fingers straighten, fists unclench,
  • From the back he turns on his side,
  • Raises his head and can twist it.
How to develop it?
  • At this stage of development, the child smiles more often and cries less, and, according to scientists, the smiles of such babies are also different,
  • Show different parts of the body and name them,
  • Sing counting rhymes and songs to the child,
  • Children really like making faces, and they always try to imitate with pleasure.

First games

1. Hide and seek. Cover your face with a diaper and ask your baby to find himself. Then cover it and ask him to look too. Be sure to praise for any success.
2. Use objects with different sounds in games, move them around the baby, commenting on the movement: toy on the right, on the left.
3. Repeat after the child the syllables he pronounces.
4. Hang a ring with bells attached to it above the crib at such a distance that the baby can reach it. This will help you learn not only to purposefully reach for an object, but also to overcome muscle hypertonicity.
5. Those children who have not yet fully opened their palms should massage their fingers while telling nursery rhymes.

Fourth month

What can he already do?
  • He not only distinguishes the faces of others, but gives preference to his mother,
  • Distinguishes the voices of loved ones
  • The hanging object is held with one or both hands,
  • Lying on your back, slightly raises your upper body,
  • Gives preference to certain toys
  • “Helps” to hold the bottle during feeding.
How to develop it?
  • Learning to roll over onto your side. To do this, you should place a very attractive object on the side of the baby a little further than he can reach the object. To make it more interesting for the child to reach, you can attach a small bell to the handle,
  • To develop sensory skills, make several flat pads filled with foam rubber and covered with various materials, which can be placed under the palms of a baby lying on his stomach. You can sew buttons of different sizes onto the pads; research on the pads should be done together with mom or dad,
  • Let the baby feel strings with knots tied on them, smooth ribbons, try to pull the string out of the child’s hands,
  • You can widely use various nursery rhymes, for example, put the baby on his back, bend his legs and say “ Pushers - horns, op. Changelings!"or pull the baby's legs, saying: " Let's go, let's go for salt, for salt»,
  • You can already start reading short fairy tales and poems to your baby. Only this should be done as emotionally as possible, with feeling. Monotonous reading will not be interesting to the baby.

Fifth month

What can he already do?
  • Look at large pictures, especially those depicting faces,
  • Drags, holds and throws toys,
  • May become interested in the subject for about 5 minutes,
  • Reacts to the appearance of strangers
  • Able to rest on his palms while lying on his stomach.
How to develop it?
  • The main skill most developed during this period is grasping. This is what you should focus on in your studies. You can change the temperature of objects ( a little warmer or colder). In addition, the baby learns to throw objects by unclenching his fingers,
  • Plastic rings or a small horizontal bar should be secured above the crib; the child will pull himself up by holding on to them. This perfectly strengthens not only the arms, but also the back,
  • This is the period of mastering his own body, the baby feels himself with interest. You can help him. You should not punish your baby for spending too much time exploring the genitals by touch. This behavior may indicate physical discomfort ( for example, from baby cream ), boredom and lack of attention. There is no need to spank the hands, as this will only focus the child’s attention on this area,
  • When playing with your baby, you should use a series of repetitive movements in order to relax the muscles and get rid of hypertonicity ( if it's still there). You can rock the baby's head from side to side: for hours, knead the dough - spank the back, tummy, arms and legs. Bend and straighten your legs, while saying: “ The little motorboat is barely crawling, the little motorboat, speed up! Motorboat, motorboat, full speed ahead!»
  • The favorite game of children of this age is “peek-a-boo.” You can cover your baby’s eyes or your own with your palms, or cover your face with a diaper.

Sixth month

What can he already do?
  • Tries to imitate the sounds
  • Tries to stand up with support
  • Picks up an object that he throws,
  • Transfers an object from hand to hand,
  • Crawls towards an object located at a distance of half a meter.
How to develop it?
  • You should not punish your child for throwing objects out of the crib. This is an important moment in development. It’s better to tie them with strings to the side, and he himself will drag the toys back,
  • It's time to let your child out into the “big world”: from the playpen to a trip around the apartment. But first you should remove all potential hazards: wires, sharp and fragile objects, medicines,
  • This is the period of introducing complementary foods. The most important stage in the development of a child. He is already interested in adult food. But the introduction of complementary foods should be done very carefully and under the guidance of a pediatrician,
  • When moving around the house with a baby in your arms, you should use the baby’s palm to touch all objects encountered along the way. The same can be done on the street. Since touching still plays a huge role in familiarizing the baby with the world around him, the textures of the surfaces surrounding him should be changed more often. In this sense, patchwork blankets are ideal. They combine a lot of textures or special developmental mats,
  • The following games are used to train fingers and hands: “ the chicken pecks at the grain" - the fingers fold into the beak and bale along the surface, " painting the table"- the hand imitates the process of painting the surface, moving in different directions. First, you should guide the baby's hands; over time, he will try to repeat the movements himself.

Seventh month

What can he already do?
  • Understands some commonly used words
  • Drinks from a glass and eats from a spoon,
  • Gets scared when mom disappears from sight
  • Holding onto the support, he walks and stands quite confidently,
  • Rolls over from back to tummy and vice versa,
  • Able to insert small objects into larger ones,
  • Plays simple games like " Ladushki».


How to develop it?
  • During this period, you can begin to accustom your child to the concept of “no”. But there should not be too many prohibitions; for this age, three forbidden things are enough. If there are more prohibitions, the child usually crosses out this word from his attention zone,
  • The development of a child fully allows him to put his finger into a socket or put a wire in his mouth. Therefore, at this stage and in the future, you should pay special attention to the environment and its safety,
  • At this age, it is already quite possible to feed your baby with a spoon and give him slices of solid vegetables and fruits.
  • The period of appearance of the so-called baby talk ( beep, beep and so on), as well as the appearance of the first gestures. You can focus your attention on sign language. According to some child psychologists, children who begin to “speak” with their parents in this language master oral speech easier and earlier. You can use the simplest gestures: come to me, bye, eat, sleep.
  • From finger games are more popular " stompers" And " knockers" For example: " trampled in the field, horses trampled (you need to trample slowly), dust flies across the field from the trampling of hooves» ( increase the stomp).
  • To develop speech, you should repeat simple sounds and syllables to your baby. This should be done by leaning forward, very clearly and separately. The baby should be praised for all successes and attempts to repeat syllables.

Eighth month

What can he already do?
  • Responds to simple requests, e.g. give me the ball,
  • Enjoys participating in simple games
  • Runs very well on all fours and can walk with support,
  • Sits confidently
  • Bites off soft pieces of food, eats not only pureed soups and porridges, but also more structured foods,
  • Frightened by loud and sudden sounds.
How to develop it?
  • The baby’s first fears appear and the parents’ task is to competently familiarize him with the world around him, household appliances,
  • For good physical development crawling is very important. Each baby does this in his own way: some on all fours, some sideways or on the butt. Crawling strengthens the baby's muscles and prepares him for walking,
  • For the first attempts to walk, it is better to use special aids ( suspender),
  • This is the period when you can try to introduce your child to the potty. Although many pediatricians recommend delaying dating until one and a half years,
  • To strengthen the muscles of the back and body: place the child in the bath on his stomach, slowly draw water. This will encourage the baby to get up on all fours. The exercise requires constant supervision from parents, as the child may choke. Effective for lazy people who do not want to stand up and crawl on their own,
  • Walking on hands. The adult holds the baby by the legs, and he climbs up onto his arms. You can rock the child forward and backward a little.

Ninth month

What can he already do?
  • Babbling gradually turns into more complex and prolonged sounds,
  • Can distinguish and show different parts of the body and face in itself, as well as in toys and parents,
  • Crumple and tear leaves, plasticine,
  • Flip through a cardboard book,
  • Stands up without holding onto anything
  • He remembers very well where something forbidden and very interesting lies and tries to get to, for example, mobile phone or keys.
How to develop it?
  • You can let your baby dig with his hands in beans, peas or flour under the supervision of his parents. It is also useful to transfer nuts and pebbles from one container to another. You can give your baby a spoon or scoop to help him sleep.
  • You can start teaching your baby to take off a sock or hat, as well as wash himself and help with housework,
  • You should definitely play with your child. If mom and dad are not interested in the game, then the baby will be indifferent to it and will not be interested. You can play catch-up, firecrackers ( clapping hands). Even going to bed can turn into an exciting game if you take turns placing your mouth, nose, eyes, ears, and so on. You can wake up the same way
  • You can gradually introduce drawing with crayons and appliqué. Children love to paint with their fingers ( There are special finger paints for this that are safe for kids.).

Ten months

What can he already do?
  • Listens carefully to adults' conversations, understands when they talk about him,
  • Pays more attention to small toys and objects than large ones
  • Can use one object to reach another,
  • Interested in peers
  • Rolls a ball, cars, throws objects completely consciously,
  • Tries to imitate adults
  • Interested in what's inside toys
  • He can sculpt pieces of plasticine onto cardboard, smearing it with his finger, and scribble with chalk.


How to develop it?

  • It's time to teach your child to climb on and off low sofas,
  • The child develops favorite activities, such as drawing or playing with musical toys. Based on them, you can come up with new fun for him,
  • It is necessary to visit playgrounds where the child will observe other children and sometimes even try to interact with them,
  • You can already actively introduce games to develop fine motor skills: transferring matches from a box or into a box, laying out drawings from small objects, unscrewing lids, finger drawing, activities with ribbons and twines; during such games it is important that both hands are used, so that both hemispheres develop harmoniously,
  • Round dance together with mom or three with a teddy bear is the first collective game of a child. It is better to dance in front of a mirror so that the baby can watch himself from the side. At first it will be very difficult to dance in a circle, but gradually the baby will learn, and it will be possible to complicate the task and introduce new movements.

Eleven months

What can he already do?
  • Tries to name animals and birds by the sounds they make: woof-woof, woof-woof,
  • When he denies, he waves his head, when he agrees, he nods,
  • Uses simple gestures to say goodbye
  • Repeats a manipulation in order to learn how to perform it better,
  • Learning to walk
  • Hangs on the horizontal bar for almost 60 seconds,
  • Climb 2-3 steps of a ladder independently,
  • Speaks the first words.
How to develop it?
During this period, speech classes are very important, increasing the child’s passive vocabulary.
  • You can teach your child to throw away candy wrappers in the trash or bring various small items upon request. Such cooperation will bring a lot of positive emotions to both parents and child,
  • Children’s toys now interest the child less than objects from “adult” life; this interest should be encouraged, and it is better to remove dangerous or valuable objects from the child’s sight,
  • The child’s independence should be encouraged by giving him the opportunity to help him do shopping in the store and dress himself ( socks and slippers are quite possible), eat,
  • The child needs communication with peers. At first, an hour's walk in the park or in the yard in the company of other children is quite enough. During such walks, children should be kept under supervision, but not interfere too much with communication,
  • Books should become a common item in everyday life. To accustom your child to books, you can buy him special hard books with squeaking, rustling inserts. Every day the child needs to read with intonation and show pictures in books. Reading sessions should be short but interesting.

From one to three years

Physical development
Boys usually weigh about 10 kilograms by the age of one year, girls - a little less.
The beginning of the period coincides with the first independent steps. Some children are already walking by this age, while others are just learning. Coordination of movements is not yet very developed, so there are likely to be many falls, and it will not be easy to master even the lowest step. This skill comes around the age of one and a half years.

Favorite toy during this period - a ball. Gives you the opportunity to move around and at the same time interact with others. By the age of two, the baby can even pick it up and throw it.
By the age of two, the baby already runs quite quickly and calmly overcomes an obstacle ten centimeters high. Boys' height is on average 88 cm, girls' height is 86 cm, boys' weight is up to 13 kg, girls' weight is about 12.5 kg. Best activity for children two to three years old, this is fast running and jumping on a trampoline. The baby can already partially dress himself and climbs stairs with steps up to 20 cm high.

Intellectual development

Time for active cognition of the environment. The ability to auditorily, visually, and tactilely master the world is rapidly developing. Children understand conversations better and some even try to speak on their own. The first words are usually no more than a dozen, gradually there are more of them, and the speech is enriched with adjectives ( by two years).
The baby knows his loved ones fairy tale characters and can point to them, can comb his hair himself, and also fulfill a simple request from an adult.
Children learn most of their skills through play, so it is important that your child has the opportunity to communicate and play with people of different ages.

Two-year-olds can already distinguish primary colors and speak in short sentences. This is the age when children really enjoy building pyramids and houses out of cubes. Some people can learn a few lines from a poem.
It is not difficult to eat with a spoon and drink from a cup. Children at this age love to draw, although it is still quite difficult to make out anything specific in these paintings.
It is important at this age to teach your child to wash his face, wash his hands and brush his teeth ( with the help of parents).

How to help a child develop?
At this age, the child’s brain instantly grasps information, so all educational games will be useful.

1. You should take four to five different objects of different colors, as well as the same number of sheets of colored paper of the same colors. After the baby looks at all the toys, you should ask him to find the house for each of them. And put one on a sheet of a similar color,

2. Take three or four objects made from materials of different densities, pour water into the bath and try to “guess” which one will float on the surface. After which you should put all the toys in the bath. When the child looks at the toys, he needs to be told what material they are made of and why they sink. At the end of the lesson, you should take a cloth and dry all the toys together with your child.

3. It is necessary to select several pairs of animals: mother and baby. These could be pictures or Stuffed Toys. The baby should be told what sounds each animal makes, paying special attention to the fact that the mother “speaks” loudly and the baby quietly. After this, hide one of the figures behind your back and make its characteristic sound. The kid must guess who exactly is hidden behind his back.

At 3 years old

What can he already do?
  • Distinguish between the main four colors and some minor colors,
  • Can fold a matryoshka doll or nest containers of different sizes into each other ( up to six pieces),
  • Distinguishes and can select simple figures ( star, heart, square, circle, triangle), knows their names,
  • Can distinguish simple figures by touch,
  • Easily copes with a large pyramid ( of 10 rings),
  • Distinguishes between larger and smaller sizes,
  • Distinguish between hard and soft
  • Assembles a drawing from two to three pieces,
  • Can complement the picture with missing elements,
  • Can draw a circle, rectangle, fill it in,
  • Draws simple pictures he has already invented on his own,
  • Makes balls, sausages and cakes from plasticine, sticks one ball to another,
  • Willingly plays role-playing games ( doctor, salesman),
  • Actively interacts with peers
  • Proud of his successes, rejoices in praise, can be naughty, inquisitive,
  • When he fails, he gets upset, sees and understands the emotions of other people,
  • Can copy the manner of speaking, perform any actions of adults and other children,
  • At this age, a child can pronounce up to one and a half thousand words, answer questions about his name, age, name animals, can retell a fairy tale, and easily learn rhymes and nursery rhymes.

At 4 years old

What can he already do?
  • The vocabulary is already about two thousand words,
  • Speech takes on intonations
  • They love to solve riddles and enjoy repeating phrases from cartoons, songs and rhymes,
  • They ask a lot of questions
  • One lesson can take up to 20 minutes,
  • They know the times of day and year, right and left,
  • Closer to five years old they can choose rhymes,
  • Sculpt figures from clay or plasticine, assemble mosaics, figures from construction sets such as Lego,
  • Lace up your shoes
  • Fold a sheet of paper in half,
  • String large beads onto the fishing line.

At 5 years old

Boys' height is 105 - 115 cm, girls' height is 105 - 112 cm.
At this age, children move a lot with pleasure, so you can send them to sports clubs and encourage sports and physical education at home. Exercises with a ball and wall bars are very good.
It is very important to prepare for the child workplace to prepare for school and future studies. The child's room should be frequently ventilated, kept in order and provided with sufficient lighting.

What can he already do?

  • Counts to at least 10, some children know the alphabet,
  • Know colors and shades, can select color schemes,
  • Concentrates his attention on only one subject or task,
  • Expresses his thoughts very well, in long and complex sentences,
  • A five-year-old has up to three thousand words in his dictionary,
  • Can retell a fairy tale he heard,
  • He is distinguished by his trustfulness in the people around him, tries to be like adults in everything and behave as equals,
  • Already have friends
  • At this age, children often experience various fears and quickly become excited.
What does he need?
  • This is the age when children not only receive the love of their parents, but also learn the basics of giving love. Therefore, it is very important not to hide your feelings, to devote more time to the baby,
  • In order not to raise a person who lacks self-confidence, you need to scold less and praise the child more,
  • He should be taught the rules of behavior in transport, in a store, on the street, since such children do not yet understand the dangers associated with the outside world and strangers,
  • It is important to train the child’s memory by asking him to tell him how his day went in kindergarten. This will help you learn more easily in the future.
  • Now you can buy a notebook and start writing. These will be very simple activities that will prepare your child for school. For example, fill a line in a notebook with dashes at different angles, write a whole line of commas. Classes should not last longer than 20 minutes,
  • Folding puzzles, as well as pictures from individual parts, is very useful,
  • Good games for developing logic and role-playing games.

At 6 - 7 years old

The age of 6–7 years is called the age of first physiological traction. That is, over the course of a year, the child’s height and weight increases significantly ( height, on average, 8 cm).
The course of many physiological processes in the child’s body changes, and the child develops physically.
In boys, the testicles become slightly enlarged ( testicles), which indicates the imminent onset of puberty. Now the boy can become “prickly”, does not allow affection from his mother, and also enters into confrontation with girls his age. Such confrontation is a subconscious cover for interest in the opposite sex.

During this period, the child’s skeleton experiences a heavy load, as muscle mass increases significantly. The child’s posture is being formed. It is necessary to create a comfortable workplace for doing homework.
This is the period of final formation internal organs: lungs, bronchi. The location of the ribs changes, the weight and volume of the heart increases. The breathing rate decreases and the pressure increases. Due to these changes, the child is less likely to suffer from inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, as well as ARVI.
The replacement of baby teeth with permanent ones begins. The diet should be as varied and complete as possible.

Early Childhood Development

According to early development experts, the first lessons can begin as early as six months of age. It is at this age that the basis for the future development of the child’s abilities is created.

The emphasis is on development:

  • Rumor,
  • Vision,
  • Concentrations
  • tactile perception,
  • Motor skills ( including small ones).
Kids are taught:
  • Distinguish colors
  • Distinguish sounds
  • Distinguish between forms
  • Distinguish between sizes.

Early Development Benefits

1. Zaitsev's cubes. Despite the fact that the blocks are designed for learning to read syllables, they can be used to develop even the little ones. The cubes have different colors, sizes, and sounds ( if you shake it),

2. Laces. They are very different, suitable even for the little ones. They are made from plastic, soft materials, wood. They wonderfully develop fine motor skills, prepare the child for future “adult” activities, and also activate the brain. The simplest laces are large wooden fruits with holes - passages and worms with laces attached to them. Even a baby under one year of age can handle such lacing. More complex options are large buttons that can be used for one-year-olds, and very complex options are a picture to which the missing parts should be attached using laces ( for example, a cap for a mushroom),

3. Montessori benefits. These benefits are designed for children from two years of age. Many different aids have been created to develop different qualities and abilities of a child. For example, for the development of motor skills and coordination there is “ Pink Tower" - ten cubes of the same Pink colour different sizes. The size of the edges is 1 - 10 cm. Most often used after three years. " Frames with clasps» - a variety of fasteners, ties, Velcro, snaps, and buttons are attached to wooden frames. This will help make getting dressed easier, and will also teach you to concentrate, improve motor skills,

4. Benefits can be made and with my own hands from items that are in every home. For example, if you fasten several matchboxes together, your baby will be happy to close and open them and hide small objects in the drawers. You can give your child one jar and several different lids so that he can choose the right size. Tubes from old felt-tip pens can be divided into several parts and strung on twine or fishing line.

Many experts warn that loading a child with precise knowledge too early ( reading, writing, languages, computer studies...) can interfere with the harmonious development of the brain. Since all of the above activities contribute to the development of the right hemisphere. The left, which is responsible for creativity and imaginative thinking, begins to actively develop only after 5 years. Overload of the right hemisphere can have a bad effect on the development of the left.

Child development systems

1. Glen Doman Method
Initially, the technique was created for children with developmental delays. But today it is used for the early development of completely healthy children and gives good results. The basis of the technique is visual perception of objects. The main teaching aid is special cards on which an object is drawn, framed, and its name is written below in large block letters. It is best to make frames and inscriptions in red. There are also cards with several items and a letter indicating the number of items.
The lesson is that the parent shows the picture for one second and says the name of the object out loud. It is better to show cards with short words first.

2. Montessori method
Based on the assertion that there is no need to interfere with the baby’s development, one should create for this purpose best conditions, in which everyone will take what interests them. You should not show an example of action, but only push the child to the desired decision or action. The technique allows the child to become an independent person. The technique involves the use of a large number of manuals and auxiliary items that can be made with your own hands from simple household objects.

3. Nikitin's technique
Its basis is a large number of educational games that force kids to think and set themselves more complex tasks. According to this method, the parent must participate in all activities. Greater emphasis is placed on the development of logical thinking, so it is advisable to combine exercises according to Nikitin with exercises from other developmental methods.

Games for children's development

Play occupies a very important place in the lives of children, since it is in the process of play that children learn and develop, and acquire the necessary skills. When choosing a game, you should take into account not only the age of the child, but also the tasks that need to be solved with the help of the game.

1. Birdie. For children 15 – 18 months. The child learns to imitate animals and birds and moves better. The baby should squat down and imitate the movement of the birds. At this time, the parent reads the poem: “ A bird sat on the window, sit with us for a little while, don’t fly away, the bird flew away - ah!” At the last sounds, the child should stand up, flap his “wings” and fly away,

2. Train. For children 18 – 24 months. Children learn to move at the same time and perform joint actions, to be independent. You need to play with at least two children. The parent is the locomotive, and the children are the carriages of the locomotive. You should move slowly at first, then faster, in a circle or in a rectangle. When moving, you should make characteristic movements with your hands and say “ choo-choo»,

3. Kolobok. For children 18 – 36 months. The game allows you to strengthen your muscles, spine, and relax. Kids should imagine that they are koloboks. Lying on their back, they raise their arms up, extend their legs and roll to the right, after which they roll to the left. At this time the parent says a nursery rhyme: “ so the bun rolled. Rolling, rolling, can't catch up with him»,

4. Complete the picture. For children from 12 to 36 months. The parent draws the beginning of a simple picture, for example, a cloud, and the child must complete the missing elements ( rain or shine),

5. Multi-colored snowballs. For children from 12 to 36 months. Make two or three dense snowballs, bring them home and quickly paint them in different colors. You can cut snowballs with a dull knife and show your child how the paint is absorbed into the snow,

6. Fishing. For babies up to 12 months. Fill a basin of water and float small, light objects. Give the child a sieve and ask him to catch all the floating objects with the sieve,

7. Collect a puddle. For children from 12 to 36 months. Place two shallow containers in front of the child: one empty, the other with water. Give him a sponge and ask him to use the sponge to transfer all the water from the full container to the empty one and try not to “lose” the water along the way.