I came across a video of a mother who was showing how she does long division problems with her son before school. The caption of the video was something to the effect of ‘how to make your child ahead of his class’.
The boy, who was not older than five, seemed rather reserved in the video.
Meanwhile, in the comment section, as other mums were curiously trying to get information on the process of ‘advancing’ their own children, the woman replied that she had started teaching her son flash cards at six months old!
I don’t know if it’s the effects of ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘Young Sheldon’ or these other TV shows, where the protagonist is incredibly smart or has an eidetic memory, but there is a newfound desire of mothers to have incredibly smart children.
Unfortunately for me, the video of the woman doing math with her son that is advanced for his age, is not the first of its kind.
All over social media, parents are trying to turn their children into some type of content machines. Of course there are those who show off their children’s advanced learning, which has been hammered into their little brains by said parents.
This new modern idea of having extra smart kids is coming at a steep cost for these kids.
Firstly, most of these kids are not born naturally bright, they are forced to learn a lot of things from a very young age. While there are benefits to teaching children from a young age, the gains are overshadowed when the learning is forced.
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Secondly, most of these kids are thrust into the spotlight, be it on social media or in school, where they are applauded as overachievers as the parents bask in the glory of their children’s fame.
The whole process turns into a testament of the parents’ method of raising children rather than the child’s education.
Finally, children who are born smart or are forced to study more than they should at their respective ages end up having social disorders.
Children are not meant to be well-rounded at a young age. That is why we are always encouraged to “let children be children.”
A childhood is a special and crucial time in a person’s growth and development. Children are meant to play, roll in the mud, run around, be young and carefree.
In most European countries, formal education is forbidden for all children under six years of age. Even in China, children at kindergarten age are taught more about everyday tasks instead of a formal education.
There is a strong emphasis on a child’s physical, mental, and creative outlet at this age.
While most African countries start teaching the basics to children between three and six years of age, there is still a great dependence on free play and singing.
Education of children this young is also limited to a few hours a day.
When parents choose to race against the clock of development by ‘advancing’ their kids’ education, they are actually impeding other facets of their child’s growth.
Let’s not force our kids to grow up faster than they should. Every child deserves to have an innocent childhood with happy memories.