Overview of 12 Early Childhood Development Techniques: Key Advantages and Disadvantages

Early child development is a popular topic for discussion on all kinds of mothering forums, since any parent wants his beloved child to grow up to be an intelligent, physically and emotionally developed person.

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

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

What early development techniques are popular today? Below is a selection of 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 learning is synonymous with premature and inadequate interference with the little person's natural development.

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

However, such upbringing often comes into conflict with traditional educational systems, in which a child's education begins at the age of 6 or 7.

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

premature. Here is the simplest example: a newborn cannot be taught to sit, stand, and even less 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 perceives certain information in the best way: visual, speech, etc. In the case of delayed development, the process of mastering skills and knowledge becomes less productive. For example, it's too late to teach a child to skate at 12 if you want to raise a great skater;
timely. This is a traditional option for the development of children, in which the information given out corresponds to their age and psychological characteristics as much as possible.

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

In this case, we are more interested in early learning. Does it always correspond to premature parenting? No. With a correct assessment of one's own and children's capabilities, as well as following the methodology and common sense, one can rather speak of advanced development.

The essence of early learning

Early childhood development is about creating an environment that promotes the most effective learning of skills and knowledge in infancy.

Conditions are understood as:

organization of the developing environment - filling the corners with various objects and play aids that expand physical activity, develop sensing, vision and hearing of children, etc.;
acquaintance of the kid with musical, artistic and literary works;
activation of communication with the child both on the part of the mother and on the part of other household members. This means stimulating children's speech, pronouncing their actions by adults;
purchase or production of special training materials, manuals (especially for the techniques of Montessori and Doman).

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

Below are the 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's make one important caveat - an ideal developmental program that takes into account all aspects of a child's personality simply does not exist. Each child is a bright individuality, so what suits one person will be unnecessary for another.

That is why parents should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the preferred system, its advantages and disadvantages when choosing the optimal method of early education. This will help to draw attention to the "falling" directions.

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

If you decide to purposefully and regularly deal with the baby according to 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 be assessed only after a couple of years.

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

Maria Montessori Method

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

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

The methodology includes 3 main parts: the child, the teacher and the organized environment. The central area is occupied by a baby, around which a special environment is created, which involves independent study.

The teacher only helps children without interfering especially in the natural course of development.

The main provision of the program is to monitor the child and refuse to interfere in his affairs, except for those situations when the child himself asks for support or help.

According to the author's idea, the classroom must be zoned. Allocate zones such as:

sensory;
mathematical;
speech;
practical life;
space.

The allocated territory is filled with various didactic materials (Montessori avoided the word "toys") that correspond to the child's age: books, sorters, pyramids, containers, brushes and scoops, etc.

In the classical version, the methodology assumes the beginning of classes at the age of 3, however, some exercises will interest older children of one year old.

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

Pros and cons

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

Advantages:

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

Disadvantages:

many classes still require the participation of a teacher or parent, since they will need to explain to the child the rules for interacting with a specific manual;
very expensive Montessori materials (although you can make them yourself);
for strict adherence to all the Montessori precepts, the child must be taken to a special center. Moreover, it is important to make sure that teachers really work entirely according to this method, and do not use individual elements;
most of the exercises are aimed at intelligence, sensing, logical thinking. However, the creative, emotional and play spheres are developing to a lesser extent;
the traditional methodology refuses role-playing games, reading fairy tales, considering these teaching techniques to be insignificant.

In general, the technique of the Italian doctor is popular with Russian and foreign parents. However, in the author's version, the system is used extremely rarely; rather, moms and dads take some of the most successful moments from it, diluting them with classes and exercises from other educational programs.

Waldorf School

This educational and upbringing program puts forward the following postulate - the maximum development of the capabilities of each child and his self-confidence.

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

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

Another emphasis of the teachers of the Waldorf School is made on the comfort of the educational process. In the classroom, no grades are given, there are no competitive "notes", classes are completed with a small number of students - no more than 20 children.

The priority in the program is the artistic and theatrical activities of children, the improvement of imagination. For the same purpose, the technique prohibits children from using such modern gadgets as a mobile phone, computer and TV.

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 connect the emotional component to the process of mastering knowledge;
from the age of 14, logic and intellect are connected.

Advantages:

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

Disadvantages:

too late development of intellectual functions;
lack of preparatory classes for schooling;
poor adaptation to modern realities (a phone for a child is a necessary thing 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. Should I study this program? It is up to the parents to decide.

Glen Doman's technique

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

For more information on what Doman's methodology is, what classes the author offers and what the basic principles of this educational program are, you can find out 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 technique consists of of the four main components:

physical development;
score;
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 this age, the baby is able to memorize and systematize various facts and information.

Surely many mothers are familiar with the term “Doman cards”. This didactic material is cardboard cards of a certain size, on which there are words, dots, mathematical actions, 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 shows 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 informative stream;
development of children's attention.

Disadvantages:

you just need a huge amount of didactic material;
little attention is paid to fine motor skills, sensory development, and objective activity;
Doman's cards do not develop logical thinking in the child, the ability to analyze and systematize facts;
the methodology does not pay due attention to creativity, play activities;
the child's nervous system may be overloaded due to too much information, as a result of which the child has tic, enuresis and other problems.

Doman's system is a typical example of intelligent techniques. The child is not taught, but rather trained with cards. At least that's what many moms and neurologists think. However, other parents praise this tutorial for the opportunity to grow from the cradle.

Zaitsev's technique

Petersburg teacher Nikolai Zaitsev several decades ago developed a unique developmental system, which includes a set of manuals for teaching a child to read and write, math skills and English.

Zaitsev's program is based on the leading activity of a child of early and preschool age - play. And this allows you to develop both the physical and emotional side of the child's personality.

Information is provided in the system, but at the same time in a playful way, which is why the child happily joins in the lesson. And it is not so important whether it is held alone with a parent (teacher) or with a children's team.

A relaxed atmosphere is an important condition for the Zaitsev education system. During the lesson, children are allowed to make noise, laugh, clap their palms and stomp their feet, change play material, moving from blocks to tablets or a board.

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

Benefits:

wide age range - from 1 year to 7 years;
you can do it both at home and in kindergarten;
a crash course in reading in a game;
development of literate writing skills.

Disadvantages:

with home schooling, 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 according to the Zaitsev method “swallows” endings, gets confused when dividing a word into syllables, since he used to divide it into warehouses;
the first grade is an important milestone in the life of every child, it is at this moment that difficulties begin for children who studied using this method, since there is a discrepancy in the color designation of vowels and consonants.

According to many parents, Zaitsev's cubes are the best of their kind in teaching reading. 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, playing techniques that make the lesson fun and direct are also included in the mother's piggy bank.

Cecile Lupan System

The Belgian actress Cecile Lupan was forced to develop her own methodology 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 personality, interests and inclinations of each child.

The author of the technique in his books advises to communicate 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 the sooner a child learns something, the sooner he will understand certain patterns and connections.

In the first months, the child only gets used to parental speech, and then seemingly meaningless sounds begin to fill with meaning. As soon as he begins to pronounce the first words, he should proceed to reading (usually this is one year old).

The author recommends writing each word in large letters and placing it on the objects that they mean. For example, "table" will be near the table, and "bed" - near the bed.

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

Benefits:

the opportunity to practice from 3 months of age to 7 years;
a lot of attention is paid to early physical development;
the technique is suitable for homework;
exercises affect the intellectual and emotional sphere, sensing;
very close communication between mother and child;
stimulation of the baby's cognitive interest.

Disadvantages:

requires complete dedication from the parent;
a lot of didactic materials that mom will need to make;
a kind of training in infant swimming.

Since the author is not a teacher, it cannot be said that her approach is fully scientific. However, mothers can take on some of the moments, for example, the creation of homemade books about their child, in which you can enter author's fairy tales and insert his photographs.

Nikitins technique

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

The Nikitins did not recommend limiting the experimental nature of the child to devices, therefore they had a negative attitude towards any strollers (including strollers) and arenas, calling them prisons.

They followed the principle of children's independence of the spouse in the choice of activities for the child. They gave up special training and classes. Kids could do what is closer to them, without restrictions. Parents only helped to deal with difficulties.

The Nikitin system includes hardening and physical education techniques. To do this, a special environment must be created in the house, including sports equipment and exercise equipment. These gadgets should not stand out, they are as natural as, for example, furniture.

The authors are convinced that a child should not be "over-organized" or abandoned. Moms and dads should not be indifferent to children's development and pastime, however, when participating in children's games, one should not stand in the position of an overseer and controller.

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

Benefits:

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

Disadvantages:

restlessness of the baby 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 in today's time, while others are dubious.

Tyulenev's technique

This program, called "the method of intellectual development of the child" was developed by P. V. Tyulenev, a teacher and sociologist. Studying with MIRR, you can teach your kid to read and write, to develop mathematics, to 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 from the age of the child:

in the first two months, the baby is shown triangles, squares and other geometric figures depicted on a paper sheet;
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 extract sounds and develop musical inclinations;
from the age of six months they master letters, 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 a letter or a whole word;
from the age of one and a half, they play chess with the baby;
from 2 years old, the baby does not just add words from letters, but tries to type them on a computer keyboard;
from the age of three, children try to keep a diary on a laptop or computer.

Benefits:

versatile development of the baby;
exercise does not require much time from adults;
exercises are suitable for every child;
good preparation for schooling;
disclosure of all the inclinations of a baby.

Disadvantages:

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

An ambiguous technique that is not to the liking of many specialists. However, even in it, you can find interesting points that can be put into practice. It is only important to monitor the child's reaction to the introduced innovations.

Other author's developmental techniques

In addition to the 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 up as a versatile personality.

The most popular are the following teaching methods:

"It's too late after three." A Japanese entrepreneur and just a caring father wrote this literary work, in which he described the importance of the early development of a baby in the first years of life.
Dynamic gymnastics. M. Trunov and L. Kitaev, having brought together ancient Russian gymnastic exercises, offer parents effective methods for the development of the physical sphere, as well as for correcting increased or decreased muscle tone, clubfoot, torticollis, etc.
Gmoshynska's technique. The best way to teach your toddler artistic skills is to paint from infancy. A child even before 1 year of age manages to create "canvases" with the help of palms, fingers, soft markers.
Musical program by Vinogradov. The creator of the method is convinced that even a child of one year old already understands the most complex classical works. There is no need to explain the meaning of music to the crumb in detail, let him decide on his own emotions and impressions.
Music of the Zheleznovs. This is another musical technique for young children. The discs contain lullabies, nursery rhymes, music for finger and outdoor games, dramatization, massage, fairy tales, learning the alphabet, learning to count 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 as a basis the pedagogical heritage.

It is curious 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 old. Usually, specialists and mothers take two extreme positions: some advocate the use of developmental techniques, while others are extremely negative in relation to any intervention. Let's consider their arguments.

Arguments for"

The modern world places higher demands on a person. In order for a child to have time to master the necessary and important skills, it is necessary to develop his abilities from infancy.
Children who study in accordance with such methods usually have a higher level of development compared to their peers. Children earlier master all kinds of skills: reading, writing, counting.
Complex educational systems, covering the development of several aspects of the personality at once, help to identify the inclinations in a child, a tendency to certain activities. This allows in the future to enroll the baby in specific courses.
If a baby is studying in a development center in the company of peers, this allows him to socialize earlier, get used to life in a children's team.

Arguments against"

A healthy and normally developing child is able to master basic skills on his own when the time comes. That is why one should not "mock" the child's psyche.
Intensive classes can harm the baby if the parent or teacher does not take into account the age characteristics of the child's body, its temperament and adaptive capabilities.
Many popular techniques focus on intelligence and "physics", but emotional and social development is undeservedly forgotten. This can disrupt adaptation in children's society.
It is extremely difficult to deal with the baby every day, fulfilling all the requirements and conditions of the technique. If you follow all the rules, then mom does not have time for anything else. If you perform tasks from time to time, all knowledge will evaporate very quickly, ”and the effectiveness will be very small.
Many specialists pay attention to the delay in acquiring 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 at this age is completely unnecessary. Most likely, before school, he will completely forget all his skills and will catch up with his peers.
Excessive requirements for a child and a desire to raise a genius can negatively affect the entire future of a child's life. From babies, whose parents stuff them with unnecessary information, neurasthenics, perfectionists often grow up. Therefore, socialization problems cannot be ruled out.

Thus, each side has a strong case, which is why parents will have to choose for themselves whether to apply the methods or follow the natural course of child development.

As a conclusion

In the first 12 months, the development of the child is at an accelerated pace. At this time, the baby manages to learn the world, gain a good vocabulary, build initial and elementary logical chains.

Many experts are convinced that if you do not deal with the baby in the first year or two, then the child will not be able to compensate for the lack of knowledge and skills.

However, excessive fanaticism and adherence to literally all the dogmas of developmental techniques may, on the contrary, not be beneficial, but harm children's development.

If you decide to take into work the methods of child development mentioned above, you must follow certain rules. They are help to avoid negative consequences and make learning more natural:

carefully observe the baby's reaction. If he does not like the activity, he expresses protest in the form of tears or discarding the proposed toys, you need to stop and occupy him with something else;
you should not take the baby away from the occupation in which he is passionate at the moment, for the sake of development. If the crumb prefers to play cubes, and not look at pictures, wait until he finishes the game;
all exercises and assignments included in your chosen educational system must be understandable and credible. You should also rehearse all the lessons before you approach the child with them;
baby 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 form curiosity, curiosity and observation.

Having considered all the basic nuances of each technique, you can make a preliminary selection of the most preferred training system. However, one should focus not on the opinions of other parents, but first of all on the characteristics of the child. After all, its development is a responsible business!