Organizing a Mind

Babies are like sponges.  They're always soaking up information.  While they're young is the best time to teach many new skills because learning comes so easily at that age.  Right?  We've all heard those statements followed by advertisements for music class or flash-cards or foreign language lessons.

Toddlerwise warns us that "Helping to stimulate an efficient knowledge processing system during the critical 14-40 month period is a 'must-attain' goal for toddler parenting" (p. 30).  Children must first gain a framework into which new information can be placed, and then they will be ready to assimilate facts and figures.  Toddlerhood is when the mind becomes organized, childhood is when it is ready to be filled with data, and in the teen years that data will be critically analyzed (So You're Thinking About Homeschooling).

So how can we help our little ones develop an organized mind?  The Toddlerwise strategy rejects two popular quick-fix parenting styles: (1) too much passive input (TV or videos) and (2) too much freedom.  They propose an alternative which will give Junior lots of opportunities to learn in an organized way and allow Mom to have days free from chaos: a daily routine.

A toddler's daily routine may include the following events, all "scheduled" at predictable times in the day:

*Room-time or Blanket-time - This is time that Junior spends playing on his own in a specific area for a set amount of time.  

*Free Playtime - This is when Junior picks the activity from some choices and then sticks with that activity for a set amount of time.  He doesn't need the freedom to jump from activity to activity all day long at his own whims.

*Structured Playtime - This is when Mom picks the activity for a set amount of time.  

*Playtime with Mommy and Daddy - It's nice if each child has a special time alone with you each day, even if it's only 15 or 20 minutes.  Scheduling other children's days allows this freedom.

*Nap time - Toddlers usually need a morning nap until about 18 months and an afternoon nap until 3-4 years of age.

*Playtime with friends - Story time at the library or a play date is a great way to get in some social time with kids his own age.

Some parents will naturally be more structured and others slightly more relaxed, but the basic predictable pattern is a great help to both kinds of parents.  Without scheduling your child's day, chaos will tend to reign, and this is not good for Junior's learning or Mom's sanity.  An organized day with a toddler can be a thing to relish.

RESOURCES

Toddlerwise
So You're Thinking About Homeschooling