Reaction Paper: Smart Babies
Reaction Paper: “Smart Babies?” Documentary Film
Smart babies, a very fascinating thought a parent could have probably wish his/her child could be. Who would not want to see their child learn faster than anyone else his age or watch him play violin at a very young age? Obviously there’s none, but the question is how? Is there really a way, a technique or a formula maybe to be able to create a genius out of every child? As I watched the documentary film entitled “Smart Babies?” I began to realize some points on child’s brain development and it helped me clear these questions that bugs in my head.
The film analyzed the validity of techniques to nurture a child’s brain development. The hot housing technique promoted by Glenn Doman of Better Baby Institute (now called as the Institute for Achievement of Human Potential) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was examined and criticized in particular. The technique involve the use of materials, such as flash cards, pictures and classical music CD’s, which promised to help stimulate the child’s brain in a faster pace, when used in a regular basis. The institute justifies this method based on some claims. According to them, there are these so-called crucial years in a child’s development, which occurs from birth to six, that needed to be taken advantage of. Stimulation of the child’s brain, especially during these years, will make the brain more complex to absorb greater amounts of knowledge and will make the child more likely to learn more skills. They also argue to provide kids with enriched environment which they believe to have a great effect in the child’s development.
Eager to learn more about this idea, I personally researched on some articles and opinions about this particular topic. According to Bainbridge (2011): “Hot-house children are children whose parents push them into learning more quickly and earlier than is appropriate for the cognitive age of the children. …These parents provide every type of enrichment they
Smart babies, a very fascinating thought a parent could have probably wish his/her child could be. Who would not want to see their child learn faster than anyone else his age or watch him play violin at a very young age? Obviously there’s none, but the question is how? Is there really a way, a technique or a formula maybe to be able to create a genius out of every child? As I watched the documentary film entitled “Smart Babies?” I began to realize some points on child’s brain development and it helped me clear these questions that bugs in my head.
The film analyzed the validity of techniques to nurture a child’s brain development. The hot housing technique promoted by Glenn Doman of Better Baby Institute (now called as the Institute for Achievement of Human Potential) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was examined and criticized in particular. The technique involve the use of materials, such as flash cards, pictures and classical music CD’s, which promised to help stimulate the child’s brain in a faster pace, when used in a regular basis. The institute justifies this method based on some claims. According to them, there are these so-called crucial years in a child’s development, which occurs from birth to six, that needed to be taken advantage of. Stimulation of the child’s brain, especially during these years, will make the brain more complex to absorb greater amounts of knowledge and will make the child more likely to learn more skills. They also argue to provide kids with enriched environment which they believe to have a great effect in the child’s development.
Eager to learn more about this idea, I personally researched on some articles and opinions about this particular topic. According to Bainbridge (2011): “Hot-house children are children whose parents push them into learning more quickly and earlier than is appropriate for the cognitive age of the children. …These parents provide every type of enrichment they