Today I had the opportunity to attend the first of eight Mind In The Making trainings being held here in Tucumcari. This is part of the school readiness initiative that a committee of professionals has been working on the past couple of years. Some of the outcomes from this committee include the current Home Visiting program for families of young children, a home visiting program that is just beginning for Child Care providers, a four month leadership training, and the Maze of Life which will be held this week. The Mind in the Making training will revolve around 7 Essential Life Skills that everyone needs including adults.
One of the interesting things we learned today is how early in life babies are able to recognize good people and are drawn to those that exhibit helpfulness. Researchers showed that children as young as 9 months old will pick the helpful shape over the shape that provides a barrier for another shape to reach the goal. These babies were completely focused on a story board with shapes helping each other over an obstacle, then they were given a tray with the shapes on it and allowed to pick up the shapes they always chose the helpful shape.
I was thinking as we watched this that even young children are engaged and learning. We must be good role models and have appropriate TV shows on when they are present. We also need to take time to be engaged with our babies. In our plugged in world, are young mothers interacting with their babies enough? How will children learn if they are not engaging with adults?
If you are interested in learning more check out the parent tips sheets on this website Mind in the Making
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