Masaru Ibuka is a versatile and very gifted person. A businessman and a co-founder of Sony, he was also deeply interested in children’s psychology and pedagogics and created the unique technique of early childhood development, «Kindergarten is Too Late».
He always emphasized that the aim of early development of a kid is not to bring up a child prodigy. «The main purpose of early childhood development is bringing up a happy child.Listening to music and studying foreign languages is not essential for raising a kid as a great linguist or a musician, but to develop his or her infinite possibilities in order to bring a lot of joy into his life,» Ibuka writes.
here are some important tips of upbringing from Masaru’s book «Kindergarten is Too Late». His ideas were very innovative for his time, but luckily they have become a standard of behavior for loving and caring parents.
Helpful tips from Masaru Ibuka
- From early childhood, surround your kid with the best achievements that mankind has created. Listen to high-quality music, show your kid works of art, and read them classic books.
- Don’t be afraid to take your child in your arms as much as possible. It will only benefit them, as tactile communication is important for the intellectual development of a child.
- Do not talk differently with a kid. Children understand everything, so speak with them using normal language.
- Try to study with your child every day. Even one lesson a day will reveal surprising results.
- The kid shouldn’t see his or her parents quarreling. The child can feel negative energy, which can be very harmful.
- It’s absolutely fine for your child to sleep with you in one bed. Sleeping together impacts the development of your kid in a really good way.
- Encourage your child to communicate with other children. It stimulates a kid’s mind and fosters a competitive spirit and an aspiration to be the best.
- Don’t criticize your child for defending his or her interests or quarreling. Quarrels develop communication skills.
- Let your kid be involved in many creative activities. Everything your child creates develops his or her intelligence and creative potential.
- Be very careful with praises and punishments. Praise your kid for a good reason and punish only on rare occasions.
- Don’t impose your own vision of what is bad and what is good upon your child.Let him or her comprehend and distinguish between good and bad, helping just a little.
- Provoke and maintain a child’s interest in anything he or she enjoys. Make sure you create the conditions for it.
- Don’t forget to repeat the material your child has learned. It fosters the development of a kid’s mind.
- A child needs a father and a mother. There should be no restrictions in communication between a child and his or her father.
- Don’t consider kids’ fantasies to be pointless. The ability to dream and fantasize forms a child’s creative potential.
- Don’t think that your kid is your property. This is not the case. Moreover, if you think like this, it will become the reason why your child doesn’t believe in himself or herself.
- Help develop a child’s tactile sensitivity. Let him or her touch objects from different materials and textures — soft and hard items, light and heavy ones and smooth and rough ones.
- Don’t buy everything for which your child asks. Too many toys distract a child’s attention and can have a negative impact on his or her studies at school.
- It’s better for your kid to play with manipulative toys. The process of arranging them will be really interesting and bring so much joy to your child. Nowadays, these toys are rare things.
- Help develop the fine motor skills of the child. Things like modeling and origami will do this. Kids explore the world with their fingers.
- Walk with your children. Walking is good for you and your child, because as you walk, 400 of 639 muscles in the body are involved.
- Don’t pay so much attention to the result of your child’s activity. It’s the process that is important for your kid, not the result. So let him or her enjoy the process as much as he or she wants to.
- Don’t force your child to do something against his or her will. Otherwise, you will undermine a child’s faith in him or herself.
- Encourage your child to think outside the box. Standards develop only standard people.
- Before bringing up the child, parents should bring up themselves.
Last but not least, a final piece of advice from Masaru Ibuka: «The best upbringing for children is mother’s love. The most important for parents is upbringing their children. If they disagree then why did they decide to have children?.»
Source: ihappymama
Preview photo credit: Amy Grace