Childhood Learning - Early Learning And Childhood Learning Styles

Childhood development and learning plays a major role in the quality of life and general happiness that a child will have even into his teenage years and adulthood. If a child begins learning in a supportive and safe atmosphere, in which he's taught that it's always better to try and fail than not to try at all, he will hopefully become more confident and better able to face the academic and professional challenges of modern life.

Early Learning Centers

Early learning centers are facilities that provide childhood education from birth to age five approximately. Some are private and some are state-run. Many of these centers offer different learning timetables, depending on your child's age and your requirements as a family. There's really no such thing as an age at which it's too early for you start trying to promote your son or daughter's childhood development. Contact your nearest early learning center for some information about their services or research at their sites online for advice on how to implement early learning strategies at home.

Childhood Learning Styles

The theory of learning styles or "multiple intelligences" was originally developed by an education expert called Howard Gardner. He claims that there are seven types of intelligence, and that different people have different types, or combinations of different types. This means that the most effective learning methods are different for different people.

These theories can also be applied to learning in child development. Some children are linguistic learners, and respond well to written and spoken language during the learning process. Other kids are, for example, bodily-kinesthetic learners, and learn best by doing things physically. If you want to know what "type" or "types" of learning style(s) your child has, you could either read up about these theories online (you'll find instructions on how to test your child) or perhaps consult an educational psychologist. Knowing your child's intelligence type will help you to plan effective early learning activities.

Childhood Obesity And Learning

Studies have found that childhood obesity can be linked to lower scores in math and literacy at kindergarten level. Never mind the obvious affects that childhood obesity has on children's health, it may also affect their psychosocial development, even at a very early age. While it's by no means certain that being overweight makes a child less intelligent, it does often cause self-esteem issues for kids. Overweight children may be discriminated against by their peers (yes, even at preschool!) and left out of social activities and groups. All these experiences can feed into creating a negative self-image which in turn impacts on education and development. There's no doubt that a healthy diet and lots of exercise, at this important time when a child's brain is developing rapidly, are important for childhood learning.

Childhood Memory Development

Early childhood learning activities encourage brain growth, memory and language development. A baby's brain is not fully formed at birth and grows rapidly during childhood. As the brain develops, the baby's capacity for memory improves. By the time a child is 12 to 18 months old, he can remember the location of something that he has hidden and go back to find it again, even if it has been covered up. By the time he's 2 years old, he is able to remember people close to him and by the time he's 30 months, he can remember where to find objects in his normal, everyday environment. The activities your child takes part in at early learning centers or at preschool are designed to expand your child's capacity to memorize things, and thereby prepare him for academic learning at school.

Learning In Adolescence

Childhood learning is the foundation for academic success during adolescence and the teenage years. During adolescence, young people become more aware of their own social status and they compare themselves to their peers a lot. Many young people lack self-confidence during this stage of development. When this lack of self-confidence comes with a young person into the classroom, his learning can be affected. That's why making sure during the childhood learning process that a young person knows how to learn from his mistakes, but not to dwell on them or fear them, is such an important requirement for successful learning in adolescence.