Einstein Never Used Flashcards
Einstein Never Used Flash Cards by Kathy Kirsh-Pasek, Ph.D. & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, PhD. was my favorite of all the books in my new library. It is based in cognitive psychology and often refers to psychology studies to explain how your child learns and develops. And what does all this fancy scientific research prove? That you don’t need to buy expensive “developmental” toys or push your child to memorize presidents at a young age. No, you just need to allow them to play with the same simple toys children have been playing with for decades. Things like blocks and babbling and books make for more natural learning.
One of my favorite parts of this book is the “Bringing the Lessons Home” at the end of each chapter. It recaps the chapter in a sort of to-do list for parents. These items are simple things that everyone can do. One example :
Let the buyer beware! Don’t let yourself be taken in by the messages about enhancing your baby’s brain development that appear on flashy product lines. Just as sex is used in advertising to sell products to adults, marketers have figured out that brain development sells to parents. There is no evidence, however, that particular educational programs, methods, or techniques are effective for brain development.
I think part of the reason I loved this book so much is that I NEEDED to read this book. I am somewhat wrapped up in the romantic idea of intelligence. For me I feel like intelligence is all I have, so I have to excel at it. This made me want very badly to have an intelligent child. I’m a nerd, what the hell would I do with a dumb kid? It would kill me. But this book stopped me in my tracks and pointed out that I don’t need to try to make my kid smart. Just love it and let it have a childhood and things will work out for the better.
