There’s no doubt that language in all its richness — written,spoken,sung or read aloud — plays a crucial role in our early development. It has become increasingly common to begin teaching children literacy(读写能力)skills at an early age. The thinking often goes that starting early gives children more time to learn and get ahead.

However,many studies show little benefit from an early overly-academic environment. Children who attend academically focused preschools do not have higher academic abilities in later grades than those who did not,several studies now show. Too much academic pressure may even cause problems in the long run. A study published in January 2022 suggested those who attended preschools with a strong academic emphasis,showed lower academic achievements a few years later,compared to those who didn’t.

Anna Cunningham,a senior lecturer in psychology at Nottingham Trent University who studies early literacy,argues that if a setting is too academically focused early on,it can cause the teachers to become stressed over tests and results,which can in turn affect the kids. “Academic requirements early on don’t end up being meaningful. Children end up memorizing rather than understanding context,”adds Anna.

In many countries,formal schooling starts at 4. But not everyone favors an early start. In Finland,often known as the country with one of the best education systems in the world,children begin school at seven. Despite a later start,Finnish students score higher in reading comprehension than students from the UK at age 15. Besides,the Finnish kindergarten years are filled with more play and no formal academic instruction.

Research also found that later readers catch up — even are slightly better than the early readers in comprehension abilities. Learning later allows children to more efficiently match their knowledge of the world to the words they learn. So our craze with early literacy appears to be somewhat unfounded.

Children learn rather early that they must ask for the things they want, but as they grow up, it’s important that they begin to consider the needs of others. Raising a generous (慷慨的) child takes intentional practices like encouraging giving, teaching important habits, and modeling how best to care for others. 【小题1】

Help Your Neighbors

One of the simplest ways to show giving is to lend a hand to your neighbors. 【小题2】Offer to water their plants or make them a plate of food and walk next door with your child. It’s a simple way to show your child what it means to be a good neighbor.

Donate (捐) Clothes and Toys

Donating is one of those age-old habits that will always be the mark of a generous person. When you practice this with your children, it’s important that you allow them to choose which toys to giveaway. 【小题3】By giving the best items, your child learns sacrificial giving. And newer items provide a greater sense of dignity among those receiving your gift. Praise Giving.

【小题4】

By encouraging them when they choose to give and praising others who are generous, you are setting a standard for “praiseworthy” behavior. Another practice that parents have found helpful is to focus on how the things their child did has helped another.

Foster (培养) a Global Mindset

Someone with a global mindset cares for the world and is curious about how to solve global problems. Although it may seem like an abstract concept (抽象概念), there are a few ways to foster a global mindset. First, develop problem-solving and critical thinking. 【小题5】Exposing children to the colorful world deepens their understanding of the world around them.

A campaign (活动) is being launched to encourage children to surrender 30 minutes of screen time a day to head for the great outdoors.

The newly formed Wild Network—a collaboration of nearly 400 organizations—is attempting to attract youngsters away from television and computer screen and to fields, woods and parks. Members of the network include the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS. Organizers say it is the UK’s biggest ever campaign to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play, and claim it could help improve fitness, mental alertness (机敏) and general wellbeing.

A documentary film, Project Wild Thing, will forecast the launch at more than 50 cinemas across the UK from Friday. It looks at the increasing link between children and nature.

Andy Simpson, chairman of the Wild Network, said, “The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation. Time spent outdoors is down, roaming (漫步) ranges have fallen largely, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost.”

Suggestions of how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers (七叶树果), camping or snail racing, and observing autumn colour on trees.

From January, the network will aim to make suggestions to politicians on how government can do more to get children muddy and bright-eyed.

This is not the first time the message of less screen, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were requested to do the same by the BBC TV series Why Don’t You, which somewhat confusingly called on its viewers to “switch off your TV set and go to do something less boring instead”.