why do most moms claim they don't teach their children?

Isobel - posted on 07/03/2012

I think Toni hit the nail on the head...everybody "teaches" their kid all the time (numbers, colours, letters, etc). When most of us say we didn't "teach" them we mean there are things that they instinctively know that we didn't put there.

I certainly didn't teach my kid grade 7 math while he was in grade 3.

Dayle - posted on 06/28/2012

I couldn't agree more. I have a daughter, 10, and a son, 8. They are 2 totally different kids with 2 totally different gifts. My son is amazing in math. He has shown an interest since 4 years old. Did he learn it himself, no way. Did he ask a lot of questions that I thoughtfully answered, definitely. He had an amazing 2nd grade teacher who also saw his interest and worked with him and my son is doing high school math. Would he have learned it on his own, not in a million years. He needed someone to explain his question "Are there smaller numbers than 0?" Once he heard the explanation, he ran with it and absolutely understood and could figure out problems such as 10 - 15 = -5. This wasn't an innate ability to know an equation it was the time we spent answering his innate ability to understand math.

My daughter has an innate ability to understand the human body and has since she was 3 years old. She asked questions, we answered and everyone was amazed. Again, we fostered her curiosity.

User - posted on 06/18/2012

thank you for that because i feel for once my question has an answer :)

Toni - posted on 06/08/2012

um well my kids watches way too much tv, I don't think of it as a parent either but after a nasty bout of pnd I was far happier for her to watch tv than have me growl at her. She only watches disney jnr and the Wiggles though and I have to say she has learn't a lot more than I would have imagined from that..
However I think any normal parent does things like count stuff out, mention colours or point out stuff in books that the kid is interested in. Did I buy your baby can read, sit down with flash cards or ask my child to repeat after me? NO but incidentally yes I have taught her a lot and I'm proud I've done as well as I have considering.
I have thought about piano lessons for her but I'll leave it until she shows more interest. Colours purely came from the Gruffalo colour book.

I think people just want to distinguish their own kids who are obviously learning things in a self directed manner to those who are pushed by their moms to learn things they might not otherwise be ready for. I don't think it's wrong to develop your childs potential so long as they are ready and willing

User - posted on 06/07/2012

So you don't read to her? you don't point out letters?

And if she is learning from your other children that is still being taught, even if you do "nothing", she is being indirectly taught by your other children

User - posted on 06/07/2012

Even when you look at Mozart his father introduced him to music at a young age and dragged him around to play for people. Most of the brilliant people in this world had guiding parents that taught them.



My son seems to admire Da Vinci but he wouldn't know who he was if i didn't teach my son about him..my son walks around saying "we must try to understand everything"

Sofia - posted on 05/28/2012

I couldn't agree more, I am not saying that there could be some exceptions...never say never in my books......but mainly one way or another the parents give them something to think about and it is up to the child to continue based on what it likes.....at age 2 for eg.you read to your child a fairy tale, the child might be looking at the picture but also at the words while you are reading (I used to put my finger under each word so my little one could understand where the words were coming from).....or when I was hanging the clothes to dry, I would ask him to give me 2 clothes pins or 2 green ones....It's not rocket science, its everyday stuff...(which I know a lot of people don't bother doing, slows their everyday chores down) ..slowly slowly you engage him into more stuff ...all I am saying is we show them the way to learn..... then its up to them!

Olivia - posted on 05/25/2012

My little boy is turning 3 too, and is ahead of most others his age in language and music. From the research I've done into 'gifted' kids, it seems that everybody likes to think their child is a natural born genius who has had no help whatsoever. This sort of annoys me. I truly believe that very very few kids are gifted. All humans are born with the same capacity to learn. It's the opportunities which are given that effects how far they succeed. The majority of children in Britain and America who are thought of as 'gifted' are just children who have some natural interest in a certain subject and have been encouraged to do it from a young age.

My son is my first child, and I have worked part time since he was 9 months (I plan to return to work full time at some point). Whilst I'm happy with this arrangement, I sometimes feel like I'm missing opportunities to help him learn that SAHMs have far more of. For this reason, I try to keep our 'learning sessions' very intense and to the point, but also for small periods of time. Of course we fit learning into everyday life, but things such as numbers and reading are done in 10 minute periods a couple of times a day. As much as I do this for convenience, he is very much thriving from it.

I feel that if it wasn't for these 10 minute sessions, he would not be where he is today. Of course, I believe he has a natural curiosity and interest in both language and maths and he was born with that, meaning he is quick to pick it up. However, I'm happy to take the credit for the effort I've put into helping him. It's sort of sad that not many parents can say that, but I'll happily be the first to admit it.

Jami - posted on 05/24/2012

my daughter is 4. she has 2 older brothers...one a bright 7 year old who is solidly average in school (my easy kid)...one a gifted 5 year old who knew everything kindergarten had to offer before kindergarten...except reading and writing. she mostly does her own thing but she does see what goes on (homework) and she is teaching herself to write. I do not sit her down and attempt to teach her to write...I do not tell her to practice. I just gave her paper and a pencil so she could "draw letters" and one day she was writing "tcpo" over and over again. she has since added more letters and somehow (for i did NOT teach her) she knows what those letters are...so when I say I taught my kids NOTHING...I mean it.