Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1.chuqui 4/7/84; site apple.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!umcp-cs!gymble!lll-crg!dual!apple!cutter From: cutter@apple.UUCP (Mark Cutter) Newsgroups: net.kids Subject: Better Baby Institute Message-ID: <49983@apple.UUCP> Date: Thu, 25-Apr-85 15:54:26 EDT Article-I.D.: apple.49983 Posted: Thu Apr 25 15:54:26 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 28-Apr-85 04:43:51 EDT References: Reply-To: cutter@apple.UUCP (Mark Cutter) Distribution: net Organization: Apple Education Research Group, Cupertino CA Lines: 114 In article popeye@ihuxn.UUCP (D. Saylor) writes: >The question I have is what importance does the crawling stages >have for the development of a child. >... I refer all parents out there to: Better Baby Institute 8801 Stenton Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19118 Glenn Doman, who started the institute, has written several books. I recommend 'How to Multiply Your Babies Intelligence' as the one to start with. The people at the institute have found a definite correlation between growth of certain areas of the brain, higher abilities such as reading, and length of time spent creeping and crawling. They probably know more about how the brain grows, its impact on reading, writing, math, physical coordination, etc, and how to present the greatest possible opportunities for enhancing growth in these areas than just about anyone else in the world. I first heard of the institute from a friend who claimed to be teaching his 2 year old to read. I chastised him for almost two years for submitting his son to such undue pressure. Last year I visited them for the first time since their kid was born (they live 1000 miles away), and to my amazement, I found a well adjusted, happy, brilliant 4 year old who was a kid in every sense of the word, loving to play, full of fantasy, etc. The difference was that he could read, do math, play violin, do gymnastics, etc, and loved it! I felt embarassed for categorically putting down something that I obviously knew so little about, and proceeded to learn more about it. I read some of their books, and had the opportunity to spend 10 days at the institute last fall. It was one of the highest times of my life; I was moved to tears every day I was there. I saw incredibly well-rounded kids from 4 to 9 years old: reading at a high school level (japanese as well as english!), doing analytical geometry and algebra, who knew over 2,000 works of art, doing olympic gymnastics, running a mile, and playing violin. The most amazing thing was that all of these kids could do all of these things. And to watch them play! They played like any kids, but their creativity was an order of magnitude greater, because they had tools to play with that were an order of magnitude more sophisticated. To see 4 year olds improvising on a violin, or 6 year olds doing a dramatic reading! Through the institute's books and courses I've learned how to be a real parent, providing the greatest possible opportunities for my son to grow in all areas, in a proactive sense, rather than a passive spectator of the normal, trial and error process of learning. My son learned to swim starting at 6 months, and at 10 months, could swim halfway across a pool, before he could walk. Now, six months after starting other aspects of the program, my 20 month old still doesn't read, but does know a few words, knows over 100 kinds of dogs, 150 kinds of animals, 50 kinds of birds. I take much greater joy in seeing him learn, and do not hesitate to explain complicated phenomena to him. This doesn't come for free. You never spend more than 5 minutes at a time on any one thing, but you may do it dozens of times a day. Some things take months before you see any results, other things days or weeks. But it is all incredibly worthwhile, and provided it is done properly, your kids gain immensely. But it has to be done properly, without any pressure or ego stroking of the parents. It has to be something done for your kids, not for you to brag to your peers about. Our policy is to never put our son up for show, and never even talk about what he can do. That way we keep ourselves in check. Doman is completely against pressuring kids to do anything, and so am I. In fact, he absolutely forbids testing your kids in any way, shape or form, as it does not enhance the learning process whatsoever, and is done solely for the parents gratification. All you do is learn how to make learning fun, something that few of us have experienced as children, given the educational system we all had to go through! Kids learn anyway, and if you present something to them in the right way, they will learn it. Kids that grow up in multi-lingual households are multi-lingual by the time they are three without any pressure whatsoever. I encourage all parents to read his book, and if possible, visit the institute. It will greatly enrich your relationship with your kids, and if you put it into practice, provide them with unparalleled opportunities for growth. Mark Cutter Author/Developer of MacDraw and LisaDraw Education Research Group Apple Computer Inc. UUCP: {ucbvax!mtxinu, nsc, dual, idi, voder}!apple!cutter CSNET: cutter%apple@CSNET-RELAY ARPAnet: cutter@apple.ARPA -- Mark Cutter Author/Developer of MacDraw and LisaDraw Education Research Group Apple Computer Inc. UUCP: {ucbvax!mtxinu, nsc, dual, idi, voder}!apple!cutter CSNET: cutter%apple@CSNET-RELAY ARPAnet: cutter@apple.ARPA