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Bloom of the University of ehicago.
in his book
Stability and Change in
Human Characteristics,
indicated
tha t by age four as much as 50 per–
cent of a child's intelligence is set.
White sta tes: " For us to think ed u–
cation begins when a child goes to
first grade is grossly in error. e hil–
dren start to learn long before they
a re 6 years old. They start to learn
a t birth. It's pretty much a ll over by
the time th ey a r e three. " He
feels that by this time devel–
oping and learning capacities are
relatively well esta bl ished for
life.
The Harva rd Preschool Project
set out to determine how to raise
intellectually competent chi ldren .
White es tablished two groups of
normal 3-to-6-year-olds for contrast.
The first group he called A group.
These children rated exceptionally
high on all aspects of competence
both in and outside the school class–
room. The second group he called e
group. These children had sorne dif–
ficulties and were never quite able
to cope. White, coauthoring with
Jean
C.
Wa tts, described this re–
search in the book
Major Jnfluences
on the Development of Young Chil–
dren.
Studying these children, they
found a set of intellectual and social
skills which could be isolated into 17
specific abilities to establish how the
two groups differed. Group A had
these skills whi le group
e
did not.
Sorne of these skills include how to
get help a nd attention from adults.
Group A children planned and car–
ried out complicated projects and
were able to anticípate the con–
seq uences, and they understood
more complicated sentences. The e
group did not possess these skills.
Interestingly, it was found that chi l–
dren a t age 3, when tested. had
the same skills as those a l age 6;
thus these particular abilities were
developed prior to the age of
three.
The Crltlcal Factor
Finding these ski lls were developed
before age three required the re–
searchers to abandon the kindergar–
tens and nursery schools and get
right into the homes of children
ranging from the ages of one to
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1978
three. Not only were the children
observed, but mothers as well, to
determine what ac1ivi1ies they were
providing to stimulate inlellectual
growth in their children.
The researchers found that by 1
~
to 2 the skills were already set, but
a t
JO
months it was not possible to
define differences. Apparently a
very important transition occurs be–
tween 10 months and 18 months.
Th is difference is not attributed to
race, income, education or resi–
dence. The critica! factor seems to
be th e interact ion between the
mother and the child. As White has
sta ted: "Providing a rich social Iife
for a 12-to- 15-month-old child is the
best thing you can do to guarantee a
good mind."
What is it that mothers do to pro-
Apparently a very
important transition
occurs between 1O
months and 18 months.
This difference
in
skills is
not attributed to
race, mcome,
education or residence.
The critical factor
seems to be
the interaction between
the mother and
the child.
duce "A" children? While the inter–
action is importan! they don't spend
a great deal of time interacting. Sel–
dom do these mothers spend more
than 10 percent of the child's wak–
ing hours in undivided attention of
their children. This amounts to less
than 1.2 hours a day.
"White found that the best pa r–
ents excelled a t three key fu nctions:
l ) they were superb designers and
organizers of their child's environ–
ment; 2) they were firm disciplinar–
ians while simultaneously showing
great affection for their children ;
3) they served as personal consul–
tants to their children in brief epi–
sodes of perhaps 30 seconds or less.
These parents a llowed the child to
initiate most interactions between
them. but were highly responsive to
calls for comfort. information or a
shared enthusiasm" ("Exploring· the
Origins of Human Competence,"
APA Monitor,
April 1976).
The "A" mothers do not confine
their children to playpens and high
chai rs for long periods. They pro–
vide a variety of toys and other
household objects which are inte r–
esting and stimulating to the chi ld .
The "C" mothers, on the other
hand, a re restrict ive, having many
areas out of bounds to the child.
They a re "protective" of the child ,
thus limiting, during a period of
critica! development , growth and
curiosity.
Reinforclng Skllls
The mother's role as a consultant
comes to bear when the chi ld needs
help or meets an impasse. Accord–
ing to White, the "A" mother will
give the ch ild a few seconds of time
resulting in his receiving sorne lan–
guage, beefing up his curiosity. giv–
ing related ideas that lead him to
start thinking, reinforcing important
skills, and teaching him
to
use
adults as a resource. Many of these
short sessions, from changing dia–
pers to helping or playing, add up to
the 1.2 hours a day responsible for
the "A"-type development. The "C"
mothers rarely stimula te the child lo
better understand why things a re
the way they are and how they
work.
These findings do not relegate the
"C" child to failure, but if neither
the environment nor the mother as
activity coordina tor changes, then
something will be lost in the child's
intellectual development.
If you, as a concerned parent,
provide an enriched environment
during those critica! periods of de–
velopment, you wiiJ have done what
you can to ensure a more fully de–
veloped intellect for your child, so
that he or she can more completely
utilize his or her human poten–
tia!.
o
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