Principles of Learning

Copyright © 1992 by Aletha Solter. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (including copying to other web sites, and including translations), without written permission from Aletha Solter. This article is excerpted from Aletha Solter's workbook to accompany Helping Young Children Flourish.

1. All children are born with the desire and the ability to learn.

2. Children learn best when the learning is self-initiated, arising from their own curiosity and interests, rather than imposed on them.

3. Children learn best through hands-on experiences and self-discovery rather than through direct instruction. Concept formation arises naturally out of concrete experiences.

4. Play is the primary mode of learning during the first eight to ten years. It has three major functions.

Play helps children acquire physical, social, and intellectual skills.

Play helps children understand and assimilate information.

Play helps children work through traumatic experiences.

5. Appropriate stimulation is important. A rich environment with a variety of manipulative materials facilitates children's learning. Children also benefit by being exposed to stories, books, people, places, ideas, music, games, and real-life activities.

6. The best toys are the ones that inspire children to imagine, build, create, and think.

7. Earlier is not necessarily better. Each child develops at his or her own rate.

8. Different children have different learning styles (ex: visual, auditory, kinesthetic).

9. Too much television and video watching can interfere with the learning process by stifling the imagination, creating fears, promoting passivity, and using up valuable play time.

10. Children are better learners when their lives are stress free. Distress experiences can interfere with the learning process because painful feelings can lead to confusion, anxiety, lack of self-confidence, and an inability to concentrate. The learning process is enhanced when children are allowed to release painful feelings through play, laughter, crying, and raging.

11. Learning abilities are affected by the parent/child relationship. Intellectual competence is enhanced when:

Children feel loved and accepted, and receive good quality attention.

Children are given encouragements rather than rewards or criticism.

Parents have realistic expectations (neither too high nor too low).

Parents use a non-punitive approach to discipline.

Children are encouraged to ask questions and be independent thinkers.

Parents allow autonomy and help only when needed.

Aletha Solter, PhD, is a developmental psychologist, international speaker, consultant, and founder of the Aware Parenting Institute (www.awareparenting.com). Her four books, The Aware Baby, Helping Young Children Flourish, Tears and Tantrums, and Raising Drug-Free Kids, have been translated into many languages, and she is recognized internationally as an expert on attachment, trauma, and non-punitive discipline. She lives in California, and has two grown children.

Aware Parenting is a philosophy of child-rearing that has the potential to change the world. Based on cutting-edge research and insights in child development, Aware Parenting questions most traditional assumptions about raising children, and proposes a new approach that can profoundly shift a parent's relationship with his or her child. Parents who follow this approach raise children who are bright, compassionate, competent, nonviolent, and drug free.

This page was last updated on March 25, 2008. Copyright © 1992 by Aletha Solter. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (including copying to other web sites, and including translations), without written permission from Aletha Solter.