Possibly the most striking development in early childhood, especially from a parent's point of view, is the development of speech and language capabilities. The first time your child says "Mama" or "Dada" will undoubtedly be, or undoubtedly was, a seminal moment in your life. It is generally accepted that when a child first starts developing language skills, the child is ready to begin a rudimentary education. Indeed, the child's education begins whether the parent assists or not.
The Critical Thinking Co. produces a whole line of products for pre-K children that can help parents expand their children's vocabularies, reading skills, and even their math skills. While children should not be expected to pick up Dickens or multiplication tables so early on, young children are perfectly capable of learning basic addition and subtraction and reading simple children's books. At this stage, a parent's involvement is crucial.
A parent is usually a child's first resource for learning vocabulary and for learning how things work in general. This tremendous responsibility causes some new parents to fret and feel incapable of providing the proper foundations for later education. At The Critical Thinking Co., however, we have put enormous effort into developing products that are accessible to children, will develop the basis for higher order thinking, and are easy for parents to use.
Childhood should be fun, no doubt about it, and it should be carefree (for the children anyway) but it should also be looked at as the foundation upon which the rest of a child's life will be built. Preparing children for the challenges they will face in school and in life are the definite domain of parents. The Critical Thinking Co. can help you make certain your child is prepared to learn, to make decisions, and to succeed.