Something I've noticed in the last week or so, is that when I now ask Jahan a question (eg. point to a picture in a book and ask him what it is), he doesn't volunteer the answer as freely as he used to. He looks at the picture, then at me, and then quietly mutters his response under his breath.
I'm not quite sure when or where he picked up this new habit - he appears to have developed a self-consciousness - a sort of fear of giving the wrong answer.
In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goldman suggests that "A child's success [in school] is not predicted by the child's IQ as much as by emotional and social measures, such as: being self assured and interested... The emotional lessons of childhood can have a profound impact, either amplifying or muting an innate predisposition... How children's natural temperament is treated by parents impacts how children learn to handle, for example, their timidness..."
Understandably, as he matures, Jahan is now beginning to want affirmation and encouragement in order to volunteer information, answer questions and even ask questions. It occurs to me how absolutely critical it is not to offer words which stifle, criticise or discourage him at this incredibly sensitive age.
Posted by Dayan at January 23, 2005 08:31 PM