We live in an age where the earlier you complete any task, the better you are perceived to be. Infant education specialists quote architect Buckminster Fuller who is reported to have said 'All children are born geniuses and we deal with the first six years of their lives in degeniusing them'.

So called 'Early Brain Stimulation Programs' target expectant mothers telling them that Abhimanyu, one of the tragic heroes of the epic Mahabharata, began learning the art of war when he was in his mother's womb.

Many entrepreneurs have jumped onto this bandwagon of early brain stimulation, offering new gadgets or educational systems or food products to make your baby the smartest one yet.

The message is clear - life is no longer a marathon; it is a 100 meters dash. So sprint!

Result: many parents want to 'teach' alphabet and math and a lot more to their children when they are not even two years old. In schools, admissions are sought in classes higher than what is good for a child's age.

Press conferences are held to 'showcase' toddlers who can recite world capitals, names of world leaders and much else. We are told they have already proved their worth; they have arrived.

Why is this hurry to dump facts into the child's brain as early as possible? Does an infant’s ability to master facts, or a boy's or girl's status as a school topper in some exam, guarantee 'success' in later life?

Unfortunately, life remains, and will remain, a marathon. If anything, better healthcare and effective medicines for most known diseases are only lengthening the distance to be run. Undeniably, the average lifespan of an Indian has risen from less than 50 years to over 62 years within the last three generations.

Children born today can be expected to live well into their nineties. Second or third careers, right now exceptions, could become the norm. Two successive generations of retired persons living at the same time could also become the norm. Given this future scenario, learning the skills to cope with the vicissitudes of a long life span appears a continuous job.

Mistaking fake genius-like attributes in infants to be competence for negotiating a long life span is a fallacy that could lead to disappointments and worse, even disasters.

Here are some facts for you to consider:

• Contrary to the ideas of early education specialists who promise to turn your child into an Einstein, the greatest scientist of modern times was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read. His parents even consulted a doctor about his slow learning habits. He was also a cheeky rebel. This rebelliousness led one headmaster to expel him. Another headmaster, to history’s everlasting shame, said that he would never amount to much! But it is precisely this cocky contempt for authority that led Einstein to question conventional wisdom. His slow verbal development made him curious about things such as space and time that most adults take for granted.

• Studies have established that very young children need 10 things for brain growth: interaction, touch, stable relationship, safe & healthy environment, self esteem, quality care, play, music, communication and reading habit. More important, the effect of these stimulants needs to be observed over the long term. There are no short-cuts here.

• Sure, the first three or four years of a child see the most rapid changes of all of life due to the bombardment of experience (everything is new!). At this time, the brain is most flexible and prepared to learn. However, touch, talking, and things an infant sees and smells all build positive connections in the brain if done with continuity in a loving, consistent, and predictable manner. Just provide a sensually rich environment with meaningful relationships That is all is required. Not getting the child to cram facts far beyond her understanding.

• Forced learning can make the child unhappy which could lead to disastrous consequences later in life. The classic example is that of English philosopher John Stuart Mill who was given an extremely rigorous early upbringing. His father, James Mill, wanted to create a genius out of his son, and brought him up in an environment deprived of simple pleasures like playing with other children of his age (strictly prohibited!). John Mill was taught Greek when he was three; by eight he could read classics; and write an extension for Homer’s epic Iliad; by ten he had mastered Euclidean Geometry, Algebra and Latin. He had also read a great deal of history by ten.

Then, by 20, he had a nervous breakdown. It took years, and the simple pleasure of reading verses of Wordsworth, to bring John Mill to normalcy.

• Ironically, Buckminster Fuller, whose is quote is a favourite for infant education specialists, was no infant genius. He had a very normal childhood, was expelled from Harvard twice, never completed his college education and popularized geodesic dome that made him famous, when he was in mid-50s. No sign of infant genius there.

Sure, the first years of life are important. They build the base for future development. We can also say that learning of some skills is easier in early life. However, windows of opportunity do not close at a certain age and learning is not impossible in any age. So, instead of getting very young children to cram unrelated, indigestible facts, would it not be a good idea for parents to focus on instilling a sense of honesty, decency, and respect for others in children? The teaching of values when one is young is of far more importance than cramming facts when one is young.

Here's a thought: Abhimanyu might have learnt the art of war in his mother's womb. But he had not learnt it completely. If he had, he might have perhaps not rushed in where he should not have and got killed in the battle when he was still in his teens.

Ok, what if you firmly believe that your child is truly precocious and exceptionally-abled? Well, there are a number of strategies to nurture such a child. Watch this space in our next newsletter.