Quick Answer: “Yes!”

 

I was going to call this post, “Why brainwashing your kids is so effective.” Ha. It sounds so bad when I say it out loud. I realized that it was a strong word so I looked up the word brainwash to be sure. Lo and behold it means:  “a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas.”

In short, forcing someone to believe and/or be the opposite of what they were taught to believe and/or be.

Not quite the message I was going after.

The point of this post was to share with the fellow parents of the world, how important it is to take special care and attention to the environment you create for your children. What kind of exposure are your children getting exactly?

So for the sake of clarity, let’s call this post: “Possible or Impossible?: Can You Train Your Child’s Preferences?” (which I’m sure you noticed already)

Quick Answer: “YES”

The infant/toddler stage is the perfect time to take hold of your child’s mind and speak to them what you want them to be or believe they should be (good things I hope), show them the things you want them to believe, guide them to values you want them to have so they are the people they were created to be.

At this stage, the little minds are vulnerable and malleable. Their minds are like sponges absorbing everything around them. Research shows that ages 0-3 are the most crucial stages of development. Its the time to lay the foundation for how the brain thinks. Literally, the sky is the limit of what you can pour into your child that will lay the ground work for their future behavior and attributes.

Disclaimer: Be careful what you do with that power and don’t waste it.

To that end, parents need to recognize the power they hold within their hands and use it wisely.

As a first time parent, knowing these things can freak you out a bit as you run yourself ragged making sure you provide your child with all the physical, emotional and intellectual essentials. But I say don’t fret because if you are taking the time to become a knowledgeable parent, more than likely you are already doing something right.

Real Life Example: Training Your Child’s Preferences

My son never really liked veggies. Yes, he ate them because I sang and danced—okay maybe not the danced part—and made a spectacle of myself just so he can eat every bite up until very recently and the kid is 2 now (don’t judge me). He would eat them solely because I manipulated him to eat them (o yes, the things parents do).

Unbeknownst to me, my decision to purchase the Learning Resources Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set would completely change both our lives, literally. My only intention in purchasing this set was to give my son some variety in learning how to color sort. We began to use them to play pretend as mommy (ME) so enthusiastically stated how much she loved fruits and vegetables and declare with so much vigor how much she loved carrots, broccoli, etc.

It was soon after this repetitious game that my son so enthusiastically said, “I LIKE CARROTS! YUMMY YUMMY!” I wish you were there because I had the biggest cheesy face you would ever see. “Did this mean that I didn’t have to make a spectacle of myself to get my kid to eat those darn carrots?”

YES!! O GOD YES!!

He actually says hmmm yum yum when he eats carrots—the one vegetable no song could get him to eat.

So let’s review: Possible or Impossible?: Can you train your child’s preferences?

Quick Answer: “Yes!”