Show Parents warned not to expect too much from rom young children Its no disgrace to act five if you you are are five says Dr Ruth H. H Lundgren assistant professor of education at the University of Utah The myth and reality in terms of kids pays gays ays Lundgren is that that- we nave much much information in information in- in n- n formation on what children are like and what their needs are and yet were we're not realistic in what we do with our youngsters AS AN EDUCATOR Lundgren Lundgren Lundgren Lund Lund- gren is concerned that parents and teachers expect too much too soon from young children In contrast to recent trends toward early reading and skill development she advocates dvo ates a a well-planned well but informal approach with a variety of choices to encourage innate creativity We really do know more about the young child today than ever before she says but at the same time we often violate what we know is best for him rum For example we all wish to talk better but at the same time we shush our children and tell them to be quiet We thwart creativity in children through too loo much structure too soon says Lundgren Formal reading taught at the kindergarten level levelis is inappropriate for most five- five year year olds That's somebody else's game not his I feel strongly that a child will be turned off and nd will not be bean bean bean an avid reader if reading is forced on him she states If early reading is imposed the child will often turn away by the fourth or fifth grade But she notes reading is an absolutely vital skill When and how are the real question We need to determine at what point a child is 15 ready to read to find that teachable moment We need to teach our children to survive with a good feeling about themselves in the family and community Lundgren notes If he feels good about himself hell he'll relate well to others Tt This s should take place before the curriculum is introduced says Lundgren He Ue wont won't have the tools to use if development hasn't happened firs first t. t TilE THE U U. U EDUCATOR points to television as a substitute parent in many cases In In a recent study of children they were asked wt which ch they wanted m most TV TV t-TV or their daddy Fifty percent favored TV she reports Children are watching television too much and not doing things hand first according according according ac ac- ac- ac cording to Lundgren o on on the fringes of experience if they learn everything ng through passively watching TV Yesterdays Yesterday's child was more work Today's child is almost a creature of television Not all television programming programming programming program program- ming is undesirable however The U U. U educator says a television show that has a warm soft friendly quality is best for a child L Lundgren identifies parents as the most important educators of young children According to research a child has gone 50 percent of the way in the development of thinking patterns by the a age e of four she says and another 20 percent by the time he is eight To a degree the way a child learns is already established by the time he begins school That means a high priority rests with the family's responsibility she continues The family's attitude toward school can make mak or break the school situation for a child BOTH TilE THE child and the parent should be attending nursery school according to Lundgren Its important for parents to understand and to work cooperatively with the teacher in the classroom she explains It is Lundgren's opinion that parenthood is taken for granted b by soMe ad ItS fIr th W r arS lif eig 1 the last thing we we pay attention to sh she states busy parent who wants fulfillment in his own life pampers over-pampers his children to compensate for lack of availability She concludes The result is a lonely child Lundgren admits not all parents are misjudging their role A certain segment of our population is aware that it needs peeds to prepare for parenthood parenthood parenthood paren paren- she says Since the funded federally-funded Head Start program was initiated in 1965 some parents ha have ve realized how important parenting is The last decade has been a golden era era the renaissance of early childhood development and education We have come to realize that parenting and the education of young children is worthy of our effort |