Let him play!

I have an incredibly bright and outgoing son. He just turned four in December and he is being raised at home with out any other siblings in the house. The importance of this is that he isn't rushing to grow up like many younger children of multi-sibling households. He also has not been introduced to a class room environment like many children who attend day care or preschool at his age.

As a result, he excelels in some things:

• Bartering to get the most candy -- he never accept the old "you can have two" without a comeback.


• Fearless acceptance of any situation and people he encounters. He never went through the "shy" stage most children do.


• Ability to construct, and take apart, anything.


• He'll try anything editible. No other children for him to learn that something is "grose" from.


• Ability to reason. I can sit down and talk to him like an adult. Usually working it around until he gets the point I'm tring to make.


• Creativity. He loves to paint, draw, make mud pies, dig kittie traps, work with plants, play with clay.

But he is behind in some areas when compared to other children his age. He does not recognize his numbers or letters. He can't even sing the ABC song; although his version makes me smile every time. And he's had no experience sitting down and minding a teacher-figure.

It's not that I havne't tried to provide these opportunites for him, I have. He has every toy, card set, games, computer game, book, etc. that I could find that might interest him . . . and they don't. Oh, he'll play with them a few minutes and then he's bored. I've tried no less than six different times to get him to trace his ABCs in a giant book we bought and he works less than three minutes and wants nothing to do with it.

I don't push it. I figure it's like potty training, no one starts first grade in diapers. Children all learn at their own pace. Once they start school they are more or less forced to learn at the same level . . . and quess what they are going to be teaching them the first year? Yep, their letters and numbers and how to write.

I've raised two girls. I've seen them and their friends at different leveles of developement and I feel strongly about the following:

They are only children once;
let them play and enjoy it.

If a child wants to learn something early;
Teach them it with joy.

If a child fights learning something early:
Let it go.
Bring it up in a fun way, occasionally.
But take their hints and don't force them;
Especially, just so you can say
My son knows his ABCs.

There will come a time when you will
have to enforce the importance of
education and learning,
But not before they enter school.