What is learning for a child?

Although adults may have the idea that learning means intentionally acquiring certain knowledge, from a child's perspective, learning means something else.

A child learns from the first day of his/her life and, already from birth, he/she is very skilled in learning about him/herself and the world around him/her at enormous speed. It is important to recognize the way a baby learns: through research and active participation in events. In addition, a baby explores most readily when he/she is strongly supported, when he/she feels safe and loved - so a strong emotional bond with you is the key foundation for his/her learning.

For a newborn and a baby, everything in the world is new - smells, temperature, air, colors, sounds, textures, tastes, just as everything related to the baby him/herself is new - functions such as breathing, movement, gaze, listening, directing attention, memory, speech, thinking, intentions, conclusions.

As the baby grows, he/she will discover that the people around him/her are connected in different ways, that there are certain patterns in relationships between people, that there are patterns between events: causes, consequences; he/she will notice many different feelings, opinions and the like, and will need and want to grasp them. All these things, and many others, require a lot of adjustment on the part of the baby. In addition, the baby tries to control his/her body, the environment and the relationships involving him/her, and is equipped for that from the first moment of life.

For a baby, learning means trying, exploring, touching, listening, moving a body part, seeing others' reactions, reaching out, reaching, catching, throwing, inferring the connection between things, phenomena… In that sense, for a child, learning is play, and play is at the same time the most natural way a child discovers.

It is very important that, as parents, you keep in mind this meaning of learning. From the first moment of his/her life, the child will show a desire to discover and an initiative to actively learn and explore. It is important to understand how your child shows initiative and communicates with his/her environment, to get to know your child, his/her reactions and the way of adjustment and learning, his/her needs for support and encouragement, to connect with your child.

The home is the child's first "classroom", and the parent is the first teacher, the one who will facilitate exploration and learning through play from the first day through providing adequate support and encouragement, as well as a feeling of safety to the child.