Thought for Today: West Indian parents have a cultural tradition of not cutting the hair of a male child until he has attained the age of 2 or is speaking proficiently. We are told that we must do this so as to assure that the boy will not become mute or unable to speak well. So that the spirits dont bind his tongue. This practice is actually a superstition and has no factual or scientific basis whatsoever. It is practiced and repeated almost universally, even by educated people and persons with child development or medical training. Now you ask, even if it is not true, what is the harm? The response is that there is no harm in keeping his hair unshorn. The real harm however, is that it encourages us to ignore the true mechanisms of proficient speech attainment. Children do not magically learn to speak through having hair. Billions of Indians and Chinese shave their sons hair at 5 months and these countries graduate a million bachelors degrees per year. Children attain speech proficiency by regular interactive conversation! Speak French to a child and he will speak French back. Speak Russian to a child and he will speak Russian back. Do sign language and he will sign back. Speak broken English to him and broken English will come back. But if you speak nothing to him, he will speak nothing back. We must condemn the West Indian attitude that children must be seen and not be heard. Use new and complex words to him, speak to him often, and encourage him to dialogue and ask questions. Dont tell him to be quiet or refuse to answer his questions; that is how he learns. We have to stop believing in magic and superstition and actively teach our children. Waiting on magic and miracles is partly to blame for why they have communication issues later and why we are falling behind. So just remember, its not the hair that makes him speak. Its you.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 23:48:53 +0000
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