Glen Doman's method of raising children. Glen Doman: early development methodology Glen Doman emphasis

Glenn Doman is an American physical therapist, the author of restorative methods for children with lesions of the nervous system and educational methods for all children (the Doman method), one of the leaders of the Institute for the Development of Human Potential in Philadelphia.

It all started in the forties, when a young neurosurgeon Doman began to develop a system for the rehabilitation of children with severe lesions of the central nervous system. With the help of external stimuli, he tried to stimulate the “reserve” brain cells that were not affected by the disease. In order for the children to begin to fixate their gaze, they were shown cards with red dots drawn on them, gradually increasing their number and intensity of activities. Then - words, pictures... The method worked. After months of hard work, the brains of hopelessly ill children began to function and develop, they moved and spoke. Moreover, by studying according to the Doman method, many of those who were considered mentally retarded just yesterday not only caught up, but over time could even surpass their peers in intellectual development, learned much more. ahead of schedule read, write, count, and performed complex gymnastic exercises. Such resounding success was mesmerizing, and the technique began to be used in teaching healthy children.

1. 2. Methodological foundations of this pedagogical system.

As a neurophysiologist, Doman discovered and proved the most important law: the brain grows and develops only if it works. And the more intense the load on the baby’s brain in the first years of his life, the better his intelligence will develop. The more we encourage a baby to move from birth, the faster the brain is formed, the more perfect and mature its cells will be, and the higher (in Doman’s terminology) its motor intelligence will be. This means that the baby will begin to crawl, sit, and walk independently much earlier than the generally accepted deadlines. And as soon as a child masters one or another motor skill, the next, higher part of the brain begins to develop. Well, the faster the formation of the higher parts (and especially the cortex) of the brain occurs, the smarter and more savvy your baby will be.

No less important is another discovery of Doman: a child’s brain is programmed to learn from birth, and as long as its active growth continues (after three years it slows down significantly, and after six it practically stops), the child does not need any additional motivation for learning. If you organize the process correctly, any child will enjoy learning everything you offer him. And he will do it with such ease that school-age children have never dreamed of.

The institute, headed by Glen Doman, has developed detailed methods for teaching young children reading, mathematics, history, science, and other disciplines. They are all based on the same principle. On cards of a certain standard size, words are written, images of plants, animals, planets, portraits of historical figures, dots randomly scattered on a sheet in quantities from one to infinity, numbers, and mathematical examples are glued. The cards are divided into thematic series, and then they must be shown to the child in series throughout the day. For example, ten times a day for ten seconds - ten cards with words, dots, images of birds, architectural structures, and so on. Over time, the program becomes more complex, and one or another new fact is reported about each object (where the bird lives, in what geological era the rock was formed, etc.). According to Doman and his followers, all this does not just contribute to the formation of high intelligence. By following the proposed methods, absolutely every child can be raised into a genius. It looks very tempting.

Doman constantly compares the human brain with a computer, a very advanced one, endowed with a huge amount of memory, but still, a computer that needs to be equipped with a good database to work successfully. But a living boy or girl differs from a computer in that they need not only to receive a certain amount of information.

Good afternoon, all those who are interested in techniques early development, of which there are a huge number. Each technique has its pros and cons. And each parent decides for himself how, when and what to teach his child.

Many of us have already heard about Glen Doman's early development method. In this article you will learn how this technique originated, in which areas development takes place according to the Doman system, how to practice using this technique, and also what are the advantages and disadvantages of the Doman technique.

Glen Doman (1920-2013) is an American physical therapist, author of a method of intensive intellectual and physical development of children from birth.

Glen Doman is the founder of the Institute for the Development of Human Potential (1955). Doman, along with his family, treated children who suffered from various brain disorders. Various unique techniques, with the help of which it became possible to restore the affected cells. While treating and rehabilitating children with lesions of the central nervous system, Glen Doman came to the conclusion that the human brain develops most actively before the age of 6-7 years. Glen Doman considers the period up to 3 years to be the most active period of brain development.

During classes with sick children, their healthy brothers and sisters were also present, who happily repeated all the exercises and quickly achieved good results. Then Glen Doman decided to develop a method for healthy children.

This is how Glen Doman’s early childhood development method arose, aimed at developing and stimulating brain activity in healthy children.

Glen Doman showed us how enormous human potential is. Doman believed that it was necessary to “give children unlimited opportunities in life.” Children who were taught using this method at the age of 2-4 years read fluently, mastered mathematics, knew many different facts, and had good physical fitness.

Glen Doman developed his own method for 3-4 year old children, based on the fact that at this time the human brain is most actively developing. Glen Doman proved that the brain actively develops when it works and the more intense the load in the first years of a child’s life, the better the child’s intelligence will develop.

In what areas does a child develop according to Glen Doman’s early development method?

• Reading. Cards - red words are depicted on a white background, which are also shown to the child several times a day, gradually making them more difficult. You show the card and read what is written on it, that is, the child learns to read whole words at once. The child remembers words mechanically.
• Mathematics. It is believed that the child represents quantity, not numbers and signs. Therefore, you need to teach the child by showing cards with a certain amount of something.

It is important to start classes when the child already understands the phrase “there are three oranges on the table, and next to them two pomegranates.”

White cards with red dots on them were chosen for display. To teach mathematics, you need to show these cards to the child regularly and one by one, devoting 1-2 seconds to one card, and the lesson should last about 10-15 seconds, there should be several such lessons a day. When showing a card, you need to say how many dots are shown on it.

• Encyclopedic facts. On the cards we show various information in the form of pictures. Facts are the basis of any knowledge, skill or profession. Facts should be clear, distinct, interesting and consistent. Glen Doman also believed that facts must be systematized. Facts are systematized into sections (biology), categories (plants, animals), bits - units of information (photo of a zebra, cow).
• Physical development. Glen Doman believes that it is necessary to pay a lot of attention to the physical development of a child in the first year of his life. To do this, he developed a system for the physical development of children.

You can make your child his own selection of cards on a specific topic or make a presentation on the computer. An example would be the presentation “wild animals”.

How to practice according to Glen Doman's early development method?

• You need to work with your child from an early age;
• show cards and say their name. 1-2 seconds are allotted for each card;
• classes should be short so that the child does not get bored with them;
• replenish cards with new ones daily, the same card does not need to be shown more than 3 times a day;
• The baby should be in a good mood;
• rejoice at your child’s success;
• conduct classes systematically and regularly;
• teach only if both you and your child like it;
• Don't test your child's knowledge.

Like any technique, the Doman technique has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Doman technique

I would like to add that it is not at all necessary to scrupulously follow one single technique; you can take the best from each technique and implement it. Each child is an individual, with his own personal qualities, skills and desires.

If you have seriously decided to develop your child using this method, I can suggest you purchase Doman cards on DVD. This set includes 5 DVDs and contains first words, everyday words, animals and phrases (designed for children from 0 to 3 years old).

Let's make the lives of our children interesting and varied!

you used this technique for your child? What results have you achieved? Does your child enjoy looking at flashcards?

P.S. Subscribe to updates and be the first to learn a lot of interesting things about the life of the blog!

Glen Doman's technique during last decades is rightfully considered one of the most interesting pedagogical concepts dedicated to the early development of children. However, this technique has not only a wide range of adherents, but also a large number of opponents who claim that Doman’s teaching methods are ambiguous and do not always lead to the expected result.

What is the essence of this method of early childhood development, how does it differ from other pedagogical concepts, and how can its strengths and weaknesses be characterized?

Glen Doman's method: it all started with cards

In the late 40s of the twentieth century, a young American scientist, Glen Doman, was engaged in the rehabilitation of children with disorders of the nervous system. His patients are children with serious illnesses, so Doman develops simple tasks for them - first, the doctor tries to get sick children to focus their gaze on some object.

To do this, he shows patients special cards with in no particular order red dots. Doman achieves success - his players really begin to focus their attention on the cards. Subsequently, the doctor complicates the tasks by showing the kids cards not with dots, but with pictures depicting the objects around them.

This teaching method begins to work, and very soon children who are lagging behind in development learn not only to determine what is shown on the cards, but also try to move and speak. The success was so stunning that, based on his discoveries, Doman is developing an entire concept dedicated to the development of young children. It was this concept that later became known as Glen Doman’s early development methodology.

Basic provisions of the methodology

• Most intense brain small child develops in the time interval from birth to 3 years. It is during this period that it is necessary to create special conditions, which will provide a certain level of intellectual load. How before parents will begin training their child’s intelligence, so more information he can grasp it.
• Movement and physical activity children are stimulated by harmonious development and intensive formation of brain cells. According to Doman, a child can learn to crawl, grab, walk, and swim much earlier than is declared by generally accepted pediatric norms. For example, Doman suggests teaching a baby to crawl almost from birth, while classical pediatrics considers the beginning of natural crawling to be between the ages of 4 and 7 months.
• Doman, as a scientist, gives priority to visual knowledge of the world around him. He believes that a child’s brain works in such a way that it is able to “photograph” and accumulate a huge amount of information. It is this information that parents should offer their baby from the first moments of his life. To do this, the scientist is developing a special system of cards that makes it possible to convey information about the objects surrounding the child in the process of their visual perception.

Doman cards are a source of encyclopedic knowledge for children

The scientist proposes to convey to him all the knowledge necessary for the baby through special educational cards.

Appearance of cards

• A certain size (one side of the card should not be less than 15–20 cm).
• The font height on thematic cards should be at least 2.5–3 cm.
• Each card must contain an image of a concept (object, natural phenomenon) and a letter designation (name) of this object or phenomenon.

Lesson with cards

Prepare several thematic sets of cards: fruits, berries, food, animals, nature, etc. Set aside regular practice times throughout the day.

Show the cards as follows: after showing the picture, say out loud what is shown on it. This needs to be done within 1-2 seconds, no more. There is no need to go into additional explanations; a couple of seconds is enough for the baby to learn the required amount of information.

The number of cards for the first lessons is no more than 5 pieces. Over time, you can increase the number of cards shown to 10 during one lesson.

Doman recommends starting to teach children using cards before the age of one year! It is at this age, according to the scientist’s concept, that a child’s brain is able to absorb a huge amount of information. However, at the age of one to three years, these activities will also be effective.

There are a great many options for Doman cards. They are not only sets of thematic cards with information about the world around them, but also didactic material for teaching counting (cards with dots) and reading (cards with words).

Like any other method of early child development, Doman's teaching has not only strengths, but also weaknesses. It is advisable that parents study all the pros and cons, thinking about which one to give their preference.

Weaknesses of this early development method

General points

The child in this teaching system is a passive object; the methodology does not encourage him to develop a keen interest in the objects being studied. So, a strictly regulated time is allotted for viewing the cards, and explanations and answers to questions (if the child has any during the lesson) are not encouraged.

Thus, “rote memorization” is trained first. Doman sees the main task of saturating the brain of a small child with the maximum amount of information. Excessive visualization (using cards with signatures) does not stimulate the child’s development of so-called “textual” thinking - the need to receive and analyze information from the text, without supporting it visual material. However, in order to ensure the harmonious development of the baby, he needs to be provided with as much text information as possible. When working with a child, it is advisable for parents to use nursery rhymes, rhymes, jokes more often, and read fairy tales and poems to the child. But Glen Doman's method does not attach much importance to these points. Meanwhile, “textual” thinking skills will be in great demand at the stage of children’s further education at school.

Reading training

Built on mechanical memorization of the spelling of the word shown on the cards. Doman believes that if children are shown the spelling of certain words with regular frequency, then over time they will definitely grasp the connection between the spelling and reproduction of the word. But practicing teachers say the opposite: it is difficult for children to discover the connection between written words and spoken speech, and sooner or later their parents turn to - syllables and only then, reading words.

Math teaching

It can be a very labor-intensive project compared to classical methods. After all, Doman insists that the student does not imagine an image of a number when talking about a number, but a real quantity.

For example, we say 36 and imagine the number "36". Doman's method involves teaching children real quantities, rather than interpreting them as numbers. That is, in the process of teaching a child to count, he needs to constantly show cards with dots on them, indicating a particular number. Imagine for a second how many variants of such cards need to be created, and how labor-intensive this process is compared to classical methods.

But the basic principle, which is that the child first masters the category of quantity and then assigns a numerical representation to it, is beyond doubt. However, domestic teachers who hold similar views have much easier to implement ways of teaching children mathematics - through the study of,.

To summarize, we can say that Glen Doman’s methodology is aimed at harmonious development intellectual abilities in young children. However, this pedagogical concept somewhat ignores the development of other important areas in children - psycho-emotional, humanitarian, so it can hardly be called ideal and comprehensive.

Teacher, child development center specialist
Druzhinina Elena

Real stories of families developing their children using Glen Doman's methods:

Mothers who dream of raising a child prodigy will learn from advertising materials that Doman’s technique works real miracles. Manufacturers and sellers of teaching materials themselves are unlikely to delve into all the intricacies of the system; they need to sell their products. Take your time to lighten your wallet, familiarize yourself with the system first. Use your imagination and imagine what the life of the whole family will turn into under this regime. Think about what activities can be applied at home, what needs to be purchased and when, and what you can make yourself.

The emergence of the technique

American physiotherapist Glen Doman dealt with the rehabilitation of children with pathologies of the nervous system. Based on the collected materials, he developed a method for educating young patients. He applied his system at the Institute for Achieving Human Potential, which he founded. The recovery system gave good results, the patients' condition improved. The pioneering doctor's patients showed amazing success. Paralyzed children began to move, patients with intellectual disabilities gained reading and counting skills.

The scientist noticed that when rehabilitating children using his method, healthy areas of the brain also activate their work. This led him to the decision that some of the system’s recommendations could be adapted for raising a healthy baby. Doman's book " Harmonious development child" - about early learning to read, swim and other skills. The author claims that if you regularly work with your child on the following physical exercise and use brain simulators, he will begin to walk and read much earlier.

For more than 50 years, the early development system has been used throughout the world. Based on his observations, the scientist concluded that a baby is born programmed to learn. Until the age of 3 years, the brain is actively growing and forming, at which time it, like a sponge, absorbs new information, and preschool age this process is slowing down. The most productive time is from 0 to 4 years. The period is not too long, so classes should be started from the first days of life and carried out several times every day.

The fundamental idea of ​​the methodology: physical and mental development interconnected. Special complex Gymnastics stimulates thought processes, the child becomes both healthy and smart. Unfortunately, not only parents, but also some information resources ignore this fact. On the sites you can find separate information on intellectual development or physical exercise. But Glen Doman's method is one and cannot be divided into parts.

Physical development

Before deciding what the pros and cons of any technique are, you need to at least briefly read its description. The physical development of a child must begin from the first days of life, any reasonable person will agree with this. The whole question is how much time and how to do gymnastics. It’s good if there are groups for the physical development of newborns in your city. Before signing up for a class, be sure to check if the instructor is officially certified and approved to work with newborns.

All complexes consist of 3 groups of exercises:

• crawl;
• manual exercises;
• development of a sense of balance.

Glen Doman recommends that immediately after birth, forget about diapers that restrict movement, and place the baby in a special track, where the baby can push off the walls with his arms and legs - this will develop crawling skills. Any mother will be glad if her newborn at 2 months can crawl a few meters, but before such training you need to consult a specialist. The baby’s spine, bones and joints develop according to a schedule determined by nature, and inept gymnastics can disrupt the formation of the musculoskeletal system.

Modern mothers often completely refuse diapers, and then complain that the baby does not sleep well. Before going to bed, it is better to loosely wrap the arms and legs so that their involuntary movements do not frighten the newborn.

Manual exercises are based on an innate reflex. The baby firmly grabs the mother’s fingers, and the woman first slightly lifts him and then holds him in a semi-hanging position. To develop balance, the author of the technique recommends using turns in different planes and throwing up. Dynamic gymnastics, which is widespread in Russia, involves the same training.

If you fully follow the Doman system, all periods of wakefulness should be devoted to either physical education or intellectual pursuits. Approach the recommendations wisely, leave time to communicate with mom and play with rattles. The technique recommends completely abandoning toys. No pediatrician or child psychologist will not support this theory. The baby must experience the world through all his senses; he needs time to touch, shake, and lick as many different objects as possible. Allocate reasonable time in your daily routine for both exercise and entertainment.

Intellectual development

Doman argues that with proper physical development, the baby’s brain is ready to learn to read and count already at age infancy. You can purchase expensive teaching materials, or you can make cards yourself. Is your baby already 3 months old? This means, according to the author of the methodology, it’s time to start.

To work you will need cards on which simple letters are written in large red letters. short words: “mom”, “dad”, “house”, “ball”. Show and say the names of objects several times a day. Gradually the tasks become more difficult. The author of the method is convinced that you need to start reading not by letters, but by memorizing the entire word. The basics of mathematics should be learned not by abstract numbers, but by dots on a card.

To teach the baby, you need to sit him comfortably or lay him down if he is still too small. For 2-3 seconds, hold the card to his eyes and clearly name the word or number. The distance between the face and the text should not exceed 60 cm. For the first lessons, take 5 cards and show them one after another 3 times a day. Every 5 days one of the words is replaced by another.

To make it interesting for the baby, organize training in game form. Words may suddenly appear before his eyes and suddenly disappear. You can accompany the show with your comments or demonstration of relevant toys. There are no strict criteria in how to conduct Doman classes for children; every mother must understand for herself how to interest her child. Do not check how much the child has learned the lesson - you are just playing with him. If the baby himself wants to please you, he will say a word or point to an object.

Accumulation and processing of information

For most people, the left hemisphere of the brain is dominant. Thought processes take place there, logical chains are built. Programs educational institutions are also mainly aimed at studying the exact sciences, while art and creativity occupy a supporting position. The right half of the gray matter is gradually degrading on meager rations.

Information can also be stored in the creative hemisphere, but it must enter small quantities and have an emotional connotation and involve imagination. This part of the brain does not know how to analyze a combination of symbols; it perceives only the whole picture. Cards appearing and disappearing from nowhere surprise the baby; red letters evoke positive emotions. As a result, the memory “photographs” what it saw.

Doman believed that to support active work the right hemisphere is needed up to 3 years, later the logical part of the brain will take over. If before this the child regularly saw flashing cards for a long time, in the future the leading role will automatically move from the logical to the emotional half and back. One can only guess what consequences such interference in the natural formation of mental processes will lead to.

Parents may become discouraged when they see no progress after several months of classes. The author of the methodology warns that lessons should be conducted strictly according to the schedule at the same time. If you make the cards yourself, you need to make them the same size, identical in everything except the text. Never miss a single lesson. The information will be stored in memory, but the visible effect will not appear soon. Perhaps a year or more will pass, and suddenly the baby will seem to have an epiphany, he will begin to assimilate new material very fast.

Pros and cons of the technique

One of the arguments of opponents of the Doman technique is the fact that the baby simply mechanically remembers the information received, thinking and creative activity are not involved in the process. The scientist does not argue that the system is aimed at obtaining a large amount of knowledge, which will become the basis for research, reflection, and imagination. Many people don’t understand why a child should be able to read if the text doesn’t amuse him, doesn’t make him think, and simply sticks in his memory as useless thing. A healthy baby is filled with emotions and inventions; he either laughs, or is surprised, or says that he saw a spider the size of a table. When studying according to the Doman system, there will be no time or energy left for the development of emotions, imagination, and fantasy.

Psychologists and teachers believe that in classes the child should not be a passive spectator - he needs to work together with his mother. Showing cards is more like loading information into a computer than teaching a curious, live baby. He wants to take the card in his hands, touch it, chew it, try to tear it, but the cards only flash before his eyes. Not every child will like these lessons. You can teach a child to read in this way, just understand the text, enjoy interesting book or rhythmic verses he will not be able to.

We should not forget that the system was developed for English-speaking countries. Spelling in Russian changed along with pronunciation, so each letter corresponds to its own sound. We write the same way we speak, with the exception of unstressed vowels, unpronounceable consonants and some other rules. A preschooler can write “sontse” or “karova”, but in general the text will be correct. English spelling has not changed for many centuries, and now a large number of words are written completely differently from how they are pronounced, you just have to memorize them. Perhaps for English, as well as for Japanese or Chinese languages, teaching with whole words makes sense, but a Russian person is more comfortable with the traditional method.

Among the advantages of the Doman system, one can note a fact that often receives very little attention: the child must develop physically. If you want to use a full range of gymnastics, be sure to consult your doctor. You don’t know what loads a baby’s spine can withstand, what it can and cannot do. Early intellectual development It also wouldn’t hurt if the parents themselves approached the issue wisely. Do not show flashing words; it is better to put cards with drawn objects and captions, cubes with letters in the toys. When the baby’s brain is ready to perceive symbols, the child himself will become interested in incomprehensible icons, but for now let him examine, feel, throw, and chew educational toys.

Don't trust publicity stunts

Early childhood development specialists and sellers of teaching materials strive to attract as many followers as possible, so they strive to show only the positive characteristics of the methodology. They often post it themselves positive reviews on information resources. You don’t need to believe all the statements; sometimes it’s enough just to analyze the statement and it will become clear how true it is.

There are many myths surrounding the Doman technique. The most common of them:

• lessons do not require a lot of time and money;
• the system develops thinking abilities;
• high efficiency, unprecedented results.

Indeed, the show will take a few minutes. Now think about how much time it will take to prepare for classes. You need to select cards to study and periodically replace one word with another. In order not to confuse anything, you will have to keep a journal. It will be a shame for parents living in cramped material conditions to pay a lot of money for ordinary cardboard rectangles; mother would rather take paints and write the words herself. Add to this that intense brain activity should go in parallel with physical exercise, for which you should also carefully prepare. It is possible that after this time there will be no time left not only for household chores, but also for normal communication with the baby and other family members. You won't have time to watch it grow little man, rejoice with him, look at the world through his eyes.

One should take a critical look at the statement about the rapid intellectual development and high efficiency of the system. Perhaps the child will begin to read very early, but will he be able to perceive the information received? He remembered and began to recognize combinations of symbols. If this ability is recognized as thinking, then computers should also be declared intelligent beings. The effectiveness of the technique was tested by specialists from well-known scientific centers, but was not confirmed anywhere. On the contrary, American scientists have issued several warnings that Doman classes are useless and dangerous for the child’s psyche.

Russian pediatricians and neurologists are also sounding the alarm. They noticed that disorders in the nervous system often occur in children whose parents believed in miraculous methods. The child’s brain is not yet ready for such activity; first of all, the areas responsible for vital functions (nutrition, breathing) mature in it, then the motor centers become ready for work, and only then the areas of intellectual activity are formed. Simply put, a newborn should sleep and eat, an older child should run, jump and play, and only then sit down to study literacy. If this order is violated, the blood supply to parts of the brain will be distributed according to the wrong pattern, and vascular spasms will occur, leading to poor sleep, enuresis, and tics.

The symbol method can be used to enter information into electronic systems, and the child needs to live not in a world of symbols, but in a single information space. Having read the word “apple”, he must remember the huge red fruit on the branch, remember its taste and smell. With intense mental work, the baby has neither the strength nor the time for imagination or emotional communication with family members and peers. If isolation does not lead to mental disorders, then it will be very difficult for the child to enter the school community, find mutual language with classmates.

Mom wants to be proud of the child prodigy, but does the baby need such a destiny? The child is not a guinea pig and not your property, he is an independent person, and parents do not have the right to distort his life to please their vanity. Ask any parent if they want their 12-year-old daughter to get pregnant. No! Why, if she physically already had such an ability? Remember this example when you want to teach your baby to read or play Beethoven's sonatas.

IN modern world Many parents think that the sooner they start developmental activities with their child, the better. Thinking about how to do this better, they search for a suitable technique. One of the most famous is the Glen Doman method. Let's take a closer look at what the features of this technique are and how it works.

From the life of Glen Doman

In 1919, Glen Doman was born in one of the oldest cities in the USA - Philadelphia. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940, he began his labor activity physiotherapist in the hospital. This is where he begins his work on research into how children's brains develop. However, the outbreak of war interrupts it. In 1941, Doman volunteered to join the army, completing training at an infantry officer course. His service ends with the rank of infantry company commander with the Distinguished Service Cross.

Returning to medicine after the war, Glen Doman, together with his fellow workers, begins to assist in the recovery of children with various brain injuries and serious damage to the nervous system. In 1955, he founded the non-profit Institute for the Development of Human Potential. The theoretical and practical basis of the Institute was the Doman technique.

For more than 20 years, constantly being at work, conducting numerous studies, experiments, drawing conclusions, coming to any conclusions, Doman and his like-minded colleagues were looking for ways and opportunities to cure such children (with complete or partial paralysis , severe developmental delay, incapable of perceiving the world and communicating). They considered it important to treat the root cause - the brain, and not the consequences of lesions, i.e. body.

In 1960, Doman published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association about methodological work and the ongoing treatment of children with brain damage and the results of their rehabilitation. It was then that many people learned about him. His work brought about a “soft scientific revolution.”

From this period, together with his associates, Doman actively continued his work, developing and improving new programs and methods for improving the health of children. He received many awards for his success in his activities.

In the book “Harmonious Development of the Child” you can find more Full description his method.

When can I start classes?

As a result of his observations, Doman came to the conclusion that Children will not learn as much in their entire lives as they can learn in the first 6 years of life. Almost from birth, a child is ready to explore the world; he is interested in everything that is in his environment. At this age, you will not have to further motivate your child. Classes should be conducted in the form of an entertaining game.

In his opinion, You can start teaching children from 3 months, because it is at this age that the baby shows a reaction to objects. Educational process begins with showing cards for a short period of time (literally a few seconds per card). It is necessary that the cards present real objects: fruits and vegetables, animals, furniture, transport, geometric figures etc.

Training using the G. Doman method can begin at 3 months

Doman's technique

Long years Doman conducted various studies, focusing on working with children with developmental delays. However, looking at how their brothers and sisters, who were absolutely healthy, joined the classes with interest and achieved great success, he created a methodology that was developed taking into account both their interests and needs.

The main provisions on which the methodology is based:

• The human brain grows and develops only when it is constantly at work.
• To achieve great success in the development of a child’s intelligence, his brain must be actively working from birth to 3 years.
• Physical development plays an important role in the maturation of the brain and motor intelligence.
• Until a child reaches 5 years of age, his brain itself is tuned to acquiring new knowledge; there is no need to further motivate the child to do so.

Principles of training according to Doman

• It is necessary to start the learning process as early as possible, because the younger the child, the easier it will be for him to learn.
• Don't forget to praise your baby and sincerely rejoice at his success.
• A child is also a person to whom respect and trust must be shown.
• Learning should be fun.
• Training must take place in an appropriate environment.
• The lesson should end before the child gets tired or bored.
• New learning information needs to be provided very frequently.
• Regularity, consistency and organization of classes are very important.
• There is no need to check how the baby has learned the information.
• Careful preparation for classes is required, everything needs to be done in advance.
• Stop the activity immediately if your baby or you suddenly become bored.

The learning process should always be done through play, patiently and without coercion.

Physical development

It is physical development that Glen Doman devotes great attention in your system. He is sure that it is directly related to the development of the child’s intelligence. That is why you need to pay attention to good physical development from birth.

The child’s needs for swimming, walking, crawling, and grasping are given to him by nature. From the moment the baby is born, it is necessary to approve their development and provide the child with complete freedom of movement. By helping the baby to be active from birth, parents help him develop intellectually much faster than his peers.

For physical activity appropriate conditions must be created for the baby.

A special crawling track can help with this. It is necessary that the baby is located between its sides, practically touching them with forearms and hips. The track is located at a slight slope. It is best that its surfaces are smooth; no blankets or mattresses are required. Dressing a baby crawling there should be done to a minimum.

During the day, the baby should spend at least 3-4 hours in it. On such a track, the child will be able to crawl quite a long distance, and by 4 months, provided proper organization, will already begin to actively crawl. Thanks to this, the child’s active intellectual development, his brain and ability to perceive new things will occur.

The track provides stimulation innate reflexes, simulating the intrauterine space, when the baby remembers its first reflex, with the help of which it was born.

Teach your child to overcome obstacles using a variety of rollers and ladders. Twist and twist it as often as possible, this will help develop your sense of balance. Help and encourage the child in his attempts to walk, run, swim.

For newborns, Glen Doman created his own balance program - dynamic gymnastics, which you can successfully use at home.

The essence of the Doman technique

Together with active physical development at the same time you can begin intellectual activities. For this purpose, cards with large real pictures and a signature on them are used. With their help, the baby learns new information more easily and receives the necessary load for brain development.

You can buy ready-made sets of cards, find them on the Internet and print them on a color printer, or make them yourself. All cards must have White background, each has only one picture. The signature is written below in large red letters. Offer your child new information that interests him as often as possible. If you don’t do this, then the child will very quickly become uninterested in these activities.

At the beginning of classes you will need 5 cards of the same thematic line. Each card is shown to the baby for 5-10 seconds, the name under it is read loudly and clearly. After about three lessons, you can start replacing cards one at a time from the set. You can show your child one set only once per lesson. You need to exercise at least 3 times a day. In total, you will get at least 15 card impressions per day.

Whatever you teach your child, do not expect instant results. You will see the results when the child is ready to show them to you. Rest assured: the baby hears and remembers everything; when you work with him, you are not wasting your time.

How to teach reading using the Doman system

Looking at the words that are written, the child does not realize their meaning. If, along with showing the word, he voices it, then mechanical memorization will work, the baby’s brain will understand the information received, linking it together. It is in this way that the baby begins to understand the laws of reading, just as it happened with the development of oral speech.

Glen Doman is confident that you can start learning to read in this way as early as a six-month-old baby.

To work, you will need cards with sets of words. Their size should be 10*50 cm, the text should be bright red, the font should be 1.5 cm thick, and each letter should be 7.5 cm high. Do not introduce your child to complex words at the very beginning of learning. Try to choose words that the child knows well (mom, dad, grandfather, you can use the names of your preferred dishes, clothes, pets).

Try to adhere to the following training scheme:

• A set of words is a group of 5 words united by one topic.
• You need to exercise three times daily.
• The first day. Show your child one set of words. Speak your words in a clear, even voice. You should spend no more than 15 seconds on each word. It turns out 3 lessons with one set of words.
• Second day. To the already shown set of words, add one more. We will get 6 lessons a day (3 with a previously learned set of words, 3 with a new one) and two sets of words.
• Day three. Three sets of words and nine activities.
• Day four. Four sets of words and 12 activities.
• Day five. Five sets of words and 15 activities throughout the day.
• Day six. You add another set of words, but at the same time remove one word from each of the five previous sets.

Adhering to this scheme, you will constantly replace sets of words, adding new ones each time. First demonstrate words, then phrases, and then you can try demonstrating whole sentences.

How to teach counting

When adults hear the word “two,” they imagine a number, but children think in facts. They will imagine two dots, two candies, two apples, but they won’t even guess to correlate the word “two” with the image of the number. It was this trait specific to children that Doman relied on when creating the methodology. By allowing your child to interact with concrete facts rather than abstract concepts, you will give him a great chance to learn to count without counting, determine how many things are shown, and learn about basic mathematical operations.

To teach counting, you will need 100 cards measuring 27*27 cm. Red dots from 1 to 100 are depicted scattered on the cards. Their diameter should not exceed 2 cm. In the classroom, the child will initially master the concept of “quantity”, then the concept of “equation”. After this, you can begin learning to solve problems. Only then, according to Doman, can the child be introduced to the graphic representation of numbers, the concept of “digit”. Lastly, start solving numerical equations.

The principle of teaching mathematics is similar to teaching reading. Only at the beginning of classes you need to pay enough attention to a set of cards from 1 to 5, and from 5 to 10.

You should also introduce basic actions using dots. For example, when learning to subtract 2 from 3, when saying the action (three minus two equals one), show the corresponding cards with three dots, a minus sign, two dots, an equal sign, and one dot.

Even in half a minute you can teach a lot

Glen Doman compares the human brain to a perfect computer that draws conclusions based on facts. He believes that it is absolutely useless to explain something to a child for a long time and then expect smart thoughts from him and right decisions about the actions taken. The child must be provided with accurate, accessible, clear information. To illustrate this, he gives the following example.

Looking at the dog, the child asks you about it. What can you do:

• brush him off with the words: “Leave me alone, I have no time”;
• tell the baby: “This is a woof-woof”;
• answer briefly: “This is a dog”;
• say: “This is a St. Bernard dog”;
• show pictures of dogs;
• show pictures with different breeds of dogs and say: “Look, there are animals called dogs everywhere, but they can be different. There is a poodle, a German shepherd, a Doberman, a chow-chow, a dachshund,” etc.

From the last answer, the baby will be able to make a small discovery for himself, realizing that all dogs have common features - the number of paws, the presence of a tail, hair, but at the same time they can differ in color, size, length of hair, tail, shape of ears and etc. Thus, in just half a minute the child will be able to accomplish enormous intellectual work and speed up brain activity.

Try to give your child more detailed answers that are easy to understand and based on facts.

Gaining encyclopedic knowledge

If you follow Doman, then you need to understand that the purpose of human life is to obtain comprehensive knowledge about the world around us. Explanations and clarifications will not bring any benefit to children; their brains are only able to perceive facts.

In order for learning with cards to give a child truly encyclopedic knowledge, it is necessary that:

• all the details on the cards were clearly visible;
• each card showed only one item;
• all depicted objects had a name;
• the child was previously unfamiliar with this item;
• the cards were quite large (28*28 cm);
• the cards were clean.

You need to practice with cards for an average of 30 seconds.

Negative points

It would seem that everything in Doman’s method is presented clearly, accessible, clearly and logically. However, as with any other technique, it has its negative aspects.

• It is not enough for a child to just know the facts; he must be able to apply them in life and use them. Otherwise, all the information he receives will be just junk in his head.
• A large load on the baby's brain can lead to negative consequences in the form of mental disorders, mood swings, lack of appetite, communication problems, increased anxiety, vulnerability, sensitivity.
• It is necessary that training is appropriate to the child's age. If a baby sees a dog, he will associate its image with the word “dog,” and according to Doman, he will associate this word with the card. For example, having seen a giraffe or an elephant in reality, a baby may simply not recognize them.
• Passivity of the child, lack of creative and constructive moments in learning. The child does not learn to find information on his own, and curiosity is dulled.
• The baby has practically no time to communicate with friends or play. No attention is paid to the aesthetic, emotional, moral development. Parents spend a lot of time preparing for classes: making cards, sorting them, selecting the right ones, etc.
• Not all senses are involved. There is no tactile development, the sense of smell and taste buds are not used.
• Rote memorization of words in learning to read. If a child encounters unfamiliar words in the text, he will not be able to read it and understand the meaning of what he read.
• According to the methodology, it is necessary to accompany the readable text by showing pictures. In the future, it will be difficult for a child to learn to read texts without illustrations; he will have difficulty understanding what he reads. All this can lead to a child’s lack of desire to do things that are not interesting to him or that he is not good at.
• Lack of active gaming activity, in which it is easiest for a child to learn new information.

Conclusion

Glen Doman's method can greatly help parents in the development of their children and even raise geniuses and child prodigies. However it is necessary to take into account the age capabilities of your baby, approach classes competently, monitor the child’s health, and take into account his individual capabilities. You cannot force a child to study. It is best to carry out comprehensive classes in a playful way and do not forget to praise and encourage for every achievement, no matter how small.

Watch the following video, which reveals the features of Glen Doman's technique.