Giving Children Tasks Above Their Age Hinders Brain Development – Physicians
Child development experts have warned that assigning academic tasks that are too difficult for children could be detrimental to their brain development and impair their cognitive abilities.
The physicians cautioned that when children face tasks that exceed their capabilities, it leads to feelings of frustration and anxiety.
According to them, this emotional stress could hinder their ability to focus in class and engage in learning.
The experts pointed out that when children continually encounter challenging tasks, it could create a negative perception of schooling and education generally.
They emphasised that giving children difficult academic exercise was associated with failure, which they added could lead to disengagement and a lack of motivation.
The health professionals maintained that advanced tasks could overwhelm children, preventing the mastery of foundational skills necessary for future learning and stifling their minds of creativity and critical thinking.
According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, age-appropriate chores and responsibilities are an important part of a child’s development. Overworking children from an early age is a pervasive problem in American education today.
It noted that children as young as five are pushed to learn more and demonstrate their abilities through batteries of standardised exams, warning that instead of developing a child’s mind appropriate to their age and ability through individualised courses of study, the system relied on ‘one-size-fits-all’, accelerated curriculums.
Pushing every child through the same educational programme breeds a compliance mindset, not resilience, and the results often include self-directed and hidden anger, stress, and anxiety with long-term consequences for children’s future success and emotional well-being, it added.
The experts said providing age-appropriate tasks fosters a positive learning environment, encouraging growth, resilience, and a love for learning while supporting healthy brain development.
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A Neurologist and Chairman International Institutes of Advanced Research and Training Centre at Chidicon Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, Prof. Philip Njemanze emphasised the importance of aligning educational tasks with developmental stages.
Njemanze said if children were focused on tasks that were too complex, they might not have the opportunity to explore subjects at their own pace.
He affirmed that children learn better and appreciate education when they are presented with challenges that match their developmental stage.
He said that children learn best when they are presented with challenges that match their developmental stage, saying that such hard and difficult tasks could be detrimental to normal children.
Njemanze, a former Principal Investigator of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration for the study of the ‘Brain in Space, said, “The crucial point is that there are developmental stages in life. Each matched the level of task difficulty appropriate for a certain age.
“Age-matched mental development should guide curriculum design. When tasks do not align with a child’s developmental stage, it can create challenges in meeting expectations.
“This mismatch is often misinterpreted as non-performance. Curricula are empirically developed to approximate the mental task levels suitable for a child’s age.”
The neuroscientist argued that although exceptional children might thrive with more advanced tasks, it was better to adhere to age-appropriate challenges.
“This approach ensures that normal children are not overwhelmed, promoting a healthier learning environment,” he said.
Njemanze explained that while difficult tasks might challenge exceptional children, they could, however, be detrimental to typical learners.
“This is adapted to the average child with a normal intelligence quotient, but going beyond these levels may be good for kids with exceptional natural high intelligence.
“However, it is better to follow the age-matched mental tasks from the majority of the pupils. It is okay for exceptional kids but bad for normal kids,” he recommended.
Also, a consultant paediatrician at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Dr Adefunke Babatola, said assigning academic tasks that were too difficult for children could be detrimental to their brain development.
SOURCE: HealthWise
