ABSTRACT
Let us begin by considering two situations with which we are all probably familiar. Picture, if you will, a sandy beach. The sun is shining, there are gentle waves, little rock pools and a big cave. You have with you children aged six and three, a picnic, towels and buckets and spades. Having chosen your spot you settle down with a rug and a good book, occasionally advising about the construction of the moat for the sand castle or checking out the dragons in the cave. The children come back occasionally to eat or drink and there are the necessary breaks for toilets and ice creams. By 4pm everyone has had a perfect day; you included. No one has cried, there were no squabbles and the children are happily tired enough to ensure a good night’s sleep. For days and weeks to come they remember the ‘best holiday ever’ as they reminisce about the castles they constructed and the dragons they frightened. Now, transfer these same two children to a local supermarket. Imagine the scene here. In my experience the situation starts badly as I issue the firm instruction ‘not to touch anything’ as we enter the store, and rapidly goes downhill as one child finds the strawberry yoghurts but the other wants the blueberry ones. I want the mixed pack because they are on offer and a three-way dispute is quickly under way. The smaller child is transferred to the child seat in the trolley, kicking and wailing loudly, and mothers look at me with either sympathy or distaste as this noisy gang proceeds with the shopping. Matters are not helped by the sweets displayed at the checkout at child level, which this cross granny does not consider either of them has deserved. Why are these two scenarios so very different? The answer lies in the ways that children are hard-wired to learn about their world and to make sense of it. This process is called child development. Children are born with a set of strategies and they apply these strategies wherever they find themselves. One of the ways children learn is by using their senses, so, they need to touch things that interest them to find out about them. That is fine when they are digging in the sand on the beach and collecting shells but not nearly as acceptable when investigating packets of crisps in a supermarket. Children are also hardwired to learn actively, that is, by exploring what is around them. Again, great when looking for dragons in caves but not such a helpful strategy around the aisles in a shop.
