Anna Vladimirovna, how, from the neuropsychologist's point of view, do you feel about the early development of children when they start learning to read, write, count from 2.5-3 years old?.

Strongly negative. For example, we can give an analogy: is it good or not when people get into sexual contact in 10 years? After all, it is clear that neither physiologically nor psychologically the child is ready for such an "excess" and nothing will happen next to trauma. And this is unambiguously clear to everyone and no evidence is required.

There are neurophysiological laws of brain development. Its energy potential is limited at every moment of time, so if we spend energy on the untimely development of some kind of mental function, then there is a deficit where this energy should have been actually directed. Once the external environment requires a specific task, the brain will perform it, but at the expense of some other structures of the psyche.

Two or three years is a period of very rapid development of the sensorimotor and emotional sphere of the child. And if you begin to teach him to write, read, count - load his cognitive processes - then you select energy, in particular, emotions. And the small child "fly" all the emotional processes and, most likely, some programs of somatic (bodily) development. It is likely the manifestation of some dysfunction, something can get sick, and the child will even begin to be treated.

The consequences of this selection of energy, by the way, can not affect immediately, and then at 7 years begin to wonder where "suddenly" is taken enuresis, whence "suddenly" fears are taken. Why "suddenly" there are emotional failures in the puberty, no one understands why the child became aggressive or hyperactive.

Do you still need to prepare a child for school? If so, when should this be started?.

Here the question is: what does it mean to prepare a child for school?.

Accustoming the child to the elementary routine of the day is preparation for school? Then, of course, you can start with 2-3 years. The child is accustomed to the fact that he has breakfast then, then lunch. He plays football in these panties, and goes to the theater in this costume.

To prepare for school in the sense of learning to read and count, of course, it is necessary, but later. From the beginning of the century it started at four, better at five.

For some reason, everyone believes that cognitive processes develop only when the child has sat down at the table and began to write letters. But the development of cognitive processes occurs when mother and child go to the forest, and she asks: "Look, here is the chamomile. What kind is she? What are her petals? "And together with the child it says. And then he says: "But the violet. What kind is she? "And then he asks:" What do you think, what is similar to them and what is different? After all, these are both flowers ". This is the development of cognitive processes.

As a rigid neuropsychologist I assure you that this is the best "preparation for school" in 3-4 years. The same can be done when the child is sitting at the table, and my mother asks him: "Do you think we are having lunch now or have lunch? And what's on the table such that was not at breakfast? "And it's even better if she asks him before she sets the table. She may ask: "What will we put on the table when we have lunch? Will we put cups or glasses? "This is also the development of cognitive processes.

And when the grandmother reads to the child aloud, is not this the development of his cognitive abilities?.

And what do we see in our practice? As a rule, the child is simply being dragged. At the same time, it remains absolutely disadaptive in terms of normal, domestic knowledge. Again, there is a law: any development comes from a visual-figurative to an abstract-logical. If we are three years old teaching the child to write letters and numbers, then we turn this law backwards. And the laws of psychology and evolution must also be carried out unswervingly, they are just as universal as the laws of Newton. And they can only be violated at their own peril.

I'm not here talking about children who themselves are fine at four years of learning to read. But to make this a universal development program, in my opinion, is incorrect.

Now there are a lot of groups of early creative development and parents prefer to give children there before the school. What do you say about this?.

Let it be a creative development such as "drama circle, a photo gallery". If the parents from three years will give the child to the pottery workshop, or "in painting", or let him embroider with a cross, he molds - for God's sake. But let these letters and numbers be left alone.

No person can answer me the question: "Why should the child at the end of the second quarter read at a rate of 152 characters per minute, not 148? "And why should he do it by November 15, not March 15? What is the need to read at a rate of 152 characters per minute? After all, it does not give anything for the development of the child's intelligence, does not add to it knowledge. This can not be treated otherwise than to stupidity. There are individual psychophysiological features. Therefore one child will cope with it, and another child, probably, never will learn it.

Unfortunately, now in some classes of children are selected, including the speed of reading ... These people do not know that information is assimilated in different ways. It is possible that in some children the assimilation of information is in no way connected with the speed of reading, and is associated with absolutely other factors that they can be developed very well. But the speed of reading, like any other high-speed processes, they have developed worse. There are different types of people, and this directly relates to high-speed processes.

Moreover, a person can read at colossal speed, but at the same time be a moron. By the way, hydrocephalus in general can have a magnificent memory, and we know a lot of hydrocephalians who excel in their political and professional careers simply because they speak with wild speed and quote. Only this has absolutely nothing to do with the intellect.

What should parents, psychologists and teachers pay attention to when they are ready to start school? Give the child at six years old or wait?.

I would give in seven years, if nature wanted so much. Because neurophysiologically at the age of seven, voluntary attention is formed and many other brain mechanisms that allow the child to be successful in learning. In other words, the brain is ready for the child to just sit out these 45 minutes.

As a person familiar with the laws of evolution, it is obvious to me that advancing is as harmful as delay. "Everything has its time," said "Comrade" Ecclesiastes. And he tried not to say anything stupid.. So those who talk about the lead, let it be re-read, then everything will be fine. Nature did not invent anything new for two thousand years.

What signs should alarm parents before giving the child to school?.

I would like my parents not to hide their heads in the sand and sometimes treat their child like a stranger, that is, look at him from the side. And if the parent leaves the role even for a moment and imagines that his child is not the most brilliant, he can see some things about which he would have said to another child: "My God, what a horror! "I do not frighten my parents, but on the contrary, I want to put them in the position of a normal adult watching his child. Do not close your eyes, and then remember: "All bad, bad teachers! "I call impartially to assess:" Here is your child, see why he does not contact other guys, why is he aggressive? "You need to be able to treat your child detached, do not explain its features only by singularity, and consult with professionals.

Before entering the school, parents begin to think about where to place the child in a gymnasium or in a simple class. The program "one-three", "one-four" ... Parents are very different. And I of those parents who come about some of their doubts about the child, always ask: "Do you need that your child was healthy or that he graduated from school after 10 years?" "Smart parents say that I would like a child to have a healthy. I say, so you give in 1-4, if now there are some problems, let him have an extra year for "swing". He then will overtake many peers. Why should he be put in a situation of hopelessness. And so he has the opportunity to just "get on his feet", to automate some training operations and t.

The point of view of the neuropsychologist we learned. And do you have a personal, everyday opinion on early development?.

I myself at three years calmly learned to read, while simultaneously doing English and music. But I had grandmothers, aunts who, from the age of three, clearly formulated one thesis that I remembered simultaneously with the alphabet: "Your freedom ends where the freedom of another person begins".

Twenty years ago, when there was still an institute of grandmothers, the institute of normal education, there was a smoothing of many acute angles. Now this is not and there is nothing adequate in place. Therefore, in conjunction with the orientation toward early intellectual development, it is already possible today to cause emotional emasculation of the children's population. This is what scares me most.

Note that you are dealing with a person who, from childhood, was explained that he is a child prodigy from geeks, only a lazy person. So please take into account that this is not a verbose saying that the leader always says and in everything. And this leader says:

"Stay away from children! "Anna Vladimirovna Semenovich - neuropsychologist, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Department of Psychological Counseling at the Moscow State Pedagogical University. Author of more than 200 books, including textbooks "Introduction to neuropsychology of childhood", "Neuropsychological correction in childhood" and practical manuals addressed to practical psychologists, teachers and parents.