Slowness is not a disadvantage, but a feature of some children, which, as a rule, causes them and their parents a lot of trouble. In group classes, children do not keep up with their peers, they find it difficult to play sports, and at home, slow children can spend hours getting ready for a walk or fulfilling a simple request. Parents and other adults often don’t know how to properly respond to a child’s slowness, so they rush him, thereby only making things worse. In this article we will tell you about the causes of slowness in children and how this feature can be corrected.
Why is the child slow?
Most of the possible causes of slowness can be classified as physiological, while some are associated with the characteristics of upbringing and the psychology of the baby. Let's take a closer look at each of these reasons.
- Low mobility of nervous processes. Mobility is a property of the nervous system that determines the speed and optimal pace of performing any activity. Closely related to this is the concept of temperament, that is, an innate personality quality that affects a person’s emotionality, impulsiveness, energy, and endurance. Temperament is most clearly noticeable after 3 years. Representatives of “slow” temperament types include phlegmatic and melancholic people.
Temperament is not “bad” or “good”, but it does have strengths and weaknesses. We cannot influence what is inherent in nature, but we can help a child accept his individuality, learn to control his temperament and develop positive qualities.
- Phlegmatic children have a strong and balanced nervous system. Such kids are often called “comfortable children”, because they are obedient and calm, reasonable and unhurried, and can study and play independently for a long time. They eat well and sleep a lot, love to draw and sculpt, read books, and play quiet games. Phlegmatic people are painstaking workers. They do not always achieve success quickly, but they work with diligence. Such children especially need acceptance and support from their parents. Children with this type of temperament are characterized by particular slowness and lethargy. A peculiarity of phlegmatic people is that it can be difficult for them to adapt to new conditions and join the team.
- Melancholic children, like phlegmatic children, get tired quickly, are easily distracted, and learn new things slowly and with difficulty. Children with this type of temperament are very sensitive and vulnerable. Despite the fact that the child does not express his feelings and emotions clearly, deep down in his soul he experiences deep and strong experiences. More than anything else, a melancholic child loves consistency. He treats changes with distrust and takes a long time to get used to them. Melancholic people prefer solitude and quiet activities to cheerful outdoor games. They are closed and indecisive.
The degree of mobility of nervous processes is transmitted at the genetic level. But this does not mean that at 7 years old a child will be as slow as at 3 years old, because as the child grows up, he learns to compensate for those features that somehow hinder him.
- Lack of attention, namely difficulty switching attention from one activity to another. It is not easy for children with such characteristics to keep up with a rapidly changing situation; it is not easy for them to carry out assignments consisting of several points, and, moreover, it is almost impossible to do several things at the same time.
- Left-handedness. Some studies show that left-handed children are slower to learn skills than their right-handed peers. However, no serious statistical data has been provided in this regard.
- Weakened immunity and physical illness can also affect the pace of a child’s activities.
- If your baby's slowness is associated only with a certain type of activity, perhaps he simply does not want to do it.
- The desire to attract attention. A child who does not receive enough care and affection will most likely try to attract attention in various ways. Slowness can evoke much more emotion in adults than “being good.”
- Some parents encourage their little ones to do extremely calm and quiet activities, as they cannot stand noise and running around. But in this case, a naturally mobile and active child runs the risk of becoming slow.
Principles
The cognitive system includes conscious and unconscious thinking. Researchers have identified 6 principles for separating one from the other.
- The concept of unconscious thought is based on conscious and unconscious types of thinking. Conscious thinking refers to cognitive action aimed at a task or object that is the focus of attention. In an unconscious thought process, events are outside the focus of the thinking individual.
- The law of capacity implies storing no more than 7-9 elements of information in working memory. This rule does not apply to unconscious thinking.
- The “top-down” and “bottom-up” aspects indicate the issuance of a ready-made solution by the subconscious sphere after absorbing the facts in their entirety, while the conscious mind processes the data systematically through various schemes and definitions.
- The principle of weightiness comes down to the fact that the best decisions are made by people in moments of some distraction from the important and complex tasks at hand. Therefore, unconscious thinking is often more effective than conscious reasoning.
- The principle of the rule states that answers found at the unconscious level do not always correspond to the laws of logic, since they are based on associations. Conscious decisions are always based on formal rules.
- The principle of rapprochement (convergence) involves penetrating into the essence of the problem and forgetting about it. Then unconscious thinking takes over and the deadlock is easily resolved. Some cooperation is formed between conscious and unconscious thinking.
How to behave if your baby is slow?
Psychologists identify several important rules for communicating with slow children, adhering to which you can help the child feel comfortable and successful.
- Don't rush the baby. This is perhaps the most important principle that must be followed. At the word “faster!” the kids begin to get nervous and fuss, but this not only does not increase their pace, but often decreases. Irritation and dissatisfaction with a child’s slowness can cause neurosis.
- Praise your baby even for small achievements.
- Don't compare your child to his faster peers. This greatly affects his self-esteem.
- Avoid shortcuts. A preschooler learns most of the information about himself from the lips of close and significant adults. If others constantly call the baby a lazy person or a hoarder, he will not have the thought of changing anything.
- Clearly organize your baby's daily routine. This will help make everyday tasks easier, since the baby will know what exactly awaits him in the near future. Use various visual aids (schematic calendars, posters with to-do lists, etc.), they will serve as a kind of time reference for the child.
- Give your little one clear tasks and requests. Preschoolers usually perceive only one instruction at a time, so you need to try to express your requirements as clearly and specifically as possible.
- Do not do for your child what he can handle on his own.
Give your child the opportunity to “work” at a pace that is optimal for him, and then the quality of such work will be high.
Peculiarities
Cognitive science (from the Latin cognitionis - knowledge) combines cognitive psychology, linguistics, neurophysiology, as well as the theory of cognition and artificial intelligence. The development of this science continues in several directions. They take as a basis the concept of biological evolution of Jean Piaget, the theory of rational thinking with the inclusion of the process of transforming external actions into internal mental functions of Lev Vygotsky and the information approach to the system. The mechanism of the brain structure is studied using a tomograph and other modern scanning methods.
Cognitive thinking is inextricably linked with the cognitive process. It is responsible for forming concepts, making decisions and developing reactions.
In psychology, there are 3 types of such thinking.
- The visual-effective type is aimed at solving certain problems related to constructiveness, production and organization of activities. It is characteristic of children under 3 years of age, whose cognitive process is inextricably linked with the use of their hands.
- The visual-figurative view transforms generalized thoughts into specific images. It develops in children from 4-7 years of age. At this time, the connection between consciousness and practical movements is not as strong as before.
- Abstract thinking is associated with abstract reasoning. It is observed in schoolchildren and adults, who can operate with generalized concepts, devoid of direct clarity and images.
The nature of cognitive styles of thinking has not yet been fully studied. Let's look at some of them.
Representatives of the simple style of cognitive thinking interpret ongoing processes in a simplified form. Those with a complex style tend to be multidimensional when perceiving existing concepts and identifying many interrelated aspects in them.
Those with concrete mental activity do not tolerate uncertainty and depend on status and authority. They have black and white thinking and stereotypical decisions. People with abstract cognitive thinking are prone to risk, independence, and flexibility
They are characterized by an extensive combination of concepts.
People with an analytical style pay attention to the differences in objects, focus on their distinctive features, the smallest elements. The synthetic style is characteristic of individuals who tend to focus on the similarity of information and find common features in them.
Those with an impulsive style tend to make instant decisions when given a choice.
Haste often leads to mistakes. Those with a reflective style act at a slower pace when making decisions, so the occurrence of errors is minimized.
Some people have a broad attention span, focusing on many details at once. Such individuals are able to scan the displayed situation. Other individuals can only superficially, fragmentarily characterize the facts and phenomena that catch their eye. They have the ability to have narrow control, which is called the focusing style.
Tolerant subjects are able to accept ambiguous events that do not correspond to a person’s ideas. They can analyze them based on their characteristics. Intolerant people are not ready to receive educational experiences that contain information that contradicts their knowledge.
Games for slow children
Preschool and primary school age are considered the most suitable time for correcting slowness. This trait can be quite successfully corrected with the help of special games and exercises. Their point is not to force the child to complete the task quickly, as this can only aggravate the situation. The main characteristic of games for slow children is sharp transitions between fast and slow pace of work. Here are a few such games and exercises.
- "Applause". Imagine that you and your baby went to watch a play (for ambiance, you can sit in front of the TV and turn on some program). Agree that you will express your emotions from what you see through applause. If you and your child like what is happening on stage, clap intensely; if not, clap slowly.
- "Kitty." The essence of this game is that, on command, the baby must, like a cat, clench and unclench his fingers at a certain pace. If an adult says the word “sun,” the baby should turn into a cat, basking in the sun and slowly releasing its claws. If you say the word “mouse,” then the child should quickly clench and unclench his fingers, as if the cat wants to catch prey.
- “I run, I hurry, I walk.” This exercise is best done outdoors. As in previous games, the child must change the speed of his movements at the adult’s signal. So, for example, if you raise your arms up, the baby should try to run as quickly as possible, if you lower your arms down, walk at a fast pace, fold your arms on your chest, walk slowly, as if walking. It’s up to you to decide which gestures and signals to use, the main thing is that they are clear enough to the baby.
To achieve results, games need to be played regularly (if possible, every day for 10-15 minutes). At the same time, the baby should be in a good mood and play for fun. Also make sure that your child does not become overtired.
- "Mirror". In this game, the baby must repeat all your movements after you. An adult can come up with a wide variety of actions and change the speed of his movements. A little humor and antics wouldn't hurt either.
- "Prohibited movement." In essence, this game is similar to the previous exercise, but the child needs to be more attentive, because in addition to copying movements, he needs to stop in time when he sees a “stop movement” (it can be absolutely anything, the main thing is to agree on it in advance). Instead of copying the prohibited movement, the child should clap his hands and continue the game further.
- "It's the other way around." At the first stage of the exercise, the baby must follow the adult’s direct commands: “faster”, “slower”, “louder”, “quieter”. When the child copes well with this task, you can move on to the second stage, where the baby will need to do everything in reverse. For example, on the command “louder” - speak in a whisper, on the command “slower” - run fast, and so on.
- "Wrappers." For this ancient, but very fun game, you will need a long (at least 5 meters) rope with a knot tied in the middle. Players need to stand at different ends of the rope and, on command, begin to wrap it around themselves. The one with the fastest knot wins.
- "Woodpecker". Using a horizontal and vertical line, divide a sheet of paper into four equal parts. In a minute, the child should, tapping with a pencil or felt-tip pen, try to leave as many dots as possible in the first rectangle. Then you can move on to the next rectangles. In this game, the child competes with himself, comparing the number of dots in different parts of the sheet.
The need to do everything slowly to avoid mistakes
Sometimes people notice that they begin to perform their activities much more slowly than before.
This may be due to several causes of brain dysfunction. However, one should not rush to conclusions. In the vast majority of cases, the problem is solved much easier than it seems.
Most often, active neurometabolic therapy for a month is enough to completely restore the functions of higher nervous activity and completely get rid of slowness.
Possible symptoms of slowness
- Obsessions
- Repetitive thoughts
- Negligence
- Memory problems
- The need to check or double check
- The need or need to do everything slowly to avoid mistakes
- It's easy to get lost in thought
- Difficulty making decisions
- Feeling that something is stopping you from doing something
- Difficulty concentrating
- Need for repetition of actions
