Mothers have the potential to play the most important role of educator in a child’s early life and as children get older they are still at the heart of their children’s education. This principle applies to Fathers, and other constant role models in the child’s home environment, yet most frequently it is the Mother who plays the main role. The home is the nest where the child rests, eats, sleeps, plays and is constantly learning.
Children learn in a variety of ways during their waking hours at home, in school and at play. Leaning styles have been categorized by psychologists and you can be sure that the children in your life, at home or at school, each have their own learning style or a combination of a few of these. However even before considering learning styles, we should firstly be mindful of the mode that a child’s brain is in.
The Brain is Hardwired to Survive and to Seek Love- Learning Mode v Protective Mode
The brain’s most fundamental tasks in life are survival and to seek love, as each human is on a mission to be loved. This instinct starts off at birth and continues throughout various developmental milestones. Babies are born with an intense curiosity; a yearning to learn everything possible about themselves and the world around them.
This is their natural state, and a healthy brain of a younger or an older person should be operating in this way. This is called learning mode. A healthy human brain operates the majority of the time in learning mode, and occasionally, when there is a real perceived threat it will go into protective mode. Whilst in protective mode the brain is considering fight or flight, and therefore learning is not possible.
So on the most basic of levels, but at the same time at the level which drives all human beings, the ability to remain in learning mode comes from a feeling of safety, acceptance and most importantly love.
Childrens’ first task in life is to seek the love of their caregivers, and especially the main caregiver at home, who is mostly the Mother. When Mothers love their children they are automatically playing the role of being at the heart of their children’s education. The children can live in the healthy brain mode – the learning mode. This same principle applies in any environment that children spend time in, so whether your child is learning from you some of the time, or she goes to school, or you are homeschooling her, ensuring that she can be in learning mode is vital.
Mothers will most often be the first to notice if there is a change in their child’s humor after a day at school. If a child becomes more withdrawn, this can be because there is something happening at school that has made them go into protective mode. Mothers are at the heart of sensing both the good and the challenging aspects of their children’s education.
Mothers Naturally Attune to Their Children and Can Recognize Their Learning Styles
From the moment a baby is born, her Mother is starting to attune to her. Attunement describes how 
parents react to the emotions and moods of their babies. From a baby’s perspective if her Mother is well-attuned, the feedback on the levels of love and survival are positive. From a Mother’s point of view, she wants to learn how to best nurture and love her baby. During this incredibly intimate process, knowledge is picked up both consciously and subconsciously. This puts a child’s Mother potentially in the best position to sense and know how her child learns, most effectively, and enjoyably.
Learning Styles
Even if a Mother is not consciously aware of the main learning styles, if a school teacher asks the right questions, no doubt she will be able to tell the teacher easily, what style or combination of styles.
1. Logical Learners
You can spot these learners as they are great at doing mental arithmetic. These children enjoy routine, strategy games, puzzles, knowing how things work and experiments that have a purpose. They stand out with their ability, at an early age, of thinking in highly abstract forms of logical thinking.
2. Visual Learners
These children are often the daydreamers of the classroom. They enjoy and need to visualize things, and learn from images- they can visually remember pictures. They love art and drawing, enjoy Lego and jigsaw puzzles. They can read diagrams and maps well, and have an interest in inventions and machines.
3. Auditory Learners
These children are quite possibly musically talented, they enjoy word games and find it easy to spell accurately. They learn phonetically by picking out the different sounds. They enjoy using recording devices and have a great memory for dates and names.
4. Kin-aesthetic Learners
These children can often be spotted by their uncanny ability to mimic others around them. They want to show you rather than tell you, and will feel and touch the world. You’ll notice that they express themselves through gestures and body language, and they can’t sit still for too long. Knowledge is processed through physical sensations.
Do these descriptions ring a bell with you? Many children can be a combination of some of these learning types. Mothers innately know what they need to give their children to help them learn in the way that is best for them. They can help teachers understand their children better.
Mothers Teach and Demonstrate Valuable Life Tools
Education includes learning how to react in life, how to evaluate situations, how to treat other people and how to love oneself and others. Not only are Mothers the heart of their children’s scholarly education, but they are often the main teacher when it comes to the tools their children will carry through life with them.
These are valuable life tools of self-esteem, humility, compassion, love, enthusiasm, charity, kindness and so many more. In this sense Mothers are the roots that help younger children connect with the earth and society that we live in; the roots from which these young saplings will thrive and grow into fine noble trees.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, she is the creator of Travel Inspires: the authentic travel magazine by the people, for the people. She mentors aspiring writers around the world, who have the opportunity to showcase their work on Travel Inspires.
READ MORE – Your Personal Learning Style Determines How You Learn Best
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