Seven by Seven

Seven by Seven

Seven Virtues to Teach your children by age Seven

Prime Time: The First Seven Years

The mind of a child is fertile ground for good or for evil. It was Francis Bacon who once said, “The fattest ground brings forth nothing but weeds, if it is not properly tilled.” As an avid gardener, I have learned by experience that a plowed garden will produce nothing but weeds if it is not cultivated with the desired plants. It is the sacred responsibility of parents to cultivate the fertile mind of their child with the things of God and the values of His kingdom.

At birth, a child’s brain contains over one hundred billion cells. After birth, the synapses and neurons in the brain begin a period of rapid activity so that before long, a child is able to crawl, laugh, walk, speak, remember, recognize, and so much more. This is nothing short of a miracle. The five senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch constitute the brain’s sensory “computer” that will enable the child to experience the world in a personal way.

Jesus believed in, and practiced early childhood education. It was His custom and practice to invite young children to spend time with Him; He knew what He taught them would leave an indelible impression on their developing minds. Developmental psychologists, anthropologists, and educators have done a great deal of research on how the human mind and body function. They have documented the stages along the continuum of child development and have identified the optimum periods for learning and growth. They all agree that early child hood development is the basis of optimal human development.

Inherited or Acquired?

Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget is best known for his theory of child cognitive development. He believed that children developed knowledge in an organized way, each of which builds upon the earlier stages. The first four of the six stages and their predominant development skills are: (1) Sensory-motor Stage, from birth to approximately two years, characterized by the development of reflexes, coordination and trial and error experimentation; (2) Preoperational Stage, between two and six years, characterized by language development and the use of symbolism; (3) Concrete Operational Stage, from age seven to around 11, characterized by logical thinking; (4) Formal Operational Stage, from 12 to adulthood, characterized by the ability to think about abstract concepts. 5

Although Piaget’s theory is helpful in understanding how children learn, it is generally believed by modern developmental theorists that the stages of development in children are not as rigidly calibrated as Piaget first theorized. There is general agreement, however, that early childhood is the period between zero to eight years of age. This is the period of greatest growth and development, when the brain develops most rapidly, almost to its fullest. It’s a period when walking, talking, self-esteem, visions of the world, and moral foundations are established.

Child development specialists generally agree that when a child is at the age of reasoning, from age two to seven, the brain acts like a sponge. He or she absorbs everything around them, consciously or subconsciously. Many child psychologists believe that it is during this time that parents must really watch how they behave. How the parents speak, act, or go about their daily chores will be absorbed by the child during these times. Even when the parents think their child is preoccupied with something else, the child is likely perceiving and absorbing everything around them.

Sally Shaywitz, co-director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, posits that: “The period between ages four and seven is a time of very intense activity in the brain; the brain is actively pruning synapses–the connections between brain cells. As the child is exposed to different experiences in life, the brain reinforces some of these connections and prunes back others that are not going to be useful. The brain is becoming more focused and more specialized. It’s taking shape.” 6 The prime time to establish the foundation and set the trajectory of a child’s life is from the very beginning of life, while the “concrete” of their lives is still wet.

GPS: God Positioning System

Children are not born with a naturally good nature that leads them to do the things that are noble and pure and right. They are born with an unfair disadvantage, for they are all born as fallen beings, and with a strong proclivity to do wrong. At birth, they are devoid of all seven virtues presented in this book. They need to be guided to what these virtues are, and be given practice inculcating them into the central operating system of their minds and into the fabric of their beings. Parents must be intentional in engaging their children’s attention and passion, in the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

Moral literacy is the compass and true GPS–God Positioning System–in a world with infinite position for evil. “Moral anchors and moorings have never been more necessary [than they are today].” The moral deterioration of the age is threatening to both parents and child. Our children must be nurtured to develop the gift of discernment–the ability to identify the content and forces of these virtues. For virtues not understood, and hence ignored, become vices.

Parents must seize the malleable moment in their child’s life and cooperate with God to nurture and develop spiritual champions, starting from the delicate moment of conception. Children, like eggs, must be handled with care; for children, once broken, like eggs once broken, are the hardest things to be repaired.