Albert Einstein famously said, “Each child is born a genius”. But we do not see many geniuses around us. Hence the obvious question – where do these geniuses go? Many educationists and thinkers have tried to solve this riddle over last many decades and more often than not our industrial age education methodology and socio-economic ecosystem are blamed for this gap. But there may be another very important causal factor to consider. Cognitive Neuroscience suggests that it all changes in the first three years. The developmental inputs that a child gets in the first 3 Years of his or her life from his or her parents/caregivers or lack thereof sets the stage for lifelong intellectual growth. This perspective has become a part of mainstream scientific thinking as a result of two decades of growth in neuroscience research output, thanks to the sensor and scanner technology that enables sharper study of human brains. So, Einstein was not wrong. Indeed, each child has the potential to become a genius provided right developmental inputs are given in the first three years.
Considering that any formal education only starts around 3 years of age, parents have the responsibility and also are best placed to provide these developmental inputs to their children at home. Also, the fact that they can combine these inputs with right amount of love and care works as the icing on the cake. But most parents are not equipped to handle this responsibility. Because either they are not aware or they don’t have the right methods, tools, toys and materials or professional training for that matter.
Mumbai and London based startup, Neosap EdTech decided to solve this problem and has created a learning system for 0-3 year old babies called Bablr Early Learning. Parents can use Bablr in the comfort of their homes. Bablr empowers parents to make the best use of 0-3 brain development window with its end-to-end solution.
A Harvard study suggests that early experiences determine whether a child’s developing brain architecture provides a strong or weak foundation for all future learning, behaviour and health. This has something to do with the brain development in the first 3 Years of a child.
85{e63d87adce65106e59660caf1cbcddb690edc5cfc719a6a517bd93f15484247a} of the human brain development gets done by the child’s third birthday. This is catalysed by environmental stimuli which is in the hands of parents and care givers. In simple terms, a large percentage of brain development occurs in this period and if a child gets right inputs from parents and caregivers in this period, the brain capacity expands and a great foundation for all future learning is built. If not, the child is likely to struggle with learning all his / her life as a student, in career and so on. Not only this, love and care that a child receives also shape his or her emotional make up. When nurtured and cared for during these earliest years, children are more likely to grow up in a healthy way, develop better thinking, language, emotional and social skills.
“Future that these babies are going to grow up in is going to be very different from today. Considering the technological change, people will need to learn completely new skills every 3-5 years. In this scenario, the best education will be the one that teaches you ‘Learning to Learn’. And if you are serious about this, you have start early. The first 3 years are in a way nature’s gift to us. There is a lot that we can do to expand the brain capacity and make a child super-learner for life. To me, it is as critical as vaccination. We should be immunising the child against obsolescence epidemic of the future. This is the best gift a parent can give to his or her new-born.”, says Manish Jar, Founder and CEO of Neosap.
“Our digital tools for parents, physical materials and toys for the babies are based on tested and high impact methods from neuroscience and early education.” Says Vidyut Joshi, Head of Content & Research at Neosap and also a mother who used some of these methods with her own daughter and achieved great results.
When you enrol for the program, you get access to Bablr platform that includes mobile app, tablet app and a web app and a big box of activity materials and toys is shipped to you. After you key in the details of your child in the platform, Bablr algorithm recommends activities every day based on the progress of the baby. You can carry out these activities with the help of materials in the box. Some activities do not require any materials. They are just between the parent and the baby.
“Bablr has an algorithm that precisely calculates the daily activities based on the age and the progress of the baby. So, parents are able to do a professional early educator’s job without any effort. You spend your time playing with the child and doing the activities and not searching the internet trying to find the right activities and materials. While designing this product, we worked closely with many parents to make sure that it integrated seamlessly with their routine. It is super easy to use. Parents just need to invest an hour every day, five days a week.” Says Aziz Khatri, Cofounder and Chief Business Officer of Bablr.
Bablr offers attractive pricing plans to suit every preference. Parents can enrol the baby anytime before the third birthday. The parent can choose a 3 year enrolment or opt for a 1 year enrolment and reenrol at the beginner of next year.
Encouraging parents to focus on the first 3 Years of a child is a well-accepted medical and public health policy worldwide. National Health Mission in India ran an education campaign on this subject featuring actress Amrita Rao.US Federal government spends USD 19B in the area of early childcare and education through a program called Headstart. Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman makes a big case for public investments in early care and development via his Heckman Equation research. He demonstrates that this investment generates much higher economic return for the society compared to almost all other public initiatives.
COVID-19 pandemic has sparked many debates on the current model of education delivery and it is quite likely that innovative solutions like Bablr that are having a completely fresh look at our education needs, will usher in the new future for education.
Website: www.gobablr.com
About Neosap EdTech
Neosap EdTech is an education technology start up based in London and Mumbai. Founded by serial entrepreneur Manish Jar, Neosap team has worked with experts around the world to create an innovative product called Bablr. Parents can use Bablr at home to unlock the genius potential of their babies. It uses principles of neuroscience combined with intelligent digital design and innovative physical materials.
