About folk traditions of raising children. Mikhail Nikiforovich Melnikov. Part 2

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

We continue our conversation with Mikhail Nikiforovich Melnikov, an expert on the folk traditions of raising children.

Part 1

"Baiu-baiushki, baiu!.." and up to five years

Question: Mikhail Nikiforovich! What a responsible area of human existence when the child is in the womb. We are all weak in all this, in comparison with our close ancestors …

Answer: Now scientists are putting forward as the discovery that "the fetus hears the voice of loved ones." Yes, until recently, medical science did not know this. And by the way, in practice it turned out that our ancestors did all this. Now they advise that from the moment of conception one must think about the unborn child. But what mother does not think about the desired child ?! What father does not expect an assistant in his work ?! They think.

Second: “We need to start talking with the unborn child when he is 5 months old so that he gets used to the mother’s voice. Then the mother's voice will calm him down, give him a state of security. That's all right! So it was, because there were many children in the family. Sometimes 2-3 daughters-in-law, if three sons got married, there were many small children in the cradle. And the fetus has always heard not only the voice of its mother when she rocks the eldest, who lies in the cradle and sings a lullaby to him, but also the voice of the one who is yet to give birth to the first child. She was obliged to rock someone else's child and sing these lullabies to him. She sang to another, but the fruit heard her voice. He heard everything and remembered this voice. So all this prenatal education was done pretty well.

Never (God forbid!) Was not allowed to drink even at a wedding, so that there was no drunken conception, not a glass of vodka. And a bowl of borscht for two, when the newlyweds were taken to the basement or to another place. Hot borscht to recuperate, and no intoxicating! And already if she is pregnant, then - God forbid! - intoxicating. And, God forbid! to smoke.

I remember in the Toe Monastery of the Kolyvan district, where I grew up, there never a single smoking man in a hut dared to smoke. Why? Because it poisons children, poisons the mother of the unborn child.

And now our girls, students of the pedagogical university of my native one, are now quite often among us, because they will smoke so much that an adult non-smoker can faint. And this is considered a big force! But nicotine goes directly into the bloodstream. It affects the fetus, inhibits the development of the fetus and then predisposes the unborn child to many, many vices.

The lullaby age is the most crucial period. They say: "What is in the cradle, so is the grave." Yes, because everything is brought up, all the foundations of the personality are laid - up to the age of five … Then you can grind, correct mistakes, bring something to a better state. And the foundations, the framework of the personality - it was during this period, called the mother's school. When the family is large, the responsibility falls on the mother.

Question: In those first three to five years?

Answer: Yes, this is the first up to five years! The infant period is especially important. And therefore, the people invented a special instrument for the infant period - this is a cradle and a lullaby song.

Lullabies of all peoples, without exception, are very melodic and monotonous. Although both dance and comic - the people have dashing songs. But they were never sung over the cradle. Because the child needs to hear the voice that activates the braking system. It is difficult for him to disconnect. Once upon a time there lived in the womb - complete comfort and complete safety. And here - a cow hums, a stallion neighs, doors knock, axes knock, sound aggression from all sides. Therefore, he understood everything with curiosity (he turns on his eyes when he begins to see), where there is a lot that annoys and does not calm down. That is why it is monotonous. The child fell asleep easily and painlessly. And he needs to sleep three quarters of the day. Then he will be a full-fledged person in the future. Therefore, such a tool was invented. But this is only one side of the lullaby …

Someone who sings lullabies has noticed that they are uncomplicated and almost exclusively woven from nouns and verbs. Why? Because the child's perception of the world is concrete-sensual. What he tasted, saw, heard, he perceives. And above all, these are objects. But immovable objects are of little interest to the child, and more those that are in motion. Hence the verbs and nouns. Those. with an abundance, with a richness of the language, the vocabulary is extremely impoverished. Why? Because the child must be taught to speak! When the mother sings, she talks to him, and he already begins to uguk: "uh-uh-huh" (imitative instinct). And when he sees that people are talking, referring to each other, he feels the need for such communication. Sometimes we hear in the bazaar how people from the near abroad speak quickly and a lot. But we don't understand a single word. Why? Because we do not know the supporting words.

The child needs to be given supporting words … And in the lullaby, that which goes beyond the limits of his perception is almost absent. This is a cradle, mom, dad, grandmother, grandfather … It will be a cat, pigeons, dogs, cows … Exactly what he can perceive is given, i.e. correlate the spoken word - a sound series with a specific object.

Question: You can show it, right?

Answer: Because otherwise he will not understand the words, will not master the first vocabulary. That's why you can't give a lot at once. Very little is given, but these are the basics. Because we think in words. And the child needs to be given this vocabulary base. He is taught to speak with a lullaby. Eight times the mother will sing, putting him to sleep. Knowing two or three songs, she repeats them several times when she puts them to sleep. These few words are deposited in the mind of the child. And by the age of one year he begins to speak the first words. And he already understands many of these simple words. There is not a single incomprehensible word, an abstract word. For example, "sleep-nap". They are humanized. “Sleep walks on the bench, then doze - on the other. Sleep in a white shirt, and doze in another. "

The people knew that what was laid down in childhood, it is, as it were, encoded for a future life. And therefore, labor is drawn especially attractive. There is not a single slacker in the lullaby. There "I wake up, I'll go, my father went after the fish, the mother went to cook the fish soup, the grandfather - to beckon the pigs" … This: “The ghouls flew into the corner, lit a light. They began to cook the porridge. They began to feed Vanya " … Everyone works, everyone is in business. Labor is presented as happiness, as a way of being, the greatest joy. And this is laid in the child. Therefore, there were no parasites, they were hardworking …

Question: Mikhail Nikiforovich! It turns out that the child is not yet able to comprehend what is sung to him in a lullaby, but is it already laid down in his subconscious?

Answer: Yes, this is what all these primary forms of upbringing are designed for. And pestushki, there is such a genre. They stand guard over physical education. The baby was undressed. The blood has stagnated, the muscles must be given life. He is stroked, squeezing with palms on both sides, from the neck to the soles of the feet, drawing from the head and saying: "Pull, spit, across the fat, and into the legs, walkers, and into the arms of the grab." And they take up the legs, the handles. And he knows that these are handles, and these are legs. And most importantly, physical exercises are strictly dosed.

It grows, new dogs appear further, a new sentence. They put it on the tummy so that he holds his head (he already wants to look, he turns on his eyes), so that he works out the neck, the muscles of the neck. Handles are bred "There the harrier is swimming, the harrier is swimming"and then they start: "Chuk-chuk, chuk-chuk, grandfather caught pikes" … They strengthen the torso, develop courage, throw them up so that they are not afraid of heights. They develop the muscles of the legs, because at this time he begins to jump, jump from some kind of support (be it knees, a table or something else). He enjoys these physical exercises. Those. physically and mentally, the child is prepared even before one year. And then the new turns on.

People have long noticed that if a child is awake, does not sleep (and every month you need to sleep less and less), you need to maintain joyful feelings, joyful emotions. They are called by the fact that they begin to play with the child using his pens, legs. The famous "horned goat", "okay", "magpie" … All this, first of all, a school of play. Sensations evoke in him, he gets joy. This joy is evoked in him. And for a child, play and joy are already associated, and by the age of three he will already enter the circle of his equals, and play will become the basis of his life, and the basis of knowledge of the world. And he was taught this in the period from one year to two or three years.

The game itself "okay" and "magpie" is not just fun. It is not only that good emotions are supported in the child. And if they are not supported, he can grow up to be a misanthropic, angry, gloomy person and will not be able to communicate with other people. But it is also a school of thought. Yes, and what!

Have you noticed? Here "the magpie-crow cooked porridge" and the baby should already hold the palms in a certain position, the mother drives with a pen with a finger - (circular movements are still difficult for him, but then he himself begins to drive), then fingers are bent, turning on the second signal system (perform by word, turn on motor skills, do certain movements). So it is already preparing intelligence at a level higher than up to a year.

Then they begin to teach counting. And the bill, is it an item? No. You can't see the bill, you can't feel it, you can't taste it, or smell it. Counting is a numeral, it is the ugliest part of speech, and this is not immediately given to a child.

This requires abstract thinking. And how is he led to him?

They count their fingers without naming accounts. "This, this" - only counting per rhythmic unit. “I gave to this, gave to this, gave to this, to this … but to this - I did not give” …

They talk about shirts - that means fingers can replace shirts, be their symbols. He had already seen the magpie. Knows that she flies, but cannot light fire and cook porridge. And, therefore, we are talking about children in a peasant family. This means that some can replace others, but before the count, all are equal. The thumb, forefinger, middle finger, and small finger are all equal before the count. And sorochats, and people, and fingers - everything! This is how people get accustomed to counting.

Further, when he has already mastered this, and the game gives pleasure (asks, asks for "magpie"), they gradually transfer to ordinal calculations. "The first - in a spoon, the second - in the ladle, the third - in the palm, the fourth - in the pot, and the fifth - a bump under the toe."

Then they teach to count, just count: "One, two, three …" When he gets used to counting, the child knows that counting requires objectivity, a multitude. He made the discovery that he had five fingers on the handle (a small handle, and daddy has such a big one, but he also has five!). And he is already being established as a person in human society. Self-esteem arises. Then they turn on the check. They say: "You have three fingers, you are a freak." "How are three?" "One finger, two fingers, three …", are counted according to the counting-rhythmic unit. And the child can cry. But when he understood the difference, it means that he learned to count. And counting is the first free theoretical act of the child's mind.

Have you noticed who is not always given to eat? Little! And he relates himself to the little one … And they always do not give, but for what? For the fact that he did nothing. And so "he walks, chopping wood, carrying water, drowning the bathhouse." What did four thumbs (fingers), a bummer should do alone. And he involuntarily concludes that it is unprofitable to be lazy. That only a fool can be lazy …

Question: You will remain without porridge …

Answer: Yes! And this conclusion is made by the child himself. In this way he gets knowledge. Not just saying to him: “This is not allowed! Go to work! This provokes a protest. And here he gets this knowledge himself. And they stay with him for life. And so in everything, folk wisdom.

The interview was conducted by our correspondent A. N. Nasyrov, Ph. D., professor of Moscow State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk

(To be continued)

From materials of the newspaper "Sibirskaya Zdrava", number 2/2016