We can influence our children's learning from a very young age - even before they are born, with music and song. All years are important, however between the ages of 0 to 5 are critical. It's during these years that the reticular activating filter (a bunch of cells in the Limbic System) is permanently open and all information goes through to memory. So it is during these years - the formative years of the subconscious mind - that habits, personality, self image and memory - 88% of the mind - are developed. A child will absorb almost everything in the first 5 years of life, without 'filtering out' anything. We must be consciously aware of our child's environment, with both allowing lessons in (to their memory) or keeping negativity out (of their memory).

Early Childhood

In an article (30 May 2007) from the Edmonton Sun (Canada) it said:
   They may not understand what you're saying, but a new study suggests that babies as young as four months can tell which language you're speaking.
   Researchers from McGill University and the University of British Columbia have found that four-month-old infants can differentiate between English and French, even without hearing them.
   “It shows just how exquisitely sensitive babies are to information in their world,” says Janet Werker.  UBC professor and an author of the study, which will be published today in the prestigious academic journal 'Science'.

We know that children can learn languages in a multi lingual environment as long as they use the languages - and this starts from birth. So it is with other things in life - children will absorb parents’ ...
* negativeness or positiveness
* speech, including screaming or speaking lovingly
* habits both good and bad, including stress, being scared of anything (like moths) or claustrophobia and more.

We all know that when a small child is playing with say electricity, we must not say "Don't do that" but instead give the child something else to play with saying "Play with this - it's good."  ("Don't think of a rainbow" - means “Think of a Rainbow” ... “Don't worry” ... means “Worry!”,  “Don't forget” means “Forget” to the subconscious mind).

We all know to use encouragement and praise from early in life.  Children are like a sponge for new learning, so we must endeavour to ensure that their experiences are positive.

From the Age of 6 the Filter Closes

... and of course we still influence our children after this age and they learn from their parents, their siblings, their friends and their schools.

Some Californian research showed that 85% of children at the age of 6 feel positive about themselves and think they're good learners. But by the time they are 16, this figure has fallen to just 16%. My work with children shows that this figure of 16% at the age of 16 is optimistic. It's a dreadful indictment on our society and we must continually take action ... children are the future success of our country.

As our children grow older and external pressures start to effect them, they begin to experience stress, and this effects them in different ways. A few cope, but most become ...
* anxious
* unstable
* frustrated
* nervous
* tearful
* even frightened
Awareness of how much we influence our children by being their role model is a paramount ingredient for your child's success. We all want the best for our children so that they develop a positive attitude (glass half full not half empty), they have great values and work with goals, directing themselves to success.

Techniques to Assist

My Peaceful Place (PP) techniques really work. They are based on a fast method of relaxation so that the filter opens and we can deliberately start working with the subconscious mind. Early (in life) application of PP can be to:
* Achieve more confidence and self esteem
* Relax and release stress
* Develop a better attitude
* Handle pain (young children are always hurting themselves)
* Using the whole brain for improved learning
* Sleep easier

I no longer teach these techniques to children from the age of 6 to 13 and the best way I know of that they can be imparted is by Parents or Grandparents learning them and passing them on.

A rule of thumb for children's attention span is their age plus 2 minutes; so the CDs I have wouldn't work with young children. I would recommend that a Parent (or Grandparent or others) describe their own PP to the child and go from there.

Resources Available

My book "Students Steps to Success" describes all the techniques for using both sides of the brain, relaxation, goals, self esteem and mind charting. To support the book I also have two CDs which help with PP, Goals, Self Confidence and Achieving in Exams. A major resource is the Student Success Seminar on DVD - it is my one day Students Seminar and includes the other resources described above..

For children over the age of 14 they can attend my 2-Day CALM Life Skills Seminar, or indeed work by themselves with any of the resources described above. In addition my website has a great deal of information on it which is useful for study.

Further Techniques

Dyslexia is a common challenge with students learning. What I have learned is that the earlier this is identified in a child, then the greater is the likelihood of achieving a remedy.

If a child has difficulty in doing cross-over exercises then the greater is the chance of having dyslexia. A certified Educational Kinesiologist is the route I would recommend. Two of the exercises are:

Cross Crawl - walk on the spot, lightly hitting each hand, alternately, onto the opposite knee as each arm crosses the front of the body.
The Lazy 8 - stand still with feet slightly parted and trace the shape of a large figure 8 - lying sideways (not up and down in the usual way but rather so that it looks like the infinity sign) using both hands clasped together in front of the body, going up in the middle and a big swoop down on the outside.

Another issue with young children can be having difficulties with sleep. What I would recommend is that the child learns PP. When they are in bed you play some soft music (PP1 - Instrumental) and then encourage the child to go to their PP and say to themselves (or you say it to them) that they are now drifting off into a lovely, deep, sound sleep.

So, be aware of our own behaviour in front of small children, always imparting a good example, be aware that children are great copiers and learn from us, and that they are our future.

All the best,

PS. I have reproduced below a speech that purports to be one that Bill Gates made at a high school, about 11 things that students did not and will not learn in school.  It's fun ... and that's life! Enjoy Life!!
Rule 1:  Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2:  The world won't care about your self esteem.  The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3:  You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.  You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4:  If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5:  Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.  Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.
Rule 6:  If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7:  Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.  They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were.  So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8:  Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT.  In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.  This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9:  Life is not divided into semesters.  You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.  Do that on your own time.
Rule 10:  Television is NOT real life.  In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11:  Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Success Stories about Student Steps to Success

I’d love to provide you with a bit of a summary of my experiences with the Peaceful Place CD’s and the Piece of Mind book. My sister actually has had the Students Steps to Success book for quite some time and lent me the accompanying CDs, which is how I came to explore your works further. Below is a bit of an outline and if you need any further details just let me know and I would be happy to oblige.

I’ve been using the PP10 and PP11 over the past 5 years and have found them to be extremely beneficial, both in terms of improving my self-confidence and ability to handle new situations, as well as achieving my goals in my studies.

In terms of PP10, I would have to say its impact on how I’ve coped with the transition from high school to university, and the new challenges one faces with university work; being able to juggle classes and assessment and excel in stressful exam periods is immeasurable. Also with many changes occurring for me at home, with my parents divorcing and some times of grief, I’ve found it’s been very useful as a time to just release and let go of the day’s tensions, and often revisiting my Peaceful Place throughout the day (porpoising) has been a real help to maintain relaxation and a sense of calm. I love being able to turn around any situation in which I may feel unsure/apprehensive about, and with repetition of the meditation, those circumstances can become positive times, and enjoyable moments in my life, instead of potentially negative memories. This period of life has also been a really important time for personal growth, so PP10 has a lso helped to re-affirm positive thoughts and emotions of self-love and worth into my sub-conscious, and has helped to create a real appreciation for myself as a unique individual. I also feel that this has then begun to shine through in my communication with other people, and how I approach life more generally.

A lot of things that I would have felt anxious about in the past, no longer seem so scary. An example of this would be when one day, after I’d been doing the PP10 meditation for a while, I finally felt courageous/confident enough to start going to dance lessons by myself. This had been something that I’d had a desire to do for quite some time, but it wasn’t until I started picturing myself actually being confident walking into the classroom and able to take that time for myself, that I actually achieved it. More generally, I’ve used the Self Confidence and Worth meditation in developing confidence in group situations where communication often seemed a little difficult and I had felt out of my depth.

The combination of using PP10 and PP11 has had a great impact on my college and university studies thus far too. With the pressures of leaving school and achieving in Year 11/12 exams to make it into uni, having a time to focus on achieving specific, subject-related goals has been very helpful. As with anything, often when you start it is all a bit daunting and you feel a little apprehensive about how it will work out. But, after using PP11 on some subjects and not others at school and seeing the results, I am convinced that PP11 helped me to make it into uni and get to where I am now today in my studies. With every new semester at uni comes four new subjects and the prospect of four major final exams in 15 weeks time. I’ve successfully placed my goals for these exams inside my mind’s eye – usually at the start of each semester – and over many repetitions throughout the semester, have found that I achieve my goals (or thereabouts) i nfallibly every time. This has worked for me over so many subjects in the past that I’m already practising PP11 for my next four!

The techniques of using mind charts and creating a positive feeling about a particular learning activity has really helped me in achieving far beyond what I could initially believe possible. Going into each lecture open and wanting to learn the subject matter, and going to my Peaceful Place and bringing my lecturers/teachers in there to teach me, has had an indescribable impact on how much I remember and retain from those classes. Then, from imprinting those lessons into my subconscious I can readily recall the knowledge in exams and for assignments, and even just in conversations with other students or family. It makes discussing questions with teachers after class about something I didn’t completely understand at the time a lot easier as well. It’s awesome! And it makes learning so much more fun!

I will be going into my 4^th and final year of a combined Bachelor of Actuarial Studies/ Commerce degree this year, and with the technique of setting goals for each of my subjects, I’m sure I will achieve exactly what I want to in order to complete my undergraduate degrees successfully. P.S. ACT

I was a single parent working mother of two sons when I returned to University to gain degrees in psychology; it had been over 30 years since I had studied.I had bought Sandy's Students Steps to Success CDs, and would listen to them every night before I went to bed with headphones. Thanks to discovering Sandy's CDs my self confidence levels increased and my ability to relax and actually enjoy studying increased. Yes, that is right! I ENJOYED studying. How is that possible Learning to build and "get into" my peaceful place within seconds played a major role in overcoming test anxiety and developing effective study techniques. Without question Sandy's study and exam techniques are profoundly invaluable and empowering!

I would visualise the grades I was aiming for and see hear and see feel how the outcome would be after I had achieved the exam results. I was actually EXCITED when I entered the exam room for the first time -confident that I had retained all the information I had learned by using the techniques on the CDs. Prior to using Sandy's CDs my confidence was at an all time low and I suffered exam anxiety. Not this time! ... I walked into that exam room smiling and felt somewhat apart from others who were looking nervous, walking to my desk. When it was time to turn over the exam paper in preparation to begin the exam I actually SMILED! Previously taking this approach prior to an exam was not something that would fit for me. Smiling turning over an exam paper! But yes, smile I did and didn't I feel good – I even found myself saying "The exam is easy -- it is as though I wrote it myself"... as Sandy suggests on his CD.

Student's Steps to Success enabled me to relax in 30 seconds flat and to understand the power of the subconscious mind in retaining information and accessing it at the right time ..... The subconscious mind is a vast storehouse! I would set myself goals and achieve them without stress knowing that my confidence was growing and stress was going and most of all to love myself. Unconditional love is a major factor without a doubt. Self confident, thanks to discovering your CDs Sandy back then I breezed through my study and exams. Getting into my peaceful place in the exam room helped me beyond measure. With deep gratitude. PE, NSW