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Chapter 3: General guidelines for learning activities

This chapter describes some of the general guidelines parents have found helpful when teaching their child new skills. Use these guidelines in addition to the specific instructions for each activity in the Chapter.

You are the expert about your child

No one knows your child and his abilities as well as you do. Listen to your feelings and experiences about how your child is doing, even if they are different from what a doctor, health worker, teacher or this book is telling you. You can learn a lot from people who have experience with children who have vision problems, but every child is different. You are the expert about your child.

Let your child take the lead

Play is an important way for children to learn about the world. A child is most eager to play when he is doing something he likes. So if your child shows interest in an object, person, or activity, use his play to help him learn new skills.

Letting your child take the lead helps him learn that his choices are important and that he has some control over what happens. But it does not mean that everything is unplanned. You need to think about the skills your child needs to learn, and the kinds of activities and objects that can help him learn these skills. Then you can think of ways to help him learn more while he is playing.

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Adapt activities for your child

A child can learn a certain skill in many different ways. You can adapt the activities in this book to best suit your child, your family and your community.

As you do activities with your child, you will find ways of doing things that interest him and make him want to do something...

...and you will learn what upsets him or makes him want to stop.

You can adapt activities to make use of materials you already have. For example, if an activity in this book shows a child using a toy, you do not need to make or buy that same toy. Instead, use whatever is readily available.

Adapt activities so they fit in with your daily work and your family's activities.

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Note: Any organisation or person wishing to copy, reproduce or adapt any or all part of the book for the promotion of community eye care and for public welfare without commercial benefit is encouraged to do so, subject to the written permission obtained and acknowledged in the printed copy.

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