Child's First Teacher Is Its Mother: 3 Ways They Learn From The First Woman Of Their Lives

3 Ways Children Learn From Their Mothers

As per Ms Preeti Bhandary, while contemporary education systems place great importance on formal schooling, the deep reality holds true: A mother is a child's first teacher, and their home the first school. It is in this very intimate setting that values are sown, curiosity is fueled, and the building blocks of intellectual and emotional formation are established.

Transcending cultures, the concept of the mother as a first teacher is a universal given. In Indian homes, for instance, mothers have long been the guardians of moral and spiritual learning—transmitting rituals, scriptural stories, family traditions, and folk philosophy. Even when formal education came to be extended, the mother's role in molding a child's character was crucial.

In most indigenous and African communities, mothers are not only caretakers but also wisdom keepers, healers, and storytellers. In cultures of East Asia, mothers may teach discipline, respect for authority, and education from an early age.

This one thing stands true across locations and generations: education starts with the mother.

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She highlights 3 ways in which children learn from their mothers:

1) Presence and Observation

From the beginning, children soak up the environment around them—observing, listening, and imitating. A mother's actions become the initial curriculum. The way she handles stress, exhibits love, interacts with others, or even does everyday things becomes a silent but powerful lesson. These small moments count. A toddler sitting with her mother folding laundry is learning about routine and order. A child who hears bedtime stories is learning language, imagination, and emotional expression. A boy who sees how his mother nurtures an older grandparent learns about empathy and responsibility. These are the things that shape not only minds, but also their hearts.

2) Language, Emotion, and Identity

Development of language, one of the building blocks of education, typically starts in a mother's lap. Through lullabies, stories, or mundane conversations, mothers expose their children to the language world. Such interaction, as a child grows up, plays a strong role in shaping their vocabulary, confidence, and communication skills. And to a greater degree, perhaps, mothers assist children in developing emotional intelligence. Mothers instruct their children on how to recognize emotions and articulate them with proper expression. With hugging, assuring words, and support, mothers establish foundations for a child’s sense of self and resilience, which cannot come from formal instruction alone.

3) Values Outside School Walls

In an IQ and achievement-obsessed world, we forget to emphasize values at times. Honesty, kindness, patience, humility—these are not taught in books but through life spent in close association with someone who practices them on a daily basis. A mother is a promise-keeper and compassionate person, even on bad days, which imparts lifelong lessons. These early ethics and character lessons are much harder to learn later in life. They have to be lived and seen early.

A Mother's Early Teachings Shapes a Child's Future

The impact of a mother’s early teaching goes far beyond childhood. It shows up in the way her child treats classmates, navigates peer pressure, handles failure, or takes responsibility. It shapes who that child becomes as a friend, partner, professional—and one day, perhaps, as a parent.

Mothers will never receive a report card on how they've taught, no certificates, no official acknowledgement. And still, their students bear their lessons forever. How a grown-up speaks, leads, loves, and lives is often a silent testimonial to the woman who taught them first.

As we speak of education reforms, let us never forget that the best learning is not always in classrooms. It occurs in kitchens, on living room floors, on long walks and sobbing nights. It occurs each time a mother decides to show patience over anger, listens rather than dismisses,
or encourages rather than criticizes.

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