Thai Babies To Get Freebies.....

[Belfastboy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4727307.stm

[Neeranam]

Free books would be very welcome, especially English ones, which are expensive here.

Went to the best hospital, well sorry the most expensive one inthe country and got bugger all. Actually we did get a footprint, which is a fat lot of use.

Edited August 2, 2005 by Neeranam

[Wolfie]

Thailand has introduced a scheme to stimulate the IQ of newborn children.

Parents will receive a gift set which includes items like plastic books and CDs of lullabies, designed to promote thought and mental stimulation.

Thailand's health ministry estimates 700,000 gift sets will be distributed per year, at a cost of $7.5m.

Launching the programme, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thailand needed to create a generation of quick and clever minds.

The gift set contains a variety of items. A multi-coloured blanket made from different textiles is intended to promote sight and touch.

Soft toys are included to stimulate tactile nerves, as is a floating plastic book which can be safely read in the bath.

Concerns have been raised in recent years that standards of education in Thailand have been slipping.

A recent survey showed that children over 10 years old read less than three minutes a day.

The government is considering a book start project in which free books will be given to children of all ages.

[Captain Haddock]

As the father of a new born Thai baby, please to tell how I go about getting this lovely little package please...

[WhiteShiva]

As the father of a new born Thai baby, please to tell how I go about getting this lovely little package please...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ditto!

[thohts]

<<...stimulate the IQ of newborn children...>>

It usually works top-down, from the parents. What good is a few books for the baby if the parents don't like to read or see no value in learning?

A baby will most likely not grow up to "have a high IQ" unless one or both of the parents do.

I read in a newspaper article not too long ago that the average IQ in Thailand is about 75. However, that assessment did not include the most difficult portion of the IQ test. (Which was left out because everyone scored so poorly. Which also means that the average IQ is much lower.) I don't know how accurate this is, but it's something to think about.

[Tywais]

<<...stimulate the IQ of newborn children...>>

I read in a newspaper article not too long ago that the average IQ in Thailand is about 75. 

I found that difficult to believe so quick research and get this:

http://www.thailandlife.com/thaiyouth_64.html

and some interesting tidbits:

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/secu...isis2nobel.html

[Khutan]

Thailand has introduced a scheme to stimulate the IQ of newborn children.<Snip>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe some Iodene in the diet may help.

[Scott]

This is a complex issue, but it will take a little more than a packet of information. Babies and young children need stimulation and exposure. They need to be able to explore the world around them and to solve problems on their own. They need tactile experiences, touching, smelling, manipulating things. They need to crawl, walk, fall, climb etc.

What I have seen in my neighborhood (middle to upper class--home owners). Children are carried constantly (and appear to be delayed in their ability to walk as a result). They are not allowed to crawl--a necessary step in learning to walk.

They are force fed, spend little time "playing" --which is a child's way of learning. They are then put in a desk in a KG class in the least possibly stimulating environment. It's quite similar to neglected children who are left in their cribs. Here it is called good child rearing.

They do need good nutrition, including a diet high in protein and fat (when young) as well as all the vitamins and minerals for proper development. These foods are available, but "good" parents prefer to give them sweets, snack foods etc.

I am sure helping parents understand some of this and the idea that small children should be very, very limited in the amount of time they spend in front of a TV would help.

[torgate]

My prediction is...All shops in thailand with a child in, will have baby learning products for sale over a short period of time...

[Sphere]

What could be the reason for this brainwave? Someones cousin has a whole stock-lot of plastic books from a cancelled export order, not!

[thohts]

<<...stimulate the IQ of newborn children...>>

I read in a newspaper article not too long ago that the average IQ in Thailand is about 75. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I found that difficult to believe so quick research and get this:

http://www.thailandlife.com/thaiyouth_64.html

and some interesting tidbits:

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/secu...isis2nobel.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can't find the original article, but here's another:

http://nationmultimedia.com/2005/08/13/hea...s_18334355.html

A project using demographic maps to identify areas of iodine-deficiency and low intelligence are being drawn on the belief there is a connection between the two. In all, the Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health will draw three maps in an effort to combat low intelligence, after it a study found the average IQ level among many youths was lower than 80...

-----

It's also amazing that 16% or so of children in the north are mentally retarded (or have low enough IQs to warrant the classification). That seems like an extraordinarily high figure, and one that contradicts their average North IQ of 87.88 against Bangkok's 96.54 (with only 2% retarded).

What this says is that 16% have an IQ of 60 or less. And the remaining 84% have an average IQ of 93. This would leave a HUGE gap between IQ 60 and IQ ~80.

Compared with Bangkok's average, it just doesn't add up, unless there are just so many more retarded kids in the north.

The IQ test is an international standard. The tests are not culturally biased. If Thailand had their own localized IQ tests, everyone would "score" an IQ of 115 because of national pride (which, of course, is impossible since 100 is always the average).

Edited August 20, 2005 by thohts