Infant education is the education of children before they would normally enter school. "Infant" typically describes a child under 2 years old.

Note that in some countries/states, an 'infant school' is not one that teaches infants but rather the junior division of an elementary school or primary school. These schools separate children into age groups, teaching the youngest in a separate building from the higher grades.

Many believe that education at pre-school ages can significantly affect a person's ability to deal successfully with later life. Some studies supporting this point of view are detailed below.

"Why Does Infant Attention Predict Adolescent Intelligence?" by Sigman, Cohen, and Beckwith. This study found that speaking often to children between the ages of 8 and 24 months of age could significantly improve intelligence later in life. It appears in volume 20 (1997) of the journal Infant Behavior and Development.

A report by Rose and Feldman, August 1997 edition of Child Development suggests that visual recognition skills and tactile-visual skills at ages 7 to 12 months are a significant indicator of later IQ scores.

Visual stimulus and response time as early as 3 months is an indicator of verbal and performance IQ at age 4 years: Dougherty and Haith of the University of Denver, "Infant Expectations and Reaction Time as Predictors of Childhood Speed of Processing and IQ", published in volume 33 (1997) of the journal Developmental Psychology.

Otitis media (a condition that affects hearing) significantly impacts the advancement of infants. "The Effect of Otitis Media with Effusion (ie., with fluid accumulation) on Infants' Detection of Sound" by Lynne Werner and Jeffrey Ward from the University of Washington, Infant Behavior and Development, 20 (2), 1997

Robert Titzer, of Southeastern Louisiana University, reported on a longitudinal case study in which an infant who was exposed to an interactive video involving words was able to visually recognize more than 100 words by 12 months of age and more than 500 words by age 15 months.

See also:

  * http://members.aol.com/Jmed64/journals.htm
  * http://members.aol.com/Jmed64/mediaref.htm
  * http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/1997/07/living_01.html