I met Jordan Tan at a business seminar.
We had a very interesting discussion when we veered toward children’s education. It was a subject of intense interest to me as I had written a book on: “Nurturing Children’s Creativity.” I mentioned to Jordan, that we must start them young.
I was astonished when he mentioned that it was too late. Nurturing begins when the child is still in the womb. This aroused my curiosity as I remembered reading an article about how Jewish mothers started the process by solving mathematics problems after they had conceived their children.
We communicated little during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When I called him lately, I mentioned that:
I was writing articles for publication in a local online paper. I asked him, “Could I do an interview with you regarding your womb or prenatal education?”. He agreed immediately. The interview was as below:
Me: What inspires you to have an interest in pre-natal learning?
Jordan:
“Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking what no one has thought.” Albert Szent Gyorgi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Physiology
I did not discover the art and science of prenatal learning. I am more of an advocate and educator who has a passion to share the significance of prenatal investment for an excellent new generation.
I came across Dr Thomas Verny’s prenatal science 101 book,” way back in 1997 in a Sabah library in Tawau.
While in the womb, the unborn child already is capable and has the means to learn by a single channel of communication -listening.
From listening to friends and reading books, I learned that the first sense of learning is by listening to a newly conceived fetus, probably about 3 months after conception. Listening is therefore is the most effective tool to learn for the unborn child.
Me: How did you get concepts and knowledge on “learning-in-the-womb” ?
Jordan:
My primary resource was from Dr Thomas Verny’s book. Another book was about praying for an unborn child.
Much later, I talked to parents about their child-bearing experience. The stories they shared with me for the past 26 years added to my reservoir of knowledge and insight about prenatal education.
Me: I understand that you had tested your concepts on your children and grandchildren. What were the results?
I practised what I have learned on my own children. By the time my three children were aged 4, 8 and 12, they were blessed with a love for reading and learning.
I purchased and cooked fresh food for my expectant wife for all three children during her pregnancies. The health foundation for the unborn is part of the prenatal care and nourishment.
Now my adult children, at ages 30, 34, and 38, and all of them are healthy without the need to visit a doctor for cough, cold or fever.
My first child, although I did not deliberately teach her to, read, was a good student and did well in her studies, which eventually earned her a scholarship to study psychology in a university.
My second child, a boy is a self-taught photographer and video editor. As a volunteer photographer for SEA games, he also did a few documentaries for clients.
My last child has had an exciting life and navigates through the ups and downs of life and although not exceptional in any outstanding achievement but able to live on her own pretty well.
My first daughter applied Thomas Verny’s prenatal techniques to her own child.
My daughter talked and conversed with her unborn grandson telling him to be a good boy and to have a normal birth. The mid-wife , however cautioned my daughter, informing her that she had a narrow cervix and that the baby could encounter difficulty coming out.
However, with her knowledge of prenatal grooming, my daughter commanded the cervix to open and asked the baby to move into the birth canal. Amazingly, the baby did just that and was born smoothly in a normal birth. The unborn is capable of following an order, once properly communicated.
Me: Could you explain some of the important concepts regarding prenatal learning?
All babies are born with the potential for greatness. A fetus while still in the womb of a pregnant mother who is talked to, sings to, converses with, exposed to numbers, alphabets, songs, musical notes, and vocabulary enjoys a distinctive advantage over other babies.
Allow me to cite an example for demonstrating the power of first exposure.
I met Prof. Maslina Darus on 9 March 2019 in the University of Malaya in conjunction with the International Women's Day celebration; she was one of the speakers among other equally famous women who excelled in science, technology and chemistry. As a vice president of ASEAN Mathematics Society, president of the Malaysian Mathematics Society, G a Google scholar and a member of the Academy of Science, I asked her who was the one person who ignited her passion for numbers and arithmetic. She simply replied, “ My mother.”
She told me that her mother did much mental calculation, while she was in her womb. Her lessons in Mathematics, while still in the womb, transformed her into a mathematician.
Another important factor contributing to a child's spectacular achievement in life is the parent's expectation for their child’s destiny.
The greater the hope, the bigger the dream imposed on the unborn the child after birth will rise up to meet the parents’ expectations.
Let’s name a few examples for clarity of the power of prenatal hope and expectation.
Tan Hock Eng from Penang Free School received a scholarship to study in MIT California, USA. He became the highest paid CEO of America in 2017 earning a total pay of US 103 million. How did a poor boy from a struggling family financially became so successful? The secret lies in the hope and expectation of his parents.
Me: Do you think that using your concept of pre-natal learning, Malaysia could leapfrog in promoting a more knowledgeable and talented society
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Socrates
To leapfrog this nation into greatness, Malaysia must adopt and be receptive to proven concepts and practices. Resistance to learning new approaches is a poison to progress. Let’s nurture the unborn child.
I concur with Jordan that to leapfrog into greatness, Malaysia must adapt and be receptive to proven concepts and practices.
You can give your baby a greater chance for health, intelligence, and success in life, contributing to our nation’s development, months before birth!
Nurturing the intelligence and attitudes before the birth of your unborn child is the ultimate leapfrogging for Malaysia.
You can watch a video about this from author and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Verny: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF1cZMCaq-w&t=539s
Please email the author at mindwrite@outlook.com, if you have come across any other issues from other countries which have been innovatively resolved.
Freelance Writer Yew Kam Keong (Dr.YKK) was a former government official with over 24 years of service. He is a professional writer and speaker. Besides this, his passion is on creativity and innovation. He has been acknowledged as a Distinguished Talent on Creativity and Innovation by the Australian Government and a former international creativity adviser to Lego. Dr.YKK is a member of AWAI (American Writers and Artists Inc.) and currently practising as a copywriter. He is also a bestselling author and his book: “You Are Creative-Let Your Creativity Bloom” is now in its 7th Edition and published in 7 languages. You may contact him at mindwrite@outlook.com
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