Glowing Up: Tips for Assisting Childhood Development
Every parent wants the best for their child, and that's especially true when it comes to education. From an early age, many of us try to encourage and assist our children, hoping to make sure they get the best possible start to their schooling. However, it's not always easy to know where to start or, indeed, where to stop.
If we hand our children educational workbooks and have them fill them out, are we helping or hindering their progress? By encouraging them to keep trying once they get frustrated, are we teaching them to be resilient or creating frustration where none previously existed? It's a difficult road, and something parents often struggle with. However, it doesn't have to be. Here are some top tips for assisting your young child's development in a healthy, gentle and positive way.
Ensure Variety
It's easy to forget that young children are experiencing many things they encounter for the very first time. When so many things are this new and exciting, more familiar routines and experiences can quickly pale in comparison and bore our children. As such, to keep them engaged, it's vital to ensure that they have enough to entertain them. Take every opportunity to avoid monotony for your child by introducing them to new textures, colours, words and sounds. Help them see how interesting all these different things are, and encourage them to describe and interact with what they're experiencing. This will help your child to stay inquisitive and retain a curiosity about the world that will serve them well at a school like Hopskotch Kindergarten.
Makes Games Learning
It's the oldest trick in the book, but teaching through play is the best way to engage your child. Make a game out of sorting blocks into different colours or counting things. Have your child help with your chores, and explain what they're doing. By turning these things into games — and perhaps introducing a competitive element — you increase the chance that your child will really pay attention to what they're doing. Plus, enjoying a task will really help them to retain what it teaches.
Encourage Creativity
While it can be tempting to encourage our children towards more measurable pursuits such as reading, writing or simple mathematics, creativity really helps to develop the brain. If your child demonstrates an interest in creating music or art, then it should absolutely be praised and encouraged. Besides, it's easy to utilise a child's creative interests to guide their more traditional learning. Perhaps your child can draw you a picture and then label it for you or describe which colours they've used and why?
In essence, being positive, engaged and enthusiastic with your child is important. The more incentive they have to interact with the world around them and be curious, the more they will enjoy and commit to learning. Approaching school with that positive attitude and open mind will give your child exactly the kind of advantage they need to succeed.
