Cognitive skills in children are characterized by ways a child interacts with his environment, learns new skills, memorizes and develops perception. A child’s cognitive development is gradual and chronological based on his activities and interactions around. Largely all children follow a systematic progression for learning. As parents we can induce and stimulate active learning and developmental progress easily by streamlining the daily plan for our child. A child will benefit more when parents are involved deeply in daily activities.
Top 12 ways to develop cognitive skills in children include:
1- Read stories:
Reading has been vouched for generations as the most critical and stimulating of all activities. A child gains strong understanding and conquers language development ahead of their peers, if she is read to, regularly. Reading can begin even before a child is born, as hearing develops in the womb at around 12-15 weeks time. Make reading a more interactive and fun thing by involving some toys and picture books in the first year. The quicker a child develops love for reading and books, the wonderful it will be for their all round development. Check benefits of reading to your children
2- Try more textures and sensory toys:
Begin with textures and sensory toys and activities from as early as infant stage. Also involve more water activities and pretend play games with your little one. Let the little rovers touch, smell, taste and perceive the world around them. The more they practice these skills the better their cognitive development will be.
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3- Alphabets and numbers:
Begin playing with alphabets and numbers early on with infants. Start with upper case alphabets and try to make vowel sounds prominent. A child learns vowel sounds quickly. So emphasize sounds and numbers often in a day. Play alphabet puzzles, sing along the alphabets songs. As music in itself I sa great stimulant.
4- Colors:
Colors have a definite place in the activities for kids. Every child loves to color and learn about them. Start with primary colors and first make them point towards these colors as early as age 6-7 months. Some kids even do it before this time. For elder kids begin introducing crayons, pastels, water colors, fabric colors, glass paints, chalk and many more. Begin with shading and coloring basics and proceed further with
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5- Shapes and patterns:
Allow your little one to play more with shape puzzles and draw out shapes for them to recognize. Use more of drawing than showing to make them learn the basics of sketching. Keep the sheets of paper, crayons, markers and pencils handy for every small free time like at park, during drive, while traveling, and even while playing. This will help in overall development of the child too
6- Go to library often:
Story time, games and activities at libraries are always fun and learning time for all the kids. Children just enjoy being stimulated at the library. Keep improving their interactions by participating as much with them as possible. Children learn more when their parents are around and involved.
7- Visit interactive science museums:
The most incredible places for any child, happens to be the interactive science museum. The hands on exhibits and interactive activities not only stimulate but also involve a child in learning the practical aspects of all. STEM based learning can be boosted in addition to cognitive development of children. Keep exploring more and more such activities for these bring knowledge and development like no other place
8- Visit Zoo:
Take your kids to zoo more often, and involve them in activities there. Watching the animals and participating in their feeding and play times not only help in stimulating but also enriches the child about life forms and living. The more they are near wildlife and nature the better and quicker understanding of life they will have
9- Visit parks and botanical gardens:
Watching birds and butterflies, playing in the park and seeing the plant diversity, enriches their understanding of world around them. It also helps them learn these life forms in a more hands on way. Be a part of their learning and help them gain as much as possible to help in their learning, memory, perception and overall development.
10- Ask questions and offer choices to the kids:
The more they answer the better they will have logical and analytic skills. Give them choices to formulate decision making in them early on. They will also understand how to decide based on their learning of the environment around. Giving choices makes them independent thinkers and learners. They also begin taking their own sense of decision making seriously and develop self confidence.
11- Involve more pretend play and make believe activities:
Pretend play and make believe activities help in developing a strong imagination in children. The child is experimenting with social and emotional roles of life in addition to imagining themselves as someone else.
12- Sorting and stacking toys and activities:
Sorting and stacking activities not only help in developing mathematical skills but also develops learning and memory. Their perception of large, medium and small object helps them in understanding shapes, colors, sequences, classification, arrangement and organization. This strengthens their cognitive skills further
The above compilation on Top 12 ways to develop cognitive skills in children is to help us parents in being a part of strengthening our child’s cognitive development. The more interactions we have with our kids the better their learning and development is. Introduce more and more activities and games, continue reading to them and take them for visit to interactive places for stimulating and grooming them. Check campnavigator for some wonderful and enriching ways to develop your child through summer camps and special programs. Be sure to read the reviews and pick your fit.
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By Minu Manisha
