An old saying goes, “It is easier to learn than to relearn.” That generally means that once someone learns a particular way of doing something, it can be harder for that person to learn another way to do it. That generally is true of language communications.
Learning a second language at an early age is relatively easy for most children. After all, they are just learning to talk for the very first time. Most people continue learning to speak a language for many years as they learn more about a particular language.
Physical Development Could Affect the Ability to Speak Another Language
Learning a second language at an early age means learning how to physically pronounce words as well as attach meaning to them. When a child learns one language, it is much easier to learn a second language. That is because the child is still developing the ability to communicate through speech and eventually through writing. Learning a second language is much easier for a child than for an adult.
An adult who has been speaking the same language for decades could have a harder time pronouncing certain sounds in another language. Because the adult has learned to speak in a certain physical manner to correctly pronounce words in one language, the adult generally faces more difficulty learning how to speak a second language decades after mastering the first.
Cognitive Benefits of Learning a Second Language
The many benefits of learning a second language include better grades in school and greater confidence when interacting with other people. Children who learn two languages have the ability to become truly bilingual. That helps them confidently communicate with others in either language and reach a broader audience.
Bilingual students who take their studies seriously also have an advantage when applying for acceptance at a college. Many colleges and universities value bilingual students and are eager to accept those with strong academic records from high school.
More Employment Opportunities
Being bilingual gives adults a strong advantage in the job market. Many professions greatly value bilingual workers. Some employers search for those who can speak and write in particular languages in addition to English or Spanish. The fewer languages barriers, the wider the potential audience with whom a person could communicate effectively.
Speaking two or more languages makes many employees especially valuable and can create greater work opportunities. It also enables some workers to obtain jobs that require travel to nations that speak particular languages. The ability to travel the world and still communicate effectively in more than one language is a true asset.
Do you remember enjoying story time as a child? It was a special time when we could gather around and listen to someone read us a story. The benefits of storytime are still being discovered, but it is clear that they are numerous. For example, research has shown that children who participate in storytime have a better vocabulary, improved literacy skills and enhanced social interactions.
So if you’re looking for ways to help your child excel, make sure to add storytime to the list.
What Are the Benefits of Storytelling for a Child’s Development?
1. It Enhances Curiosity
One of the best things about storytime is that it encourages children’s natural curiosity. By telling stories, we give them a peek into another world, which can spark their imagination. As they imagine what it would be like to be in that world, they will be prompted to ask more questions about it. In turn, this will help to foster a love of learning in them.
2. Develops Literacy Skills
Reading out loud is a great way to help children develop their literacy skills. When they are exposed to stories, they hear and understand the correct way to pronounce words and learn how to sequence events. This will set them up for future success in reading and writing.
3. Teaches Children Values and Morals
Stories can teach children about values and morals in a way that is fun and engaging. By listening to stories, they can learn about topics such as kindness, courage and determination. This can help to shape the kind of person they want to become. Values and morals are an important part of any child’s development, and storytelling can be a great way to teach them these things.
4. Advances Social Skills
One of the best things about storytime is that it helps children develop their social skills. When they are gathered around listening to a story, they interact with one another. In return, this can help them learn how to communicate and cooperate with others. It can also help them to build friendships.
5. Encourages Imagination and Creativity
Stories can inspire children’s imagination and creativity. By imagining what life would be like in the world of the story, they are exercising their creative muscles. This skill can help them to come up with new ideas and be more innovative as they grow older.
6. Enhances a Child’s Listening Skills
When we are telling a story, we expect our listeners to pay attention. This is a skill that children need to develop to learn effectively. By listening to stories, children are practicing this skill and becoming better listeners. This is a skill they can apply in other aspects of their lives and even when they grow up, for instance in the workplace, where they’ll be expected to listen to instructions and follow them.
7. Inspires Empathy
Stories can help children to develop empathy. By understanding the feelings of the characters in the story, they can put themselves in other people’s shoes. This can help them to be more understanding and compassionate toward others.
How important is storytime for kids? Hopefully, this article has answered this question. These are just a few of the many benefits storytelling provides, and you should implement it as part of your child’s overall growth and development.
We’ve all struggled to keep our kids busy or entertained at some point, especially during the last few years when many extracurriculars and family outings became harder to safely navigate. For many busy parents, technology provides a quick solution to a difficult problem. But with kids unable to socialize as they would have in the past, many have become overly dependent on screens for entertainment and comfort.
We know that too much screen time can negatively impact our physical and mental health, but once kids become accustomed to a certain amount of it, how can you reestablish healthy limits? Giving your child less screen time may initially seem like an impossible battle, but there are simple ways to start to cut back. Follow these tips to help your child find a healthier balance.
Lessening screen time for children
While screens can help facilitate learning and growing, too much of anything can have negative effects. Children exceeding the appropriate amount of screen time may struggle more with anxiety, depression, concentration and even sleep, which can cause even more complications. So, how do you approach reducing screen time for children in a healthy way? Here are some suggestions:
Communicate why: Imposing strict rules without clearly explaining their significance or neglecting to involve children in a dialogue about expectations may backfire, causing them to rebel or lash out. Explain why there’s going to be a change and create space for them to express their feelings on the topic as well.
Model healthy boundaries: In order for kids to change their technology engagement, it’s important that they see adults in their life modeling healthy boundaries around the use of electronics themselves. Reduce the amount of time you’re bingeing TV shows, scrolling on Instagram or watching TikTok. Be sure to follow the parameters you want your kids to follow.
Establish time to unplug as a family: If you’re just getting started and already feeling daunted, pick a few common times to unplug from technology together. This could look like removing technology while preparing and eating meals, or setting phones down for an hour while enjoying a shared hobby. Find small ways to cut back together.
Set realistic goals: If your children are spending far more than the recommended limits on technology, dramatically changing their routines and available coping mechanisms may not be a reasonable goal. Instead, start slowly and work on developing alternative hobbies and relaxation activities as you reduce screen time.
Make bedtime a screen-free time: Countless studies have shown the negative relationship between screen time and sleep, so make sure to include bedtime in your tech-free schedule. Remove technology an hour before bed and through the night—prioritizing sound sleep is in everyone’s best interest.
While it may seem impossible to give your child less screen time at the outset of such a major change, it is well within your abilities to change your family’s relationship to technology and help build up healthier, more balanced coping mechanisms for your children. If you’re looking to fill free time with interactive, educational fun for children up to nine years old, visit Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center online to learn about how we can help your child learn and grow.
The brain development that occurs in the first three years of a child’s life plays a crucial role in their overall growth, contributing significantly to their thinking, learning and problem-solving skills. As a parent or caregiver, it’s only natural to want to ensure you’re doing everything you can to make the most of this rich period of early development. However, figuring out exactly how to stimulate a child’s mind can be a somewhat overwhelming task.
Child development experts, educators and parents all seem to have their own beliefs around what toys, books and activities should be incorporated to optimize mental stimulation in children. Where do you begin? In this article, we’ll go over some of the top recommendations to help optimize your child’s development.
Activities to stimulate a child’s mind
Engaging your child’s mind in different ways throughout the day is the best way to stimulate mental development. What might these activities include? Here are some examples:
Reading: Most experts agree that reading to your child is one of the best things you can do to promote brain development early on. Not only does reading to children help them begin to understand the basic principles of language and communication, it also improves their recognition skills and creates important emotional bonding opportunities for you both.
Talking: Speaking to your child as you move throughout the day, narrating what you’re doing, explaining your plans or even just describing what you’re seeing is a great way to keep them engaged between activities. As your child grows, they’ll begin to make connections between what you’re saying and what they’re seeing. Hearing speech and conversation also improves language and communication skills.
Playing: Depending on your child’s age, play could be peek-a-boo, singing and making funny sounds or engaging the imagination by playing pretend. Toys are also important—select toys that develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and shape recognition, or toys like play kitchen equipment and realistic tools to help them learn how the world around them works. Incorporate new toys that challenge them as they develop mastery with more familiar ones.
Comfort: Providing consistent, responsive care helps your child process stress and lets them know that their caregiver is a source of comfort when they’re struggling. This is an important part of healthy mental development. Establishing routines around play, sleep and mealtimes can also help a child feel secure.
Music: Many experts believe that exposure to music can help children’s minds develop. Like talking, music helps children recognize patterns, explore language and engage with those around them. Singing, clapping and dancing to your favorite songs with your child can help them learn and grow.
There is no one-size-fits-all roadmap to teach you how to stimulate a child’s mind—you know your child best and will have to determine for yourself what they respond to and what systems work best for your family. What we can all agree on, however, is that participating in a diverse set of engaging activities intended to stimulate a child’s mind is good for children—and their caregivers, too! If you’d like to add more variety into your child’s routine, visit Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center online to chat with our teachers about creating a tailor-made curriculum to help your unique little one grow.
Picky eating is extremely common in young children. This can be frustrating for parents who want to ensure their children are getting a balanced diet. When a child refuses to eat a food and steadfastly says no to so many of the items you put in front of them, it’s understandable for the first instinct to be to try to force the child to eat.
You’ll quickly find, though, that young children have very strong wills and can’t be forced to eat something they don’t want to eat. Besides, attempting to force the matter will only develop a negative association with that food, making it even less likely they will eat it in the future.
Instead of using force for getting your child to try new foods, try the following steps instead:
Start young: From the time your child first begins solid foods, you should focus on giving them a wide range of nutritious foods and flavors. This will encourage acceptance of more different types of foods and potentially limit some issues with pickiness as they grow older.
Introduce slowly: New foods should be introduced one at a time and served with familiar foods. Giving a child a plate with multiple new foods at once can be overwhelming. Having something familiar gives them a food to fall back on and will make it less scary for them to try something new.
Eliminate distractions: Try to remove distractions from the dinner table, so they can focus on eating.
Involve children in food prep: Getting children involved in food preparation and cooking can help them experiment with new foods in a sensory way. They’ll get comfortable with experimenting with the food physically before it shows up on their plate, which can make the prospect of trying it a little less scary.
Start with small portions: Children are much more likely to try a new food when it’s served in bite-sized portions rather than when you drop a full helping on their plate. A small amount of a new food is much less intimidating.
Don’t pressure them: Avoid putting pressure on your child to eat all of the new food or to clear their plate. Not only does this add some stress to the experience, but it also goes against natural hunger cues. Let them stop eating if they wish to do so.
Praise: Make sure you praise your child when they try a new food. This will encourage them to do so again in the future.
Avoid rewards: Never use dessert as a reward or other types of bribes to get your child to try new foods. The praise should be enough.
Be consistent: It may take many different attempts and exposures with a new food for the child to finally accept it. Don’t give up. Keep giving them small amounts, and don’t pressure them to try it or finish it. Let them warm up to the food at their own pace.
