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.
It’s common knowledge that responsible kids are healthier, happier kids. It’s never too early to teach toddlers how to live responsibly—but how should you reinforce positive behaviors for toddlers so that they can take responsibility for their choices and their impact on the world?
Read on to discover the four most helpful tips that allow you to do just that.
Build their self-esteem
Studies show that children with high self-esteem tend to value responsibility much more than children who are lacking in self-confidence. They’re better at seeing goals through to get what they want; acknowledging and learning from mistakes; trying new things and taking risks; asking for help whenever necessary and many other key life skills.
Building self-esteem in children takes time, but it can be done. Regularly provide positive reinforcement both verbally and physically. Offer verbal praise, hugs and high fives. Whenever possible, reward good behavior with a special activity or treat to send a positive message that your child is doing the right thing, instilling within them a greater sense of self-worth.
Teach them to clean up after themselves
It’s crucial to raise your child with the expectation that they are responsible for cleaning up their own messes. Be firm, but be cheerful and kind at the same time (remember the old adage that you shouldn’t worry about spilled milk). There are two great strategies for promoting positive behaviors for toddlers: 1) picking up together, i.e., making sure everything has a home, including toys, clothes, shoes, etc.; 2) making picking up a game by putting on some music or by turning cleaning into a competition. Be consistent, and cleaning up will become second nature to your kids.
Provide structure and routine
Routines are crucial for the development and well-being of kids. From bathing routines to setting standard bedtimes and getting ready in the morning, you can offer your child repeated opportunities to manage themselves. It helps your little ones understand what they can expect as well as what is expected of them, giving them a sense of comfort, safety and some measures of independence at the same time.
Repair rather than punish
A toddler needs to be responsible not only in terms of chores and other daily tasks but also in terms of their interactions with others. When conflicts arise between your toddler and a sibling, parent or friend, don’t force them to apologize—they won’t mean it, and it won’t help the matter. Teach your toddler that their treatment of others has consequences and that they’re responsible for repairing relationships when conflicts occur. That way, they’ll choose to make amends, which makes everyone feel good, without you having to rely on punishment that usually leads to resentment.
Teaching toddlers how to live responsibly is a skill that needs to be reinforced and nurtured from an early age. It always helps to surround your child with positive role models who foster responsible behaviors, like the folks at Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center. By working together as a team, you can help your little ones learn the life skills they need to grow into healthy, happy and productive adults.
Many parents have kids who suffer from children’s anxiety. Developing resilience is crucial during a child’s formative years, providing them with the coping skills they need to respond to stress and anxiety in a healthy way. Luckily, kids of all ages can build resilience over time. By changing the inner wiring of the brain through experience, children have the capability to shape their individual, intrinsic characteristics in a way that strengthens their resilience and reduces their anxiety.
Here are some of the ways kids can conquer stress and build resilience skills that they can use throughout their entire life.
Remember that kids can’t do it alone
Kids can’t learn how to build resilience alone. It takes at least one supportive relationship for kids to develop the coping skills they need to face fear and anxiety and truly thrive in life. The presence of a responsive, caring adult is crucial for dealing with difficult situations. In many cases, a caring relationship can even reverse some of the psychological effects that are activated by stress and fear.
If you can be there for your child, no matter what tough situations they’re going through, you ensure that their brain, body and even immune system are safe from the harmful effects of anxiety.
Provide open lines of communication
Kids need to know that they have someone they can trust to have their back during stressful situations. Many children have been taught to tough it out, but true strength means knowing when to ask for help. Maintain open communication, and let your child know that they’re always encouraged to ask for help, whether it’s from you, a teacher, a coach or even a neighbor.
Explore the benefits of exercise
Exercise is key for reducing children’s anxiety. It boosts neurochemical activity in their developing brains, helping them naturally calm their mind during stressful moments. Any type of exercise offers plenty of benefits for kids, but if you can make it fun, it’s even better. Every time you take your kid out for an afternoon of baseball, Frisbee, basketball or soccer, or when you simply take your dog for a walk, you’ll likely notice a boost in mood—not just for them but also for you.
Promote positivity and optimism
Modeling a positive mindset is another great way to set kids on a path toward resiliency. One thing resilient people have in common is optimism, and the brain can be rewired to be more optimistic through experiences in life. If you have a child who has a glass-half-empty way of thinking, try to show them another perspective without invalidating how they feel. Introduce them to a new way of thinking, and let them take it from there.
Building resilience is one of the best ways for kids to cope with stress and children’s anxiety. Get in touch with the staff at Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center to learn more about helping your child gain the important life skills and concepts that are necessary for healthy development and growth.
From the moment children are born, they start learning all about the world around them. They’re also developing skills that they will use for years to come in all facets of their lives. The importance of early childhood education in fostering these skills and helping children learn new ones is evident in everything from literacy to math skills to emotional stability.
Read on to find out about early learning benefits and discover how the right early learning center can help your child grow and develop.
The importance of early childhood education
The outcomes for children who receive a quality education from an early age are numerous. When parents and educators have a strong relationship, children will gain numerous social and academic benefits. This has both broad and specific applications. For example, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning outcomes have a positive correlation with early learning.
In these early years, a child will build a foundation for their future development, creating a strong base for how they learn throughout their school career. This includes supporting cognitive and social development. Study after study has demonstrated that early childhood education is a vital part of a child’s success in the future.
What to look for in an early learning program
If you believe in the importance of early childhood education, then you’ll want to find a quality program to enroll your child in. From an early age, children can learn so much from being in a classroom setting with both a teacher and their peers.
Here’s what you want to look for in a childcare center that will deliver educational results:
Individualized attention: While part of a childcare center’s responsibility is meeting a child’s basic needs, education needs to go beyond that. It’s vital in the early years for your child to have a supportive teacher who will take the time to provide instruction based on your child’s needs.
Curriculum: Pre-kindergarten lessons need not be complex, but the center should have an idea of what educational outcomes they want to see. Whether it’s learning how to play together with their peers or singing the alphabet song, ensure that the center’s goals align with your values.
Daily story time: One of the most critical activities for young children is reading. Having story time every day at school reinforces this habit. It helps children associate language with text and images—and it creates a positive environment around reading as well. (Bonus points for childcare centers that have dedicated reading areas where children can explore books regardless of their literacy level!)
These are just some of the early learning benefits. Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center is a premier, Biblically-based early childhood learning center. We’re proud to teach the youngest minds skills that last a lifetime. Our supportive and dedicated staff are members of your community, fully invested in helping each student succeed in a loving, safe environment. Let us become part of your family and teach your child the life skills they need to grow and thrive.
