How to Develop Your Child’s Brain at Home

7 March 2016 12:30 pm By Mandulee Mendis

A child’s mind should be developed from the beginning. Rather than waiting till your child goes to pre-school or school, you can do some interesting yet brain developing activities at home

Books

A book is always a miracle worker. Make your child familiar with books from the beginning. The books you give your child should be interesting enough to grab his/her attention. Choose books with large and colourful pictures, and share your baby's delight in pointing and making noises like the animal sounds to go along with farm pictures. Modulate the tone of your voice. It is better to simplify or elaborate on story lines. Then encourage toddlers to talk about books. They will thank you one day for making books, a part of their lives from the beginning.

Songs

Songs are proven to be very effective in developing a child’s brain. Specially, songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Ring-Around-the-Rosy" are good to be sung. The body motions and finger play will help your baby integrate sounds with large and small motor actions. Songs also enhance your child's learning of rhythms, rhymes, and language patterns. A rhythmic tune will keep him / her entertained too. Imaginative Play This is an activity which will also develop the creativity of your child. Encourage your child to imagine situations and act them out. For an example, when he / she plays with plastic animals, encourage them to build a story like, deer visits the rabbit, then they play together. Imaginative play also helps language skills, because it involves thinking about things in words and repeating what they hear.

Interacting with other Kids

Man is a social animal. Although your child interacts with you, he/she would experience a different kind of an interaction when he / she plays with other kids. Therefore kids should be made to interact with other kids. They would learn to be friendly with others, respect others and be independent.

Games and Puzzles

There are good games that help children develop their brains. Go to a toy store and choose the best games for your child. Choose the ones where your child will have to think analytically, to win. The puzzles are good for their brains. Working with puzzles promotes nonverbal reasoning and the ability to visualize. According to specialists, the brain’s fine motor coordination area gets a jolt as little fingers learn to fit the pieces. And puzzles can help kids spend some quiet time on their own while stimulating their minds.