How to Support Your Child's Cognitive Development

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AD: Cognitive development concerns how a child thinks, explores, and works things out for themselves. It starts the moment they are born as they start learning about the world around them through everyday experiences and the objects that they are introduced to. This continues through childhood as children are always learning and developing. As a parent, there are various ways that you can bolster your child’s cognitive development. These include providing enriching learning opportunities which can help children prepare for school and improve their chances of success and confidence when it comes to learning around the school curriculum. 

Below is some guidance from a private school in Guildford that you may find helpful.

Talk to Your Child

Although they may not understand, having conversations with your child can help them to grow their language skills and understanding of the world around them. Did you know that even as babies talking to your child has benefits as some babies will actually mimic the way your mouth moves as you speak which in turn helps them later on when they do begin to form words. Start by pointing to different items, like their bottle, nappies, etc, and saying the word out loud and clear whenever you use/pick up the item. They will soon begin to notice the sounds and words and associate them with different items. This means that children are often able to form sounds, words and sentences quicker and associare these with objects. 

Make Comparisons

When looking at different objects, encourage your child to expand on their observations. For example, identify those that are bigger/smaller and line them up. This is a good way for children to learn how to compare and also use the language that comes with it such as longer and shorter, heavier and lighter etc. These can all be used in day-to-day life when mentioning other items.

Unstructured play

Children learn best when you let them take control and lead play, sometimes children just have to get bored to really work out how to play. Unstructured play allows them to decide on a play activity. It removes guidelines, allowing children to explore their own ideas, thus building their creativity, and helping them learn about the world around them. Although this type of play activity requires them to take the lead, lots of games give children the freedom to explore their imagination and make decisions, like hide and seek for example. Unstructured doesn't mean unsupervised though and you should always be near your child in case they need help.

Problem-Solving

Also, look for ways that you can get your child to practice their problem-solving. There are lots of unique problems that we come across in our day to day. In your child’s instance, that might involve finding the matching piece to a puzzle or something that they’ve lost like their shoe. As your child get a little older there are lots of little problem-solving dilemmas you might face and there is no harm i =n getting your kids into

These are just a few of the ways that you can help your child with their cognitive development. When exploring these activities, be mindful of the fact that it may take your child a little while to pick up on new information. Being patient can actually help as it allows them the opportunity to think carefully and formulate their own ideas.

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