Life

Activities to Target Different Areas of Child Development

As we grow from an infant into a child, into an adolescent, and finally into an adult, we touch upon five distinct development areas: cognitive, Social and emotional, Speech and language, Fine Motor Skills, and Gross Motor Skills. These skills help contribute to our growth into a fully functioning adult who is independent in society. As parents, you should be encouraging progression in these areas, in and around the home, through a range of fun and interesting activities.

Activities to Target Different Areas of Child Development 1

All children are different, so how these areas are targeted should depend on the child in question. One child who enjoys getting their hands dirty, for instance, will take better to outdoor activities than a child who prefers to stay clean and indoors. You will know your children better than most, so when considering these activities, gently encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and try something new.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development enables children to understand the world around them and learn to solve puzzles and problems they face. It can also include memory, attention, and concentration skills, easily developed through everyday interaction with your child. Practicing the alphabet, singing along together, helping your child identify shapes, noises, and colors, and solving simple problems are all great ways to encourage and help your child’s cognitive development.

Between the ages of 3 and 5, make sure to talk to your child as you would an adult regarding the types of words used (rather than topics; 4-year-olds don’t tend to be brushed up on the current state of British politics). Encourage roleplaying and pretend to play in different roles, for example, police, nurse, fireman, and other helpful and authoritative figures your child may need to speak to in the future. You can also start giving your child easy-to-carry-out chores, like wiping down the table and tidying away their toys after playtime, and giving them choices to help develop thought patterns and decision-making processes.

Social & Emotional Development

A child’s social and emotional development is significant as it affects their ability to be independent while having confidence in being around and getting along with others. You can encourage your child to be friendly and outgoing from a young age by including them in your conversations and praising them for saying hello, goodbye, please, and thank you to the people they interact with on a daily basis.

As an infant, your child should have plenty of face-to-face interaction and positive reactions to help them feel secure in themselves. Parents should start encouraging their children to identify their emotions as they grow into the toddler stage, especially when they feel frustrated and show signs of an impending tantrum. By identifying and understanding their feelings, you can teach your child how to control them through calming techniques. To help your child socially, keep adult interactions around them positive and use behavior you wish your child to model as they grow up.

Speech & Language Development

Another key point of your child’s development that speech and language affect your child’s ability to communicate clearly with others and understand what is being communicated to them. Singing songs and nursery rhymes are an excellent way to encourage language as your child grows. Reading to and with your child influences a child’s vocabulary and ability to understand.

As your child develops into a toddler and up to the age of 6, you want to keep a narrative going with your child, encouraging them to join in and holding conversations with them. Ask your child to identify toys, make decisions, and, where possible, give you directions, which you can follow for an activity; this can be as simple as building a tower of blocks, arranging their toys, or even going on a walk.

Fine Motor Skills

The development of your child’s fine motor skills includes using their hands and fingers to grab, pick up, hold on to objects, and perform activities like drawing, painting, and completing a puzzle. Sensory and crafting play are fantastic ways to encourage your child’s fine motor skills. They can include sand play, water play, using dough or modeling clay, drawing, painting, and playing with toys that have shape sorting and ordering.

A great way to encourage fine motor skills and cognitive development is to provide your child with a selection of different and random objects, including cardboard boxes, fabrics, pots and pans, safe kitchen utensils, and other cheap materials. Then, set them out and allow your child to play freely; this can help develop their senses like touch, hearing, and sight while encouraging puzzle-solving, imaginative, and investigation skills.

Gross Motor Skills

Where fine motor skills include the hands and fingers, gross motor skills cover almost all other muscles and muscle groups, although they focus on the main large muscles, such as the abdomen, legs, and back. Free play at a playground or children’s play structure is the best way to help gross motor skills, especially balance, strength, and coordination.

Using the swings helps to develop balance and leg muscles while climbing can encourage many areas of child development, from self-awareness and problem-solving to directional awareness and strength. If you don’t have a safe playground near you but do have open space or a garden, playing ball games with your child is a great way to help develop motor skills and coordination, and learning a new sport for your kids can be a fun bonding exercise for you both. You can also enroll your child in a sports class or activity, with plenty of options and specifically available sports classes for toddlers that cater to child development.

While it seems like a lot to take in, most child development happens through interaction and activity with their parents and should be an enjoyable process for you to participate in and have fun. So, don’t stress about ticking all the boxes, but ensure you positively interact with your child regularly, especially from a young age, to give them the best start.

About author

I work for WideInfo and I love writing on my blog every day with huge new information to help my readers. Fashion is my hobby and eating food is my life. Social Media is my blood to connect my family and friends.
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