EARLY YEARS BRAIN FEEDS

Early childhood years are very important in brain and personality development. All parents think of "How can I help my child become smart, creative, kind....etc.?" What someone learns or experiences during childhood can play important role in this. So, here are some ideas we think can help parents in brain development of their kids & shaping their kid's future.

STAY HEALTHY

Lets us start with some obvious yet important points.

Food - Everyone needs nutritious and balanced food. This is more so for kids. Both physical and mental development depends of proper intake of food.

Sleep - In a child, sleep is not only the time for relaxation but also for growing. If a child gets proper sleep he will be fresh and ready to complete his daily tasks. Let your child relax when he feels tired.

Outdoor Activities - Vitamin D, fresh air and physical exercise are essential for body and brain development. Make sure your child gets a lot of it.

MORE TEACHING LESS FORBIDDING

We parents sometimes tend to shout at or forbid children when we see them trying to do something that could be dangerous. It could be climbing up somewhere, where there is a danger of falling, closing a door or a drawer where there is danger of getting the fingers hurt or when toddlers try to copy actions of the elders. Instead of shouting at them or forbidding them from doing something, it is always better to either teach them how to do the specific action without hurting themselves or explain to them why you are forbidding them from doing it.

This creates more positive attitude in them and also helps them understand the concept of cause and effect. If children learn at the early years that the rules are not just "Because I said so!" but rather all rules have and should have a valid reasoning behind them, children can grow up to be more matured and sensible human beings.

CONSCIOUS INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW 

Parents have this great pleasure and great responsibility of introducing the world to their children. Everything is unknown to children until it is introduced to them. As the new things are acquainted to a child, it creates an impact on his mind, his interests & hence, also on personality. So, it is advisable to provide them with diverse experiences, for healthy mental and physical development.

Reading - There are kid's books available in stores for all age groups starting from one year old. Books are our all time friends. Give your child variety of books from early years. Obviously, you will have to read it to them initially but after a book is read a few times, toddlers can read them all by their own (If the books are pictures based). Read books with sound effects, rhymes & voice modulation to make them more attractive.

Puzzles - Solving puzzles needs concentration. It also helps develop problem solving ability. Age appropriate puzzles for toddlers can help in development of physical abilities like, fine motor development and hand-eye coordination.

Speaking & Vocabulary -  Language learning ability of children is many times more than that of adults. Hence, it can be a good idea to increase your child's vocabulary or even introduce more than one languages to the kids. Communicate with your child as much as possible.

Games -

Physical activities & outdoor games can be important not only for the physical development but also for mental and social skills development. They can help in improving child's confidence and his ability to operate in a group of people.

Sorting games, play an important role in brain development of toddlers. Sorting the things by color, shape or size helps a child to think. You can give your child toys, clothes, kitchen utensils, fruits etc. to sort.

Memory games, can be good brain exercise. A good memory is the foundation of good intellect.

Music - Introducing musical instruments in early years can do wonderful things to the child's creativity. Show your child someone playing an instrument in real life. Children typically like instrumental music than vocal. Let your child explore different instruments himself. Music can have a multifaceted influence on a child's mind.

BUILDING THE MINDSET

Impressions made in early years last long and are generally very strong. The kind of things child hears, the experiences he gets, the dos and don'ts he learns in early child hood, will shape his personality to a great extent. Will your child have a practical or an idealist mindset? Whether he will grow to be a shrewd or generous? Will he enjoy science, literature, music, finer things of life?..... All of these possibilities will depend upon his early years to a good a extent. 

So, we encourage all parents to dedicate some time to think about how you would like to see your child to grow up. Discuss this with your partner and then think about what specific actions are you taking for this to happen? Are you by mistake giving wrong examples to him? If you are not already taking specific actions, right now is the best time to start planning them. Surprisingly, it's easy to forget to do the important things in life,  just because their due date is in distant future. But growing your child to be a good human being is not one day's work, it's a lifetime duty!

So parents, hope this post will help you. Feel free to add your comments in the comment section.

Happy Parenting!