| Parenting Your Way |
Growing your Child's Brain Power
by Denise Konen, Licensed Parent Educator
www.parenting.netgains.net
by Denise Konen, Licensed Parent Educator
www.parenting.netgains.net
Do the new computer and television games for children mean smarter kids? Not necessarily so, even though all the commercials tell us we
must buy ‘Baby Einstein’ and ‘Leap Frog,’ if we really want our children to learn. Children may develop some technical skills ahead of their
peers, but if they play a lot of these games or sit in front of television or computer screens, they will be lacking in their ability to relate to others,
to develop organizational and creative abilities, self-awareness and the key emotional skills needed for healthy growth. In the case of computers
and television exposure – younger is not better, although there is a place for them in the elementary and teen years.
Brain-friendly activities
A child’s brain makes different pathways for learning by experiencing a variety of sensory activities and challenges. This means touching,
talking, manipulating, smelling, and moving. Most of these can easily happen through everyday experiences, but are happening less because of
the overuse of television, infant seats, play pens, and computers. For example, when your child works near you or helps you prepare meals it
gives him or her opportunities to smell different foods and spices, talk with you while you are cooking, and learn skills by watching you, like
how to break an egg or put ketchup on all the hamburger buns. This same brain-friendly activity happens when you do something as simple as
fold clothes together. The smell and feel of the fresh warm laundry, the challenge of matching and sorting and the conversation you have with
your child while folding, all help a child’s brain to grow more pathways and fine tune the existing brain pathways. These simple activities also
promote responsibility and patience!
Whenever your child moves and explores, touches and tastes, plays or spends time talking with you or others, he or she is getting some of the
best stimulation for healthy brain development. Jumping, running, singing, putting together puzzles, setting the table, playing games with others,
splashing in water, and molding sand - all give the brain challenges and new learning experiences in the way that children need most. These
activities need to be repeated many times in the early years to permanently develop complex pathways in the brain.
What Gets In the Way?
So what slows down or gets in the way of the brain developing in the best way for children? Lots of upsets and tantrums make it difficult for
brains to work efficiently, so it’s important for both parent and child to find ways to calm themselves when upsetting things happen. Begin
teaching a young child slow breathing and meditation by blowing out pretend candles on each finger of his or her hand. If they are older, ask
them what they need to do to calm down. Maybe it’s listening to music, drawing, jogging or talking to a friend. Your child will develop the
ability to walk away and calm down before he or she says something they regret – a skill that many of us adults don’t have. Afterward, their
response to the upsetting situation will be more thoughtful.
Television has clearly been shown to get in the way of growing brains. When children sit and watch TV, they are not interacting with others,
using their senses or their whole bodies, or experiencing new challenges. An organization of children’s doctors, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, are so concerned about television’s effect on children’s development they urge parents to avoid television for children under 2 years
old and limit it to one or two hours for children of all ages. When older children watch television, make it interactive and pass on your values
by watching with them and talking about it together.
Parents are powerful
It takes some planning on our part, as parents, to provide a rich, brain-friendly environment. The good thing is that it costs very little and is
available to all children. When they are young, we can take pots and pans out, paint, color or create whole towns with junk mail and
recyclables, play in the mud, and spend time talking, singing, reading and holding our children. We can explore talents and hobbies with older
kids - expanding their interests, relationship skills, resourcefulness and brainpower. Help your children to solve problems by asking questions
rather than telling them how it is done. When people solve a problem themselves, the brain releases a rush of energizing neurotransmitters.
Both children and parents can reshape the brain pathways by choosing positive behaviors, even if we have developed negative habits. If you’d
like to learn more about this, read Daniel Goleman's book, Social Intelligence. We need to do the work of helping our children develop the brain
pathways they will need to make good choices and decisions as they grow into successful adults.
must buy ‘Baby Einstein’ and ‘Leap Frog,’ if we really want our children to learn. Children may develop some technical skills ahead of their
peers, but if they play a lot of these games or sit in front of television or computer screens, they will be lacking in their ability to relate to others,
to develop organizational and creative abilities, self-awareness and the key emotional skills needed for healthy growth. In the case of computers
and television exposure – younger is not better, although there is a place for them in the elementary and teen years.
Brain-friendly activities
A child’s brain makes different pathways for learning by experiencing a variety of sensory activities and challenges. This means touching,
talking, manipulating, smelling, and moving. Most of these can easily happen through everyday experiences, but are happening less because of
the overuse of television, infant seats, play pens, and computers. For example, when your child works near you or helps you prepare meals it
gives him or her opportunities to smell different foods and spices, talk with you while you are cooking, and learn skills by watching you, like
how to break an egg or put ketchup on all the hamburger buns. This same brain-friendly activity happens when you do something as simple as
fold clothes together. The smell and feel of the fresh warm laundry, the challenge of matching and sorting and the conversation you have with
your child while folding, all help a child’s brain to grow more pathways and fine tune the existing brain pathways. These simple activities also
promote responsibility and patience!
Whenever your child moves and explores, touches and tastes, plays or spends time talking with you or others, he or she is getting some of the
best stimulation for healthy brain development. Jumping, running, singing, putting together puzzles, setting the table, playing games with others,
splashing in water, and molding sand - all give the brain challenges and new learning experiences in the way that children need most. These
activities need to be repeated many times in the early years to permanently develop complex pathways in the brain.
What Gets In the Way?
So what slows down or gets in the way of the brain developing in the best way for children? Lots of upsets and tantrums make it difficult for
brains to work efficiently, so it’s important for both parent and child to find ways to calm themselves when upsetting things happen. Begin
teaching a young child slow breathing and meditation by blowing out pretend candles on each finger of his or her hand. If they are older, ask
them what they need to do to calm down. Maybe it’s listening to music, drawing, jogging or talking to a friend. Your child will develop the
ability to walk away and calm down before he or she says something they regret – a skill that many of us adults don’t have. Afterward, their
response to the upsetting situation will be more thoughtful.
Television has clearly been shown to get in the way of growing brains. When children sit and watch TV, they are not interacting with others,
using their senses or their whole bodies, or experiencing new challenges. An organization of children’s doctors, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, are so concerned about television’s effect on children’s development they urge parents to avoid television for children under 2 years
old and limit it to one or two hours for children of all ages. When older children watch television, make it interactive and pass on your values
by watching with them and talking about it together.
Parents are powerful
It takes some planning on our part, as parents, to provide a rich, brain-friendly environment. The good thing is that it costs very little and is
available to all children. When they are young, we can take pots and pans out, paint, color or create whole towns with junk mail and
recyclables, play in the mud, and spend time talking, singing, reading and holding our children. We can explore talents and hobbies with older
kids - expanding their interests, relationship skills, resourcefulness and brainpower. Help your children to solve problems by asking questions
rather than telling them how it is done. When people solve a problem themselves, the brain releases a rush of energizing neurotransmitters.
Both children and parents can reshape the brain pathways by choosing positive behaviors, even if we have developed negative habits. If you’d
like to learn more about this, read Daniel Goleman's book, Social Intelligence. We need to do the work of helping our children develop the brain
pathways they will need to make good choices and decisions as they grow into successful adults.
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