CHILD’S COGNITIVE SKILLS: IMPORTANCE AND WAYS OF IMPROVING THEM

Cognitive Development refers to the development of a child’s ability to explore, identify, remember and solve problems. The early cognitive development of a child demands an environment rich in proactive interactions and opportunities to explore things on their own. As a parent, you must know that sharpening the cognitive skills at early stages lays down the foundation for your child’s success in later stages of life. Here we are discussing the importance of a child’s cognitive skills and effective ways to improve them.

Importance of Developing a Child’s Cognitive Skills

Cognitive Skills have a major role to play in a human’s overall development of the brain. This includes the basic yet vital exercises of the brain like learning, reading, identifying, paying attention, retaining memory, and making decisions. All of these skills are directly proportional to our quality of performance. Lack of these skills decimates and inhibits our information processing systems. Scientists have proved that most complex learning challenges are caused by improper cognitive skills. The growth happens at the ages of 4-12 years and then from 12-18 years. Now at the age of 4-12 years, children tend to grasp the ability to think in ardent ways. From 12-18, the period is called adolescence and they start to develop complex ideologies packed with emotions.

Effective Ways of Improving a Child’s Cognitive Skills

Talking about ways to improve these skills, a significant amount of hard work has to be put in both by parents and schools. It is a 50-50 partnership because schools are the second home to children where they get to experience the first move of every emotion. Here are some ways by which you can promote your child’s cognitive development right from the early stages-

• As a parent of a toddler, you should sing songs with your child and encourage them to sing along. Sweet and soft music stimulates a child’s senses magnificently. Even talking with them and naming commonly used objects is an excellent exercise too.
•  Parents should encourage their children to play with other children. Don’t just pack them in homes. Try giving them healthy company.
• Take them out on trips to gardens, museums, children’s libraries, theaters, etc. You can also enroll them in these programs available offline. Practice more shapes, colors, and numeric lessons.
• Let your child narrate their ideas and thoughts with you. Let them think independently.
• Try to make things more interesting for your child by engaging them with light sports like building blocks, alphabetic Casio, poem reciting tools, etc.
• As parents, you must guarantee to limit the screen time of your child. If your child is spending more time on phones and laptops or you’re completely relying on these to educate your child, then you must stop right away. Educate them on the importance of interacting outdoors with nature and people. Recapitulate the things you’ve taught them at the end of the day.
• Sudoku, puzzles, crosswords, and small logic reasoning questions are some other ways to be practiced at home frequently. Don’t forget to compliment your child on the smallest of the achievements made.
• Schools should organize more and more extracurricular activities for children of all groups to ensure their overall development. It is proven that playing sports and exercising help to release certain chemicals that regulate the neurological processes for proper brain growth.
• In addition, schools can also organize crafting, painting, science-related orientation programs, and other creative activities/competitions to arouse their curiosity. Neither parents nor teachers should hesitate or discourage their “why” questions.
• If your child is a teenager, then first you need to be patient about his/her pace of learning. Don’t pressurize your child to compete with others. Instead, talk to them about the possibilities for their future. Guide them in setting goals and appreciate their decisions. Don’t just run before their good grades, you need to pay attention towards their mental peace and happiness in their lives.
• You have to stand with your teen child during adverse encounters with life. Hold their hands and help them in re-evaluating their decisions rather than shouting or screaming at them for doing things wrong.
  Include him/her in positive and informative discussions about a variety of topics related to sustainability, current affairs, social responsibility, conventional morals, etc. Teenage and adolescence are massively sensitive periods of an individual’s life and so must be handled with utmost love, care, compassion, and support.