Child Development Activities...
Suggestions For Simple And Inexpensive Activities With Your Child
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There are many simple and inexpensive child development activities that you can choose to do with your child every day that can stimulate positive growth and development in him.
Activities that foster physical growth include climbing, swinging, jumping and running; all of the activities that can be enjoyed during a visit to the park.
Your child need lots of opportunities to work his large muscles in order to physically develop. As he grows stronger he is able to meet developmental milestones in his physical growth.
Activities that foster fine motor control --which is the muscles in the hands which are needed to hold writing tools-- include art activities, like colouring, painting and playing with side walk chalk.
Simple fun activities that can be shared with your child enable him to develop fine motor control. Other development activities that help develop fine motor control include playing with small cars, playing with peg boards cards and small action figures, and playing with puzzles.
Activities that foster your child’s social and emotional growth revolve around dramatic play activities. Playing with dolls, dressing up, and playing house gives your child the opportunity to stretch his imaginations, build on his vocabulary, and express his feelings.
Through dramatic play experiences your child can develop friendships, learn to compromise, share toys, and take turns.
Development activities which develop cognitive or thinking skills can involve activities revolved around reading; whether that is curling up with a great picture book, reading the street signs as you walk down the street, or play a board game that requires reading the answers off of a card.
Child development activities which develop cognitive skills can also include baking activities. When baking, your child can help you read the recipe, can help you count out the ingredients, and can watch as a solid turns into a liquid and then back into a solid again as ingredients are mixed together and then baked.
In order for your child to get the most out of child development activities, the activities need to be repeated often.
Your child may choose to do his favourite puzzle over and over again, or insist on hearing the same picture book again and again. But the repetition of an activity is how he learns to fully grasp new concepts.
Remember...
- Activities that are not age appropriate can hamper your child’s development.
- Activities that are ‘too young’ can cause your child to become bored and ultimately act inappropriately.
- Activities that are too old for him can cause him to feel frustrated, and can cause havoc to his self esteem and self worth.
Choosing activities that fit your child’s developmental age will allow your child the best way to develop skills and meet his developmental milestones.
And as your child grows and learn it is also important to continue introducing new child development activities that will stimulate his natural curiosity and invite exploration.
Resource:
Child Development Activity Search
A quick way to find fun educational activities that nurture your child's development.
Activities can be searched for by skill and by PBS KIDS program.
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