When considering child development and learning it is important to ensure that your child is given the chance to develop to his fullest potential;
and this can be done by providing your child with developmentally appropriate toys and activities.
Child development and learning go hand in hand in the sense that your child is constantly developing socially, emotionally,
physically and cognitively, and he is also constantly learning about the world around him from his life experiences.
Because your child has a natural curiosity to learn about the world around him, you can see to it that opportunities present
themselves daily to foster that knowledge in your child through learning opportunities that can include everything from going
on a nature walk, to baking a batch of cookies, to reading a book together.
You don’t need expensive equipment or fancy preschool program to provide your child with stimulating learning and child
development opportunities.
Playing in water with measuring cups and funnels is an excellent way to teach your young child science experiences.
Add things to the water and see which ones float and which ones sink, and you have just extended your child’s science experience.
In order to ensure that child development and learning stimulate your child you need to ensure that the experiences you
provide for your child are both stimulating and age appropriate.
Stimulating learning and child development is dependant on your child’s age, as well as his personal interest.
Activities that sustain your child’s interest are activities he is most likely to learn from. Your child may learn best
from rolling up his sleeves and using his hands to explore; whether that is with finger paint or with gardening tools.
He might learn best when he is in constant motion.
Or your child may thrive in a structured atmosphere where exploration takes place in the pages of a book, or the pensive
building of a structure.
You know your child’s learning style best. The most useful learning and development takes place when your child is in an
atmosphere that he is most comfortable with.
Age appropriate activities are also crucial in high quality child development and learning opportunities. If your
child’s learning opportunities are not stimulating he will not have the opportunity to grow to his potential.
If he only has the opportunity to play with games, toys and activities that are ‘too young’ will become bored and may even
display inappropriate behaviour from lack of stimulation.
Activities that are beyond your child’s developmental age will make him feel frustrated and can even have a negative effect
on his self esteem and self worth.
Learning and child development are affected when your child is expected to work at activities that are beyond his level.
This can also result in your child acting in an inappropriate way.
Learning opportunities that are stimulating, age appropriate and fitting to your child’s learning style can have a strong
and positive effect on his overall learning and development.
