Children’s brains develop quickly. Therefore, it’s essential to keep your child stimulated. Although stimulation methods vary, we have a list of helpful brain development activities. If you need ideas, check out these ways to encourage child brain development for excellent suggestions.

Reading

Reading is a fantastic way to encourage a child’s brain development. You can start reading to your child before they begin recognizing letters and words. When children hear words and connect pictures associated with the terms, their communication skills can kick start. They can build necessary language and word recognition by rereading books. Then, as the child grows, give them more complex readings to build their vocabulary.

Solving Puzzles

A great brain exercise for children is solving puzzles. Children will soon understand the concept of things being ‘whole’ because completed puzzles display pictures. Exercising the brain is one amazing benefit of jigsaw puzzles for children. Puzzles are also great for concentration and shape recognition. Depending on your child’s age, you can start them with simple puzzles and work their way up to more complex brainteasers.

Playing

Playing is a fantastic way to help children’s brains develop. For small children, games like peek-a-boo will engage their interests. Older kids enjoy songs with actions, like “The Wheels on the Bus” or “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” because they must make movements and sounds.

Sensory Activities

Sensory activities stimulate a child’s senses. When children are young, they interact with their environment through the five senses. However, sensory play mainly focuses on touch, sight, and hearing because those are the most accessible senses. Of course, as children get older, they will verbally interact with the world. Right now, sensory activities build nerve connections in the child’s brain by supporting cognitive growth and motor skills.

Here are some examples of sensory activities:

  • Food play (allow the child to touch and squeeze food)
  • Create sound tubes or musical instruments
  • Play with slime or play dough
  • Sandbox time
  • Jump on trampolines

Children grow and develop right before our eyes. Therefore, it’s critical to keep their brains stimulated for continuous development. Development methods vary, but we’re here to help. If you want activity suggestions, refer to our ways to encourage child brain development for great ideas.