Developing Cognitive Skills in Young Children

You are your child’s first teacher. As a parent, you need to embrace this idea and not wait for some stranger with a master’s degree in education do the job for you. Develop your child’s cognitive skills at an early age.

Cognitive skills, the ability our brains use to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention are used daily at work, school, and in life. One of those skills is memory. Here are a few ideas on building memory skills:

*    Review the events of the day with your child during supper.

*    Repeat a simple nursery rhyme daily until your child can say it with you.

*    During breakfast, ask your child what he did yesterday.

*    Show your child 4 objects on a tray; cover the tray and remove 1 object; uncover the tray and ask what is missing.

*    Play a concentration game with cards (pick 5 sets of matching cards and turn them face down. Try to turn up 2 that match. There are plenty of fun games you can buy at your local toy store that teach this skill.

When kids enter elementary school they’ll encounter challenges to their cognitive abilities. One such challenge is arithmetic. If your child comes home complaining about Math issues, check with his teacher so you understand what he’s learning in school and she sees your devoted interest. Then, when your child does his homework, sit down with him. Let him do a problem and you do the same problem. Check his work and move to the next one. If he made an error, show him how you got your answer. Have him do the problem again.

Sitting and doing the work together shows children how much you care and builds their interest in the subject matter.  After a few weeks, wean yourself away, but always come back to check their work and ensure they understand new concepts. To reinforce skills, go on line to websites like Math Playground. Play a game together. Once your child understands how to play, move away and let him have fun.

Parenting can be exhausting, but don’t make the huge mistake of turning screens like the TV or smart phone games into a babysitter. From a child’s earliest years, screens must be used as a tool, not a nanny. A few educational shows watched and discussed together is prescribed to help improve cognitive skills.  Ask your toddler questions–who, what, where, when, or why, about what he’s watching. When you’re on the phone, have him play with familiar toys you’ve previously taught so he won’t need your help.  Invest in creative toys and books. And when your child needs a nap, that’s the time for you to rest, too.

One cognitive skill is recognizing colors. If there’s a question about colors, check with your pediatrician regarding color blindness. If no problem is detected, here are a few games you can play:

Using 2 sets of crayons, hold one color up and ask your child to find the other one that is the same color.

*    Using a group of colored shapes let your daughter sort them into piles by color.

*    Show your child a red (yellow, etc.) shape and ask her to find other things in the room that are that color.

*    Let your child find matching colors on her own and other children’s clothes.

The second step is color identification, that’s when your child finds a color when you name it.

*    Use color names often. When driving in the car, play “The Color Game.” You name a color and your child points to a car of that color.

*    Sing songs using color names.

Finally, there’s color naming, being able to see a color and name it with no clues.

You can apply this towards other cognitive skills you want your child to learn such as numbers, letters, and shapes.

Remember, a child’s cognitive skills develop like the arc of the space shuttle launched into Earth orbit.  To ignore this need leads to a diminished attention span, mental ability and an erosion of imagination. You son or daughter’s success in school and in life depends upon it.