Your child’s mind is literally like clay when they are initially developing their senses and growing up. At this stage, you can influence their minds and impart good values to them in order to turn them into ideal human beings.
For children, stimulation of their brain is a huge requirement. To make them ready for their school, stimulating their brain with certain activities at home is very much needed. Parents need to focus on developing their child’s brain by getting involved in their activities and also make them ready for the next step of their lives, which is school.
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When children start going to school, they are literally stepping out into the world, and this is their first experience on their own with the world outside without the parents’ protection. Here they are going to interact with a lot of other people who are of their age and will learn innumerable things which will influence their character later on in life. At this stage, we all want our children to be in their best form. We want them to learn and grow. In order to let that happen effectively, brain stimulation is an essential aspect for all preschool toddlers.
Your home is literally the first place where you mold your child’s future; this is from where they learn the basics of building their knowledge hence indulging in activities which stimulate their brain, makes them attentive and curious along with the development of discipline is very important.
Here are the top ten ways to stimulate your child’s brain and make them ready for their school.
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Indulge in Art.
Art does not always mean painting. It can literally be any form of art, be it music, recitation, dancing, etc., anything that a parent is comfortable in doing and teaching their child will be enough. Make time to teach your child any sort of art form because this will help them build their interest and also will provide a sense of discipline. Make sure you understand whether the activities are interesting enough and your child is enjoying them because if they are losing interest, there is no way they will learn anything good from it.
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Make them draw.
Drawing is interesting to every kid out there. The colours and the process of drawing never fail to entertain kids and is an amazing thing to do while you spend some quality time with them. Through drawing, you can teach your kid the basic colours, spellings and a lot of things which in the normal way won’t be interesting enough. This is an amazing process to stimulate their minds and also build strong communication with your child.
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Schedule movie times.
Movies are an amazing way to teach your kid how to speak, and the basic utility of words. Hence every weekend, try to arrange movie times where you can choose one animated or family movie with an interesting storyline and make your kid watch it. This way, they will have the interest to learn things and also get entertained.
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Indulge in an organization with your kid.
Organization practices are one excellent way to kindle helpful behaviour in your kid. It also helps in building team spirit and tendencies of cooperation. Make them help you organize a closet or make random arrangements. This will help in keeping them active and will also make them habituated to working with other people.
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Encourage reading.
Get your kid loads of books and create the habit of reading from a young age. Reading is an essential aspect of learning and is also important for concentration building. Hence make sure your child is reading a lot of books. In order to retain their interest, make sure you get books with vibrant pictures and interesting stories in them.
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Indulge in gardening.
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Play board games to encourage cooperative skills.
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Let them indulge in outdoor games, make your child play with other kids, and do not confine them inside the house all the time.
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Limit the time for watching TV and computers.
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Maintain a safe and peaceful environment in your house.
No matter how busy a parent’s schedule is, they should never refrain from making time for their children. A parent’s influence is undoubtedly the biggest influence on a child and is extremely important to stimulate their minds as well.
10 ways to deal with whining behaviour
If your kid whines about everything from the food you prepare to the color of their shoes, it is hard to listen to every time you say no. Not to mention, you start dreading going to public places with your kid, in case they have a public outburst.
Whining is a normal issue in children. Most children understand from an early age that whining will get them what they want. For them, it is an effective way to bend adults into submission.
That is why it must be curbed as quickly as possible. Whining will get worse without adequate intervention, and a whiny kid can turn into a whiny adult. These steps will help you stop your kid’s whiny outburst.
1. Establishing a “No whining” Rule
Establish a household rule, such as, “Ask for something nice and accept the answer politely.” This makes children realize that their whining would not be successful. And you would not change your minds.
Be sure that the other guardian of the child, including your spouse and your in-laws are on the same page. It would hinder your efforts if one of them gives in to the whining and get the child what they want.
Also, be persistent, remind them from time to time about the rules. “What’s our rule about how we ask for something?” or “What’s an appropriate way to respond when someone tells you NO?” These answers make your child see that whining is a bad habit, not a tactic for them to use.
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2. Keep reminding them not to whine.
Children do not realize that they are whining sometimes. Remind them when they start whining. Also tell them that, begging, pleading, and constantly asking both constitute whining.
Create a whining jar if this behavior persists. If you give your child an allowance, tell them they lose a portion of every time they whine. If not, then they lose out on their favorite dessert or activity every time they whine.
3. The key is to be patient and not giving in
Whining can be as musical as a cat screech. But adults must keep cool. If it helps you keep your composure, take deep breaths, leave the room, or put on some music. Do not give up, whatever you do. When you end up giving in, out of desperation, you are showing your kid that whining is a productive means of achieving what they want.
4. Ignore Whining
The attention of some way may cause the behavior to persist, especially though it is negative attention. A productive method of behavior management is to disregard attention-seeking behavior like whining.
You perpetuate the action if your kid keeps crying when you tell them to clean up their toys, then you keep talking to them as he whines. Paying attention to your child allows the crying to continue. Also, the more you involve them in a discussion, the more the toys will be picked up by your kids.
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Chances are when they see that you are not responding, your child will start to complain louder. Keep ignoring it until it ends. They will realize that their whining will not work anymore.
5. Teach them other ways to express themselves.
Teach your child how they can express unpleasant feelings such as anger, disappointment, and sorrow. Teaching your child about emotions is vital so that they can understand how they feel and learn how to cope with disturbing feelings.
For starters, if your kid is upset because you told them that they cannot play video games, motivate them by involving them in coloring or jumping jacks to cope with those angry feelings. Coping skills will help your child cope properly with their emotions. Kids need to learn healthy ways to express themselves when they are upset.
6. Leave the room.
Simply leave the room as your child starts to cry or whine. Your child will likely follow or throw things, ignore them until they calm down. After a while, they will stop whining and will get distracted.
7. Remove the cause.
In case they are whining because of an object, simply take it away. Your kid, for instance, is whining over an extra cookie, then hide the cookies. Every time this happens remove the object, out of sight, out of mind.
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8. Time Out.
The Time Out technique works in case your child is small. When they start whining tell them that they are upset and go sit down somewhere and tell you why they are angry. After a while, they will be back to their usual self.
9. Change the subject.
Changing the subject is another effective way to stop the whining. Every time they start whining ask a random question, they will be caught off guard. Redirecting young children’s attention can be a perfect tactic for many different scenarios.
10. Make sure your kids get enough sleep.
A lack of adequate rest is the number one cause a child typically gets whiny. Parents underestimate the amount of sleep their children need to work at their best. Sleep deprivation puts the brains of children in a mode of stress that creates a constant state of irritability. Make sure your child has a proper night’s sleep and it can aid in every part of their lives.
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