Raising children in the digital age: activities to stimulate their intelligence
In collaboration with CONAD
Entertaining the little ones 2.0 is not always an easy task: the children of modern times are full of energy and their attention span is often too low to convince them to listen to you.
Keeping them busy, however, is not impossible. If you use a little ingenuity and imagination, there are activities that can make them participate that will amaze you with their unexpected effects: it can take very little to make a little thing special, if done together!
Alternative games for kids: 5 ways to get back to playing in the 2.0 era!
So let's see what the tricks of the trade of parenting spendable on the basis of age groups.
From 0 to 5 years: stimulate their senses
It is often said that the very young child is like a "sponge", that is, capable of rapidly assimilating infinite notions. To ensure that your little ones learn as much as possible, it is important to stimulate and support them during this precious phase!
Their way of filtering the world passes through the senses, which with your support they will be able to develop and refine considerably. For the little ones, tactile games are particularly suitable; while as the children grow up it is possible to insert elements of logic, which involve more complicated reasoning with which to measure oneself.
Very important is the development of self-confidence, which will increase through their experiences. This moment in their life is full of potential and it is important that they experience freely. The task of adults is to hold back their protective and educational instincts a little: it is good not to over-correct the child, but to maintain a controlling behavior without immediate intervention, so that he can learn to know his own limits, making use of what the child it finds out for itself.
From 6 to 10 years: make them feel independent
When children are a little older, greater interaction is possible: activities such as drawing and writing are great classics to re-propose that can be good for saving almost any type of situation.
Through the drawing, the child frees his imagination and tells his world: sometimes it can prove to be the right tool to understand his state of mind, as well as an alarm bell to find out if he is going through a difficult moment.
If, on the other hand, the child is learning or has already learned to write, it is very useful to encourage him, without ever forcing him. The ideal is to stay on the playground, so that the child can spontaneously become passionate and let their creativity emerge.If it is very common to see children who move very comfortably with tablets and smartphones (even when they still cannot speak they can happen to see them!), It is equally important to give them inputs so that they learn to appreciate activities such as freehand writing and reading. .
To make children grow this passion, too thick considered an "old" and anachronistic diversion, it is good that there are books in the house since the child is very small, so that tool-book turns out to be a familiar object.
It is also possible to help the child to feel autonomous (at this age it will be a source of great pride for him!) For example by making him register his personal card at the municipal library. In doing so, books are very likely to be part of his interests as he grows up.
From 10 to 13 years: writing as an aid to growth and introspection
If you have managed to channel the passion of your children towards hobbies such as reading and writing at a young age, it is in the pre-adolescent and adolescent phase that it will be possible to reap the most important rewards.
In this delicate phase of growth, writing can become an "excellent outlet valve and tool for self-knowledge, allowing you to open up and let off steam, giving voice to the deepest feelings.
In fact, language arises from the human being's need to be able to communicate and interact, activities for which writing has always been a faithful and irreplaceable ally.
Its advantages, if you write freehand, compared to typing on the keyboard, are much greater than you can imagine: it improves the learning ability and refines the ability to go straight to the point, even being useful for defeating problems such as dyslexia.
How to bring children closer to reading and writing?
Although not in possession of particular strategies to encourage children and young people to become passionate about the world of reading and writing (in fact, someone claims that even this kind of love is transmitted through the umbilical cord), there are effective practical advice that can be implemented in this sense.
As we have already mentioned, it is certainly a good thing to make the book perceive as a familiar object that can be easily found within the walls of the house: there is also a type of book suitable for every age, since childhood it is possible to find the most suitable one and stimulating.
Sharing moments of reading is another "excellent choice: listening to the little ones is a precious learning opportunity, as well as a very pleasant moment to spend in the company of their parents.
Preferring books as a gift object for anniversaries will certainly increase the sensitivity towards the book as a means of escape; while when your child will be able to write independently, you can offer him more original initiatives such as writing competitions, in which he can participate together with his classmates.
Writing competitions: a playground in which to test oneself
A writing contest to participate in with the school is a good way to socialize as well as to enrich the burdens of studying by integrating them with something pleasant. The opportunity of a competition can be particularly engaging even for students less dedicated to homework, who could find the right stimulus in the working group to become more passionate about school.
A very stimulating practical example of this is the competition offered also this year by Conad "Class writers”: A particular incentive for creative writing that includes very special prizes!
The kids will be able to become real sports reporters: the eight winning stories on the value of sport will become real interviews for as many sports champions and will then be published as collectible books. For the finalist participating schools, many gift vouchers for the purchase of teaching material.
To find out more about the initiative and participate in the competition, just visit the Conad website by clicking this link.
It will be possible to register for the competition until November 17, 2017 on the website www.insiemeperlascuola.it
To get back to school with the right momentum, this is an opportunity not to be missed!
