What is the best way for you to ensure that your child's brain is developing to maximize their chances for a successful academic career and a life of positive emotional experiences? There are two easy ways you can help your child.
Think time. The best experiences you can engage your child in for their enhanced brain development are those that allow them to exercise their problem-solving skills. The brain makes connections to old information and constructs connections with new information when it is trying to solve a problem. The easiest way to ensure your child is developing his or her problem-solving skills is to ask him or her questions. These questions can range from what they think you should cook for dinner to how they would design a house for your family. Higher-order thinking questions that require your child to create new ideas or apply old ideas are the best kinds of questions to pose, but any question is a good question. Because our brains are equipped for the pursuit of survival, we are always trying to figure things out. This is what we call curiosity in an infant or toddler. If we are constantly providing the answers, we are slowly decreasing new brain connections. By posing a question or problem to solve, your child's brain is trying to figure out the answer even after the answer has become evident. If you have ever lost your job or had an unexpected bill to pay, you probably know exactly what this is about. Even when you are not intentionally thinking about how you are going to provide for your family, your brain is constantly trying to come up with ideas. When your unfortunate circumstance has been repaired, you sometimes still find yourself noticing ways to save money. Your brain is still working on that problem.
Exercise. Another very easy way for you to enhance the development of your child's brain is to provide opportunities for your child to exercise. Physical activity is directly linked to brain development. In college, I had a professor who assigned a daily mile run because he knew the benefits to brain development. Exercise provides adequate oxygen to the brain and is a natural way for the brain to problem solve. If you want to take it a step further, have your child do exercises that cross over their midline. For example, challenge your toddler to assemble a simple puzzle by picking up the pieces on their left with their right hand and vice versa.
Chances are your brain is still milling over the question at the beginning of this article. You may feel a bit more confident about your answer; however, your brain is still working on it. Problem-solving is a skill that can be developed and enhanced. It is imperative their child has strong problem-solving skills in order for them to do well on exams, have self-confidence and to become independent adults.
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