Research reveals that a child’s brain development is most affected from infancy – 6 years of age. It is also the ages in which parents will learn and understand their child’s individual abilities and capacity for learning. To be more specific, a Stanford School of Medicine researcher reported that the brain regions that help children sense and interpret the world are dramatically affected by early childhood experiences and concluded that educational toys help to provide various experiences that stimulate young minds.
By introducing educational toys to your child during this crucial period gives your child's brain a "head start". Nerve cells called neurons connect to each other to make circuits that enable the brain to think, do and experience more things. The more that a child’s five senses are stimulated the more these connections in the brain are established. With the exception of tasting and smelling, educational toys are designed to provide multisensory stimulation through hearing, seeing and touching. So let's get started with interactive educational play and watch how educational toys will help your child begin to "brainstorm" at an early age.
Showing posts with label childhood development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childhood development. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Technological Explosion
With the release of so many toys and videos in today's consumer market that claim to have educational and developmental qualities for children, consumers should do some research before accepting toy manufacturers claims. A little research can reveal a lot about a products potential educational and developmental benefits as well as whether it is age appropriate for a child.
Do not be surprised that even some of the television programs that your children watch as well as the numerous DVD's and video games, known as "screen media," are not educational at all but tend to only mesmerize or what is said in more modern terms, cause children to "zone out" rather than educate them. For some time now we have been experiencing great technological advances. Interestingly enough, as electronic technology advances the age of children using this technology has dropped considerably. Research reveals that the use of consumer electronics among children reaches all the way down to infancy. This is not a bad thing per se, but developmental science suggests that children from infancy to two years of age are most vulnerable to negative effects such as aggressive behavior, various fears or phobias as well as sleep disturbances due to exposure to various screen media.
Parents should keep in mind that critical brain connections are produced in children from zero to six years of age. During this age parents and caregivers should provide the necessary interaction through play to optimize the brains development. Because screen media does not provide this, researchers state that the risks of exposing children from infancy to two, to screen media far outweigh the benefits and so recommend parents and caregivers against its use. For children from age two to six, the use of screen media can be used but should be limited to one to two hours a day. However, parents and caregivers should keep a close watch for any negative behavioral reactions that their child may begin to develop.
The benefits of educational play during a child’s early years can provide the stimulation and experiences that create a foundation of learning and growing. As more parents grasp the idea of educational play as well as increased personal interaction with their children, we will all enjoy the benefits. It is much wiser and cost effective to invest into a child’s life today than to address the problems that could have possibly been avoided later in life
Do not be surprised that even some of the television programs that your children watch as well as the numerous DVD's and video games, known as "screen media," are not educational at all but tend to only mesmerize or what is said in more modern terms, cause children to "zone out" rather than educate them. For some time now we have been experiencing great technological advances. Interestingly enough, as electronic technology advances the age of children using this technology has dropped considerably. Research reveals that the use of consumer electronics among children reaches all the way down to infancy. This is not a bad thing per se, but developmental science suggests that children from infancy to two years of age are most vulnerable to negative effects such as aggressive behavior, various fears or phobias as well as sleep disturbances due to exposure to various screen media.
Parents should keep in mind that critical brain connections are produced in children from zero to six years of age. During this age parents and caregivers should provide the necessary interaction through play to optimize the brains development. Because screen media does not provide this, researchers state that the risks of exposing children from infancy to two, to screen media far outweigh the benefits and so recommend parents and caregivers against its use. For children from age two to six, the use of screen media can be used but should be limited to one to two hours a day. However, parents and caregivers should keep a close watch for any negative behavioral reactions that their child may begin to develop.
The benefits of educational play during a child’s early years can provide the stimulation and experiences that create a foundation of learning and growing. As more parents grasp the idea of educational play as well as increased personal interaction with their children, we will all enjoy the benefits. It is much wiser and cost effective to invest into a child’s life today than to address the problems that could have possibly been avoided later in life
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