Let your child discover more from everyday experiences.

Like most parents running full schedules, we often overlook the need to help our children connect with the real world. According to an expert childhood educator, the most important thing we can give a child is all the time he needs to explore his environment. This needs us to pace down and engage him in observations; to let him discover what makes his day-to-day world tick. In this way, we nurture his investigative curiosity, language and recognition skills, and help make sense of the world that surrounds him. The question often asked is, given our hectic life, how can we achieve this for our children? You might find these suggestions useful.

Start by building junior’s recognition skills

Use the precious moments you spend together to explore. A simple trip to the supermarket, the doctor or the petshop, actually presents both of you tremendous opportunities for discovery. Do remind yourself that whenever your little one is sparked by some activity, resist the urge to give snappy answers. It will only end the exploration. Discuss ways to find the answer instead. The idea is to encourage, not stop his sense of curiosity.

Whenever you spend time outdoors, let him connect with nature. Not only will this help develop his recognition and sense of value for plant and animal life, it will also stir his compassion for them. Pause with him to observe nature’s many small but enchanting activities. Stop your car to watch a tractor at work in the field. Or if you’re in the city, watch the fire-engine leave the station to answer an emergency. That’s more important than getting to the supermarket on time. Be involved, fully, in your child’s investigation, be it about a leaf, occupation or people. Your enthusiasm can be contagious!

Whatever he learns outside, bring the experience home so he can re-enact, through collections of objects and toys. Through play, you can develop recognition skills so he can easily identify activity, people and objects.

Article is contributed by Fisher-Price®

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