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Speaking about sex education to your kid is a pickle for every parent. As per experts the earliest sex education can be taught at the age of four. Start with the basics, and go with the flow. Let’s check out the list of things to keep in mind for the talk: Honesty is the best policy: Children can sense your nervousness if you are being secretive. Therefore, it is best to be open and approachable to answer any of their curiosities. Repetition and broadening of queries every year: Giving a brief gist like, ‘there it is, I had the talk’! well! No. Children often hear something or other from their friends as well. They will also stumble upon such topic over TV or internet and might also overhear your conversations. Parents have to prepared to have a deeper conversation, not just once but few times while they grow. Clear communication on what is private: Private parts awareness should start early as much as for your 3 year old. Your sincere and open style of communication encourages them too. For instance, just like a nose or tummy, a penis or vagina is a body part. But they are private to the individual and this means that no one can touch. Make them know, that if anyone happens to touch them, they should immediatly speak it out. (Click here to read why listening is essential for your child’s growth) Handling inappropriate questions at inappropriate situations: Always encourage children to ask question even if it is inappropriate. If the situation around is not right, then you can also tell them that you will discuss in detail later instead of shunning them out. Gender should be a neutral thing: Kids are very impressionable. Firstly, they look up to their elders around them. If you tell your son “Stop crying, only girls cry!” just to make to get him quiet, he might relate being vulnerable as a disgrace. Secondly, he has perceived girls as weak. This is where the child will associate himself or herself with a gender group! It is important to make kids aware that apart from the physical difference there is no difference in genders. To encourage use gender neutral terminology at home. Home is their first morale school. Talking about sexually transmitted diseases: Firstly talk about germs, cleanliness etc. Talk to them about precautions to take. Tell that that, sex is okay as long as it is safe. Gradually, as they ask or grow, there can be more specifics about the meaning and process of safe sex Speak about the dangers of blood transmission and injections without consent. Furthermore, discussing such topics brings an awareness to protect themselves. Thus, knowledge is the key to growth. Click here to listen to an interesting talk by V. Chandra – Mouli, expert in adolescent sexual and reproductive health – W.H.O, that sexuality education is not just teaching about sex, reproduction or how to avoid problems.
How to improve Cognitive Skills in Children? With our previous article, we learned about the stages of cognition in a child. But how to improve or boost these cognitive skills in kids is the case in point. This is what we are highlighting in this section. Exercising brain and body Benefits of exercising is innumerable and yes, it also helps improve cognitive skills. Start by fixing a time for physical and brain exercises in the timetable. Simple exercises for mind / body coordination work wonders. For e.g. writing with non dormant hand, tongue twisters, doing different things with both hands simultaneously. Other examples include learning a new skill like music, gardening, games like ‘I put in my basket’ etc. Sufficient sleep Sleep, sure is an individual thing but the general rule of thumb for a kid is 11 to 12 hours of sleep a day. Rhymes and songs Just like you and I listen to music, sing (even if it is the bathroom) to refresh or relax our minds, kids need them too. In fact, creating own rhymes and songs opens up their mind to new possibilities and encourages imagination and even helps learn quicker. Group or family bonding activities Being a part of group and having good family bonding not only makes a child social but also brings in a sense of belonging. Feeling secure boosts child’s self esteem. This in turn encourages the child to ask questions and give opinion without hesitations. Bonding activities like enjoying meals with family, doing activities like playing games, singing, dancing or cooking are some examples. Practical learning With everyday things that are available in your home, you can help your child develop cognitive skills. Involve him / her in activities like cooking, cleaning, gardening, washing clothes / utensils, etc. You can teach your child basic skills like sorting, counting, finding or matching colours, shapes and so on with these chores. Encourage imagination ‘Imagination is more powerful than knowledge’ – Albert Einstein. He used his powerful imagination throughout his life and career. It is an essential tool in cognition development. Activities like role-play, reading, listening to stories, creating own stories, creative activities like painting, sewing, gardening, dancing, singing, arts and craft etc. boosts imagination. Another way is to have discussions or asking open ended questions to your child. Let them give their opinion and then make them listen to yours. This will open their minds towards the fact that there can be more than one perspective of thinking and reasoning. Critical thinking Encourage the questions of your little one – ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’. They are the key to a critically inclined mind. Kids are naturally curious so as parents, you just need to encourage their reasoning. Know that there will be times when you might need to consciously hold back from being tired or annoyed of these questions! Find our products on Amazon.in
What is cognitive skill? Well, apart from the physical differences, what makes us human, has much to do with advanced cognitive skills. Cognitive skills include the ability to listen, read, understand, analyse, relate, remember, and therfore be able to create or have a personal point of view. In a nutshell, cognition is all about our brain in action. When do children develop cognitive skills? Cognitive skill development is a gradual process that transpires right from the birth through to adult stage. Just like everything else, brain too takes time to learn, relate and yes, practice makes cognition flourish! According to Jean Piaget, a renowned theorist, there are 4 stages of cognition, which may vary from child to child. To give you the gist below are the 4 stages: Ages 0 to 2 At this stage, children explore their five senses i.e. see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Therefore, you see them eager to touch and explore everything and anything. They like to grab things and put them right into their mouths! This is where they start to develop habits and begin to get aware of themselves and their immediate surroundings. Ages 2 to 7 Here, children learn to speak and understand words, images, gestures and so on. Hence, they love role playing or play pretend which helps them gain experience. When they are 3 – 4 years old, their reasoning starts to develop and this is when they ask with tons of questions which helps them gain knowledge. Ages 7 to 11 By this stage, ‘logic’ becomes clearer. A child’s brain begins to sort and rearrange information and starts building concrete mental structures. He / she starts applying these in conversations, actions and thoughts. It is at this stage that the child becomes more self-aware. He / she starts accepting that others can also have a point of view which might be different from theirs. Ages 11 onwards At this stage, children begin to understand abstract concepts like success, failure, love, hate, compassion etc. They start making assumptions and are also capable of philosophical thinking. So, now that you have an idea of what and when cognitive skills develop in children, stay tuned for the next blog on ways of improving cognitive skills in your child. To check out our blog on: Why Listening to your child is important click here Find our products on Amazon.in
How can I listen to my child? We get frustrated when someone interrupts us when we speak, dont’ we? Or when the person we are communicating with is constantly on their phone. It’s normal to feel this way. We get annoyed but we move on. Now imagine your child experiencing the same. They are too young to just move on like us. Listening to them builds their sense of self, improves their emotional skills and instils confidence to speak their mind. Here are some practical tips to improve your listening skills towards your child: Committed attention When your child is talking, listen to them wholeheartedly. Leave whatever you are doing aside and be interested in what they have to say. You can do this by giving eye contact and bending to their level. Initiate conversation Often parents finish a child’s sentence or question or remark with a mere yes or no. Try to pitch in and further the conversation. Then they imagine further and learn new ways to add on to a conversation. They feel valued and heard. Make communication a routine Communicating is a way of life. Be it at the dining table, in the park, while playing and so on. Your child must feel comfortabe to come to you to share their feelings and emotions as well. Exert body language Use body language to convey interest in what your child is saying. Nodding, smiling, being in the eye level while talking, maintaining eye contact, leaning forward, animated expressions are some ways you can express your interest in your child. Your child will also pick up the same example and reciprocate. Express empathy ‘I understand’, ‘That is so wonderful’, ‘I am sorry’, ‘That is funny’, ‘That sounds bad’ – this helps building empathy in your child. Important to note that empathy doesn’t mean passing judgement. If you are not happy with what your child has done or said, make them understand this by explaining why.
Now, that your children are home all day, keeping them engaged its a major task at your hand. But don’t let this situation come in the way of your child’s physical fitness. Below are 3 fun activities that’s handy, fun and will keep your little one physically fit indoors. 1. Rope skipping: Firstly a complete physical work out that boosts energy levels and tremendously improves balance, coordination, and agility. Either get your child to do as many skips as they want over a maximum 10 minutes. Remember to ensure they take a little break every 2 minutes to not exhaust completely. For example, dividing time for rope skipping in 3 parts of the day is another option– morning, noon and evening. You can keep a target count for the day as per the stamina of your child. Don’t have a rope skipping at home? You can easily make it at home with an old ropeor unused wire if you have and you can be sure that it is safe for a child toplay with. Get creative! 2. Hula Hoop: This fun activity is not just a physical exercise but also helps to improve balancing and hand – eye coordination. So, include this amazing activity in your kid’s routine on a daily basis. Don’t have a hoop at home? Don’t worry, we sure have a creative solution for you. Do you have the old pipe that you used to water the plants with, and a strong tape? If yes, that is all that you need. Tape both ends of the pipe, keeping the diameter such that it can fit child’s lower waist and move freely as he/she moves it around. Indulge your kid in some creativity first and then some exercise! 3. Dance: Finally the good old dancing! Children are usually self-motivated in this case and so are adults. But did you know that apart from many other benefits, dancing also improves a child’s cognitive and fine motor performance? The boost in confidence and social skills are obvious, isn’t it? Get ready mommies and daddies and let us bring some exciting smiles to little ones! With that, your child’s physical activities for the next few days are sorted. What exercise is your child getting for his/her brain though? Additionally, here are sometips that will be handy for you.
For parents, this is quite a stressful time. Keeping kids meaningfully engaged at home from morning till bedtime. It is quite natural that you might get tempted to just handover a phone to your children to keep them entertained while you get some time to finish your work or to be just by yourself. But there are various ways that will not only help you get through the next few days but also in the future. Here are some tips on how to engage kids meaningfully. Make a routine: Since there is no school for the next few weeks, it is vital to establish daily routines. First step to keep your kid meaningfully engaged is to create a timetable. Prepare it with your kid and do take their suggestions. Adapt mediums to learn efficiently: Sooner or later, studying at home will become boring for your little one. Look for mediums, tools or educational toys for kids that are useful to make learning or education fun, easy & interesting. Use your child’s interest: It is a good time to reflect on your child’s interest. Use those interests in the process of learning. For instance, singing the topics, involving math or geography in their favourite sports! Practical learning: How? An e.g. could be taking out pulses from kitchen and showing them, asking them to label or do gardening with them. Moreover, in the process, you can also explain photosynthesis and how plants come to life. Technology as medium: Let technology make the work easier for your child for e.g. online teaching or apps etc. Interactive books using the talking pen technology are a perfect addition to every educational portfolio for young kids. The Multi- sensory approach makes a topic way more interesting than just reading it. Since child can also record his thoughts and listen to it, the engagement happens at all levels. All this boosts a child’s imagination and creativity. (See footnote to explore such products) 3. Physical Activity: It is very important to stay fit, not just physically but also mentally. Studies show that doing any kind of physical activity releases brain chemicals associated with learning. At home, you can motivate kids to dance, do aerobics, rope skipping, if you have a balcony put a small hoop for basketball etc. 4. Indulging in games: This could be anything from indulging into a match of good old board games to Chess or Carom boards etc. 5. Keep kids off screens: Goal is not to be overwhelmed and expose your child to TV and mobile screens to keep them entertained. Try to keep them involved otherwise or give them a substitute like the talking books and even motivate them in helping with small household chores. Know that the objective as parents or guardians is to keep children motivated to learn everyday and that education is not just limited to reading and writing. Share your thoughts and suggestions with other parents here on how you are dealing with the situation. To explore goDiscover Interaction series for children of 2 to 10 years go here.
Children are curious and inquisitive by nature. This is because they are like blank slates. The world is an ocean for them to be as curious and explore. In these formative years, it is essential to teach them how to listen more than anything else. Psychology suggests that listening properly is closely related to the rounded growth in a child. They have high observation skills. These observations become their habits and play a huge role in how the child thinks and reacts. Additionally, children are limited in mobility and other sources of communication. So, they turn to the easiest way of gaining new information which is listening. They are easily attracted towards sound and they pick up new sounds and words spoken around them. It is unconsciously fed into their memory while they consciously try to recreate the sound. However, when they start reproducing the sound (Words, sentences) they react as per the environment around them. The process happens in 3 steps. Understanding the sounds around them Recreating the sounds which they find important Understanding the meaning of the sound through feedback This is how listening jump starts growth in children. The next step in this process is using the sound frequently after understanding the meaning. These are the primary reasons why listening properly should be inculcated as a habit in growing children. Especially through the ages of 1-4 years old. This is when every child is gathering and processing a lot of information. But, let us gain in-depth understanding of how listening is essential factor. Listening improves concentration and memory Listening is one of the prime senses of our body. Although visual memories are stronger, our body also retains auditory memories or echoic memories. If trained from a young age, echoic memories can help retain information for a longer period of time. Along with, conscious listening is like meditation. It helps stabilise the mind and improves concentration. goDiscover products combine bright and colourful visuals. They are apt for ages 2-5 years, with audio information that educate your children and deliver a fun learning experience. 2. Improves Vocabulary As children grow older, their have a need to speak more. However, this development is strongly rooted in the initial phase of their childhood. During this phase, listening plays an important role in developing their vocabulary and language processing. If you have a young child, we suggest you try this at home. Try speaking to him/her as you would with an adult and not as we think we should speak to a child. In a few weeks, you will see that the child understands your language better. In turn, the child also speaks back in a simple but clear manner. Similarly, goDiscover SmartBook is aimed at improving the vocabulary of children through audio stimuli. The interactive feature of the books allows children to speak back and practice speaking as well. 3. Adds Clarity to Communication and Thought Improved vocabulary leads to a better thought process. Understanding words and their context helps children place their thoughts logically. This allows them to express themselves more clearly and understand what they want. The ability to communicate clearly and understand the reason strengthens the bond between children and parents. Furthermore, improved speech helps to differentiate between right and wrong at an early age which improves etiquettes and behaviour. 4. Builds Confidence One aspect of listening is that it builds confidence. While listening seems like an ordinary thing, most of us listen to reply than to understand. goDiscover imbibes a habit of conscious listening among children. Conscious listening is a process where Sounds/words are captured with context The meaning is developed Corresponding response is generated But, why is conscious listening important? As a habit, conscious listening helps to avoid errors. This habit speeds up with time and combined with clarity of communication, it improves confidence. Conscious listening decreases speech errors or response errors, thus improving confidence levels. Clarity of thought and concise, but perfect communication allows children to speak their mind. 5. Improves Relationships Communication is the foundation for any relationship. As parents, most of you would be following this. But even among children, communicating clearly helps them to make new friends. Children with good vocabulary can speak openly with their adults. Their ability to understand reason (to an extent, for they are still children and if they want ice-cream at midnight then they want it) helps parents to understand their children better as well. This transparent channel of communication between children and parents brings them closer. 6. Optimal Method for Growth The most important factor of listening is that children between ages 2-4 year olds have limited sources of gaining information. And, since they cannot read, they prefer listening. Psychologist Chitra Pandit says that “Listening, rather proper listening, can jumpstart mental growth in children at a young age. Parents should optimise on using listening as a tool to communicate with their children and also to engage them in knowledge transfer.” She further adds, “Listening is easy and doesn’t take a lot of efforts. With limited abilities, children will hang on to every word that is said to them. Such children use their echoic memory and will engage with the environment around them quicker than others.” 7. Enables Experiential Thinking One of the most important aspects of listening is that it triggers experiential learning. What is experiential learning? It is the process where you combine audio with other senses to grasp concepts faster. As discussed before, audio plays a primary role in beginning growth in children. Long before visuals start taking effect, audio plays a key role in developing the early experiences of children. These experiences increase curiosity. For example; telling a child that the tomato is red acts as an audio stimulus. This in turn pushes children to question, What is red? What is tomato? How does it feel? How does it taste? And this also initiates action and correlation. But, all of this begins with the first audio input. To summarize, listening is a
As a parent, you often worry about the number of hours your kids spend on tablets or smartphones each day. According to a recent study, globally, 4 out of 5 teenagers, are addicted to screens. Similar ratio is reflected amongst younger children. The study concludes that the addiction starts at a much younger age and by the time the child is 5 years old, he/she is completely addicted to the screen. In today’s world, it is common to see a child who does not listen to the parent, throws a tantrum to get attention, and that is when screens become the parent’s saviour. The quantity and variety of content available is huge. It keeps the little minds busy for hours. How does this impact a child? Apart from vision-related issues, screen addiction is linked to numerous mental and physical disorders such as: Lack of proper sleep Speech Delays Poor development of motor skills Hand-eye coordination issues Poor Social Skills Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Lack of Curiosity Compromise on cognitive development Obesity Glandular Problems and unfortunately many more… But, going forward, Sarah Domoff, assistant professor, psychology, Central Michigan University, said, “the larger problem is the fact that it could be an all-consuming activity.” That is, it causes other allied problems related to screen addiction. Ironically, most parents do not like to accept that their child is addicted to screens. The most common narratives are – He does not eat without watching a cartoon or She stops her cry only if she watches something on YouTube or I have fixed his screen-time and that gives me my me-time and he is also happy or She only watches the good programs on the internet or He is not addicted to phone and ipad like other kids! Parents of young children must be aware of some red flags like: Uncontrollable Screen Use This is also called ‘Unsuccessful Control’. We notice this when kids just cannot stop using their devices. You will know that ‘Uncontrollable Screen Use,’ is a problem when you impose limits on screen time and your child reacts with a tantrum or gets angry. Loss of Interest Your child loses interest in things which normally excite children of their age. Like books, toys, sports, outdoors, rains, etc for instance. This is a side-effect of long-term screen use. Reduce their screen-time accordingly. Loss of Concentration Due lack of concentration on their real world surroundings, your child talks about Angry Birds or other characters or wonders what the next YouTube post he/she wants to watch or repeats noises from their favourite game. The only thing on their mind is to go watch something again. Interfered Socializing Usually at dinner time or get-togethers, parents let children watch what they love. But soon, it becomes a habit. The child brings the tablet to the table and doesn’t pay attention when people talk to them. They get bored even in the company of friends or relatives. These are classic symptoms of ‘Interfered Social Life.’ It is not the same as Anti-Social. Interfered Socializing causes children to want to be social, but their screen addiction does not allow them to enjoy those moments. Interfered Socializing, with family or otherwise, lead to serious issues in the future. Family Issues Unhealthy relationship with screens takes a toll on quality family time too. Screen addiction makes communication between the family members fade overtime. It eventually breaks down completely. It causes blownout arguments over simple things and behavioural changes depending on what they watch. Sleeping Disorders Exposure to screens causes severe Sleeping Disorders. The barrage of colours and moving images on the bright screen hampers the REM patterns. It causes lack of sleep or intermittent sleep, or uncomfortable sleep in children. Mind you, this is not the same as the good old bad-dream nights of the non-digital era! High Tolerance Children lose their tolerance threshold. Years ago, children watched TV, but after a point, their eyes hurt. The new-age technologies are easy on the eyes. That is why children today do not realise that they are glued to the screen. Mood Swings and Booster Screen addiction is severe when it is the only thing that uplifts a child’s spirit. If a child resorts to their favourite show or a game to uplift their spirit, it means he/she is addicted to the screen. It makes them dependent on the screens to improve their lives. It takes a toll on healthy venting of emotions and communication skills. Children look for an escape which they find in their screens. Do you remember sobbing on your mother’s lap? Maybe, mothers do not get that anymore because it is replaced by a lap-top! Lying Perhaps the most dangerous effect of screen addiction is when children start to lie about how much time they spend on their tab/phone. Children sneak in their tablets/phones into their bed too. When you notice your child lying frequently, you must observe and resolve the issue diligently. goDiscover Expert’s Tip: One cannot tell which of these or how many such warning signs a child might exhibit to point towards screen addiction. But, if a child ticks off more than a couple of these boxes, a parent must reconsider the amount of time their child spends on the screen. It is difficult to compete with the sensory overload that screens offer but using interactive toys such as goDiscover’s SmartBooks and SmartCharts will help parents wean young ones off the screens and engage them multi-sensorily.
Why Your Child Refuses To Respond To You? As kids grow, their mental, physical capacities also change and adapt their behaviour accordingly. Parents act as role models to their children by the way to walk, talk and behave. The way we speak to them and to those around us, shows them how we expect them to speak back to us. There are 3 ways parents communicate with their children: Speaking with aggression: Sometimes parents yell a lot or they might unknowingly put their kids down by using attacking words. Now, every child responds to this in different ways. Often, they may feel afraid or fearful or they get defensive-aggressive and shout back at their parents. As a result, they may block their parents altogether by completely ignoring their constant orders. Passive Responses: This type is the exact opposite of the aggressive-tone parent. These parents mutter soft, cautious words to their kids. However, their kids run riot or walk all over them. Unfortunately, when such kids become totally out of control, parents go beyond their limits. Therefore, they suddenly turn their communication from calm to a very aggressive tone. Their patience is lost and they explode, leaving their children wondering what really happened. Assertion: An assertive way of communicating is by being firm, consistent, clear, positive, warm and confident to your child. However, this is a real skill that is not easy to master. Being assertive shows your child that you mean what you say and that they must listen to you. Solution: Although there are many high points of being a parent, a serious challenge that most parents face is about how they need to talk to their kids so that they listen and obey them. In conclusion, the WAY we talk to our kids has a huge impact on their learning and ability to listen back to us. So, do check your own behaviour and speaking style and get your child to listen to you.