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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.
As the world has grown more interconnected and interdependent, the ability to exchange thoughts, feelings, and information is critical.
As parents we are also teachers. We influence children in many ways. For instance, by what we do and don’t do things, what we value and ignore, how we spend our time with them, and the interests and activities we encourage. After all, the abilities and interests we choose in childhood usually influence the paths we choose as adults. It is not just about careers, but a life that is rich and enriching. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but at least we can prepare our children for the future.” Here are two critical skills: Reading and Writing. These skills enhance a child’s ability to learn faster. Reading Anybody who is fond of reading can never really feel lonely. And we say that from personal experience. Children who are encouraged to read from a young age not only have better verbal skills, but are also more expressive and imaginative. Reading leads to imagination and creativity. When children watch television, they are watching a readymade animated visual representation of what the creator of the TV programme has imagined. This does not even nudge a child to make an effort to visualise, making a child lazy to imagine. So, when we are reading, there is only one stimulus – the text and the child has to depend on oneself to imagine or visualise what is being expressed in the book. Teaching your children to love reading means they will grow up to be sensitive, creative and perceptive human beings. Writing Putting one’s thoughts on paper enhances self-expression and nurtures individuality. Each child has a different handwriting and a different personality. In a way, one’s handwriting is an extension of one’s unique personality. Learning experts also believe that learning by writing (as opposed to rote memory) “enhances the brain’s intake, processing, retaining, and retrieving of information.” It’s because writing takes a certain kind of internalisation and involvement and therefore the child owns what they are write. Writing also encourages the development of empathy, something that is so crucial for any relationship – professional or personal. Encouraging your child to write makes them more persuasive, confident, and expressive. Reading and writing are not just critical skills for future academics. They help create a firm foundation for their way of thinking, processing information and expressing themselves. So, by getting these right in early childhood, you are helping build a strong foundation for your child’s future. Read, write, go discover!