How Can I Help My Child’s Development? As a parent, teacher or caregiver we often wonder what should I teach a child; what books should I buy; if my child has a disability, how can I help them; how can my child be successful and succeed in this ever demanding world we live in; well this article will answer some of those child development questions.
As a professional Early Childhood Educator and Community Care Worker with special needs children and adults, I know what is practical, and most of all, I know what works and what does not.
There are several important keys that help with child development and special needs children; the following is a list of what has proven to work for me, and they have worked for children in my care.
. Buy practical storybooks
. When buying a child’s storybook remember their minds and bodies are not fully formed, so they need:
• large print, at least one to two inches to help the development of their vision
• interactive stories, a story that gets the child involved, or acting out the story
• clear and precise pictures, generally black and white for younger children and color as they get older
• books with pictures, short sentences and repetitious words
• point out words in the story and whenever you are out in the community
• storybooks that teach values, or some area of child development such as body coordination, use of both sides of the brain, thinking skills, social or communication skills
• ask questions during the story, such as, “what do you think will happen next?” (this gets children thinking and using their imagination)
• read to children every day; trust me here, they love repetitious stories to the point where they remember every word, but still want you to read the story
• and most importantly a storybook that is fun
Special Needs Children
Having worked with most types of child disabilities such as FAS, ADD, ADHD, Autism and other physical and brain injuries I have found that the only difference between children is how I present the same activities to the child; the following is a list of what I have found to work for me:
• empathy, in other words, putting myself in their shoes; and looking at things from their point of view
• consistency, keep things simple; consistently the same and one step at a time
• repetition, this is the most difficult, because of boredom on our part, but it works great for any child
• focus on the child’s interests and develop those interests further
• dare to discipline, let a child know what your expectations are, let them know what will happen as a consequence and follow through with the consequence for their actions
• remember the cognitive age (the brain’s understanding) of your child is the most important, not their biological age; do not expect them to do more or less than what they are capable of
Helping a Child Be Successful
It has been my experience that no matter what age or stage of child development, the following has worked for me:
• the activity presented to the child has to be fun, and you both have to enjoy it
• present sensory experiences for seven areas; taste, smell, hearing, sight, touch, vestibular (balance) and proprioception (awareness of where the body is in the space around us)
• let the child explore an activity while you stand nearby if needed
• let the child make mistakes
• child development is about creating the neural pathways in the brain, so offer a wide variety of challenges and varied experiences
• allow a child to think and act for themselves; as long as they are safe and not at risk from an activity
• offer a wide range of physical activities depending on the child’s physical capabilities and within their range of body motion
• model and show a child how to do an activity, then step back and let them explore the possibilities
My hope is that this article on child development has helped you; thank you for your interest.
Paul Mackie
http://www.storybooksthatteach.com
http://www.educationalchildsplay.com
http://www.paulmackie.com
