Brain Development Activities for Toddlers

The Brain is one of the essential parts of the human body. It helps in cognitive thinking, building abilities of speech, processing data from different senses, and the list is endless. While everyone needs to maintain their brain power, taking care of toddlersโ€™ brain development powers is especially important. A child can absorb information and develop brain cells for up to six years, after which the process starts depleting.

Doctors worldwide prefer games and fun activities over typical books and traditional ways of schooling. This is because the experiences they develop with games and activities can also help in building their neurological foundation. Also, it is difficult for parents and teachers to engage with toddlers and children when they have a lesser attention span. Hence, indulging them in fun games and activities is the best way to keep them engaged and correctly enhance their mental and cognitive ability.

How to stimulate a toddlerโ€™s brain development?

Your little child might be in the developing phase and may possess immense potential to absorb any information you throw at them. During this time, parents and guardians must recognize and stimulate activities to develop holistic health and enrich analytical thinking and creativity.

According to studies, the belowโ€“mentioned activities also help build a foundation for color recognition, increase spatial awareness, and help with vivid imaginations. Here are some ways to stimulate a toddlerโ€™s brain development:

  • Interacting with them with vocal modulations and facial expressions
  • Playing games with them
  • Building language skills by developing a storytelling routine
  • Showing empathic reactions in front of children as they will learn to empathize with you
  • Setting a good example for them

Activities for brain development in toddlers

Many activities are involved in stimulating emotional, psychological, and logical responses in a toddlerโ€™s brain for up to five years. The below-mentioned activities help strengthen and boost their intellectual, social, emotional, and physical wisdom.

Solving puzzles

Puzzles need not be complicated riddles that adults solve. There are innumerable options for toddlers and kids to solve puzzles and power their brains correctly. They can be categorized based on shapes, colors, alphabets, numbers, frames, and floors. It is also considered that solving these kinds of puzzles can be an integral part of their development. Toddlers have fragile, developing fingers, brains, and other body parts. Exposure to such activities helps their thinking ability and re-wires their brain to think and act in the right direction. In addition, solving puzzles help with shape and recognition, increases attention span, and helps develop strength in figures.

Building blocks

It is one of the best ways to build and strengthen cognitive development in a child by exposing them to hand and eye coordination. Pediatricians also recommend helping toddlers improve their problem-solving approach, motor skills, and thinking ability.

Storytelling

Stories are an integral part of every toddlerโ€™s growth and development. It not only helps them develop vivid imaginations but also builds curiosity in them. This ability will be helpful for them in future problem-solving. Also, most parents consider storytelling as a way to bond with their toddlers and inculcate moral values in them. According to pediatric psychology experts, storytelling is the best way to build emotional intelligence and feelings in growing brains.

Hide and seek

Hide and seek is so much fun that even adults love to play the game until they reach a certain age. In addition to being fun, this game also helps them develop various abilities that might otherwise be difficult to imitate. For instance, it helps develop their motor skills, as the game involves running and physical movements. It helps toddlers understand the concept of object permanence, which refers to understanding the characteristics behind the things that exist in front of them. When they look for a hidden spot, it helps them develop imaginative and creative thinking abilities.

Blowing bubbles

Many parents and guardians toss simple games like blowing bubbles as boring and a waste of time. However, it is one of the best games for toddlers to lose energy and understand bodily needs like breathing, thirst, etc. In addition, bubbles are formed in different shapes and sizes, which is one of the best learning abilities for toddlers and children of young age. It develops their oral motor skills, along with hand and eye coordination.

Word hunting

Children past the toddler ages are recommended word hunt activities using blocks or simply on a screen. It not only enhances brain development at an early age, but it also helps stimulate creativity and imagination. In addition, it enhances focus and boosts a childโ€™s ability to form words with focus. In the long run, this ability will easily help them to form better sentences and give them a sense of language. According to experts in cognitive brain development, word-hunting activity is directly linked to the increase in the processing speed of the brain.

 

Jeff Campbell