Parents today are coping up with their agitation during the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting added quarantine responsibilities. Kids, on the other hand, are not only losing their freedom to play outdoors but are also suffering from major learning loss. The online classes do provide some relief to parents in terms of keeping kids busy. However, with summer vacations already in swing, parents now fear that in absence of any summer camp or outdoor activities, the brain drain in kids is inevitable. Studies by psychologists and neuro-therapists show that there are several brain engaging activities that can keep your child’s brain active during the break and stop the learning loss. Here’s a list of 5 engaging activities for kids that you can easily adopt at home.
1. Maintain a Regular Journal/ Creative Writing
Writing in journals may sound like a far stretched activity for some kids who can hardly sit in one place for mealtime. However, research shows that writing journal and maintaining record of your daily activities can reap a wealth of benefits for both kids and adults. Writing requires skills of logic, creativity, motor coordination, and even emotional intelligence when kids start considering the audience who will read, even if it is just parents. Don’t push your child for any specific piece of writing but start with few lines about their day and activities and build up on that based on their own pace.
2. Learn a new Skill
A study by Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) on child development found that learning new skills can increase density of white matter in brain which in turn improves brain function and performance. Choose a new and significant skill for your child by involving them in the decision. Significant skill mean skills that need proper education and that has practical application as well like music instrument, painting, baking/cooking, robotics, programming, editing and language learning. Due to the pandemic, several renowned websites and universities are offering courses either free or at extremely low rates.
3. Online/ Offline STEM Activities
Pakistanis are now becoming familiar with the term STEM education as federal government has repeatedly reinforced its agenda to transform government schools into STEM schools with a uniform curriculum across the board. During these idle times, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses and activities are widely available online. Kids should be engaged in online games and courses that interest them like Online Math games, science experiments, home-based activities like plantation and gardening, board games that involve calculations like Ludo, Monopoly, Chess, cards etc.
Read More: 10 Apps and Games to Stimulate your Child’s Brain
4. Ensure Fix Fitness routine
It is widely acknowledged that kids perform more sharply and can memorize better after a physical workout. The physical activity of kids during this idle time is as important as any other brain activity. Exercise increases heart rate which in turn pumps more oxygen into brain. The release of hormones further create a favorable environment for growth of brain cells with new neuronal connections built as a result. In short, exercise is to brain what healthy food is to the rest of body. Make a fixed routine for your child’s physical activity, be it Zumba, Yoga, Skipping ropes, Aerobics or simple stretching. The best way is to ask your child his preferred mode of exercise. The exercise regime can not only provide brain break for the children but will also improve their concentration and fitness.
5. Get them into Reading Now!
Reading habit, even today, define norms and behavior of a society. Kids who grow up being an avid reader display better neuron function than their peers. A study by Gallup and Gilani showed that 3 in 4 Pakistanis do not read books at all which makes around 75% Pakistanis. Compare it with USA where in 2018, around 74% population had finished at least one book during the year. Reading useful material can result in optimal stimulation of brain with increased literacy skills, and social and emotional development. The quarantine time is perfect to inculcate this habit of reading in children even if it is few pages in the beginning. Book reading should be made a permanent habit at any suitable time of the day to stimulate the creative and concentration part of brain. Parents need to work on these brain development exercises and activities to cover up for the regular vacation activities and summer camps in order to avoid brain drain and learning loss in children.
