COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

You may be wondering what is meant by Cognitive Development in children? Yes, I had also wondered so sometimes ago. Lets start by understanding the word cognitive, it can be described as a way we explore and think with our minds, every one has a mind and it is through the process of our thought that we make decisions. Development on its own can be described as a process by which we grow from one stage of life to another, just like we have in plants, seeds planted will germinate only if we nurture them well, the same way humans are, we tend to grow from infant to old age; if we are guided well with morals, values and good advice and when there are no intervening variables that could disturb our growth in a structured environment.

Now cognitive development can be described as a means of how children think, explore and figure out things. Children grow and develop in their first five years across four main areas of development namely motor(physical) ,language and communication, cognitive and social/ emotional. It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem solving and dispositions which helps children to think and understand the world around them. As a parent, it is important to nurture /understand your child’s cognitive development as early as possible this will provide foundation for your child success in school and in life.

Research shows that children who can distinguish sounds at six month and thus as a parent it is important to promote your child’s cognitive development by actively engaging in quality interactions on a daily basis. Talking to your child and naming objects used regularly to the child and getting response, following your child to move about and letting the child explore toys.

It is important singing to your baby, exposing your child to books and puzzles, answering your child’s questions truthfully, provide your child with choices and prompt the child to make thoughtful decisions.

As a parent, it is essential we think about not “what” children think or learn, but how they are thinking and learning.

Everyday experiences can impact a child’s cognitive development. Cognitive development encompasses a child’s working memory, attention as well as child’s ability to manage and respond to the experiences and information they are exposed to daily.

Cognitive development can be compared to a child’s Air traffic control tower- taking information in and processing it on a daily basis with purpose.

Means to assist cognitive development:

Parents can be helpful lif they can support a child’s

cognitive development by Helping children to keep focus by minimizing distractions and interruptions.

Parents should express interest in the child’s activities, observe and reflect on what you believe he/she is trying to accomplish.

Parents should be able to offer materials that are challenging but not impossible

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Parents should be able to share in the joy children feel as they show their accomplishments.

Parents should be able to help children develop their memories by keeping them used to routine room duty, they should know where their belongings are located.

Parents should be able to talk to them about what they did earlier in the day and their plan for tomorrow.

Parents on their own can encourage problem solving by providing opportunities to categorize, match, sort, compare and contrast with toys and other activities.

It is relatively easy to do all these for our children if we dedicate our time to them especially from the birth stage,

A little attention here and there will make a huge impact in the lives of those wonderful children if we dedicate our time.

Nurture (biological) and nature (environment- home and society) should play significant roles in the lives of our children. And the last tip is to respect our children, they deserve all the respect we could give as this should start from the early stage of their lives. They develop from what they see, hear us say and do around them.

by Adebanke Ibrahim Alayaki

A Guardian and Counselling Expert