Supporting your little one’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development does not necessarily mean you need to act like a preschool teacher and maintain an academic environment at home. Whether you realize it or not, your toddler learns through every little activity that he/she does at home like walking in the garden, playing, or even cuddling with you.
As a parent, you are responsible for facilitating early learning at home. You may not have formal training on childhood education, but you are perfectly capable of helping your little one improve in various aspects of his/her life.
4 Things to consider while teaching the toddlers
With the right intention, lots of love, and determination, you can easily nurture your child’s abilities and potential. As you start teaching your toddler at home, consider the following tips for a more productive journey:
1. Keep Your Child Involved
Rather than making your child a passive participant, it is best if he/she is actively involved in the learning process. Give your little one the chance to choose which books to read, what kind of games to play with, or how to color the coloring books.
When you allow your child to decide, you are boosting his/her self-confidence and decision-making skills. You are essentially relaying the message that his/her opinion counts, which is empowering.
More importantly, by involving your little one, you encourage creativity and abstract thinking. Giving your child the freedom to paint a red tree or pink sky or using blocks as basketball teaches him to think outside the box and consider different perspectives outside the conventional.
2. Allow Your Child to Solve Problems
Perhaps you are asking your child to stack several blocks to improve his fine motor skills. Let your kid complete the task without your interference, even if he/she appears to be having a difficult time.
The same holds when your child is doing simple tasks like wearing a shirt, reaching a book from the shelf, or fixing his toys. Your child may not accomplish them perfectly, but it is part of the process.
When you restrain yourself from helping, you teach a valuable lesson beyond enhancing motor and cognitive development. You are allowing your child to bounce back from failure, experience success, and build his character.
3. Give Your Kid Simple Responsibilities
Build your child’s confidence and self-worth by giving him simple responsibilities at home. For instance, you can ask him/her to put back his toys after playing or water the plants in the living room. Ensure that the job adds value to the home so that your child will feel that he/she is contributing.
Allowing your kid to help will make him/her feel capable of accomplishing things. Your little one will learn self-reliance and the value of doing something for others.
4. Make Playing a Priority
You may want to allow a large portion of your day reading books or counting numbers, but it would be best to give your child a lot of time for free play. Note that multiple studies support the numerous unquantifiable benefits of playing.
Besides stimulating healthy brain development, playing will help your kid develop his/her imagination, creativity, dexterity, and emotional strength. Remember that your little one interacts with the world by playing. Just watch him/her play, and you will surely learn a lot about your child’s personality, temperament, and behavior.
Final Words
Multiple studies support the value of early learning at home. When you seriously take on the responsibility of being your child’s first teacher, you are doing more than just teaching ABCs and counting 123s. In the process, you are building your child’s self-esteem, independence, and love of learning, so make sure to enjoy the experience.
Author bio: Erica Jones is a freelance writer and a GOT fan. Apart from writing Technologies, she likes to read & write fiction. More than anything, she loves to spend her time with her family, explaining technologies to the elders