Parents do a lot of nice things for their children, ensuring that they grow up healthy and become successful in life. They work so hard to put nutritious meals on the table, send their children to good schools their pockets can afford and then purchase good clothes to for their kids so that they may look good. But in all these, some parents fail to realize that taking care of their means more than just making sure that they grow big. Instead, ensuring the mental wellbeing and optimal brain development of these young ones are also necessary. And here is the good news- recent research findings in the field of Neuroscience have shed light on ways parents can help their children’s brain develop optimally for effective academic work and all round success in life. Enumerated below are five things every parent must do to aid their children’s brain development according to Neuroscientists:
CONNECT EMOTIONALLY WITH YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE MELTING DOWN: Often, when children have tantrums or big feelings, we rush to discipline, lecture, or explain why their behavior is unacceptable. But here is the thing- when children are stuck in their overwhelming emotions, the part of their brain that enables them to learn, reflect, and think rationally isn’t functioning. You can help bring this part of their brain back to life by connecting emotionally, soothing their big emotions, and helping them return to a calm, receptive state.
HELP YOUR CHILD TELL STORIES OF THEIR EXPERIENCES — ESPECIALLY THE DIFFICULT ONES! Telling the stories of our lives helps us move through fear and develop a sense of mastery and competence. We begin to remember our strengths and successes while processing the lessons provided by our failures. If your children ever have scary or difficult experience in life, help them reconstruct their stories with you in a safe place. As they tell their stories, they may see things from a different perspective, realize facts they didn’t know before, and be reminded that even though their experiences maybe hard, they can make it through.
DON’T RUSH TO SOLVE YOUR CHILD’S PROBLEMS: Often, parents do things for children that they could do for themselves just because they [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the parents] think it is efficient that way. They give their children easy answers to questions or solve their problems for them. This shouldn’t always be the case. When you can, try to encourage your children to exercise their own brains and work out of their own solutions. Instead of answering every “Why?” your children may ask, get their minds moving by asking them, “What do YOU think?” about every issue commanding curiosity. Of course, this strategy requires you to be an active participant in your children’s growing processes — give them feedback as they bounce their ideas off of you!
HELP YOUR CHILDREN LEARN TO IDENTIFY THEIR EMOTIONS: Emotions can feel overwhelming and scary to children and even adults! Often, when children don’t understand what they are feeling, they can easily become overwhelmed and melt down. But by helping them understand and label what they are feeling, your child can learn strategies to meet their emotional needs, cope with stress, and address the underlying concern driving the emotion. You can use a feelings chart or share your own experiences with big emotions.
ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO SEE THINGS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OTHERS: Our minds do not exist in a vacuum! We are constantly interacting with others. Our relationships and connections provide us with resources we need in order to develop appropriately. Help your child develop their brain’s ability to practice empathy by asking them to put themselves in other people’s shoes. When they experience conflict with others, challenge them to imagine the other person’s perspective. Share how you are feeling from time to time so they can begin to connect external emotional expression to internal emotional experience.
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