Williams News Logo
Grand Canyon News Logo

Trusted local news leader for Williams AZ and the Grand Canyon

Reading and Play are the Keys to Brain Development

Children begin learning the day they're born. And the earliest years present us with a precious opportunity: eighty percent of brain development occurs before a child is three years old. By the time the child has reached five, ninety percent of their brain has developed. Parents and caregivers serve their children best by creating environments and routines that stimulate brain development.

"Young children need a lot of time and attention from the significant adults in their lives. This does not mean that parents need to go out and spend money on toys for their children. It just means that parents should take advantage of their child's natural curiosity and talk to their children as much as they can," shares Julie Jorgensen, maternal and child health programs coordinator at North Country HealthCare.

Building an environment that stimulates brain development doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. It can be as simple as reading and playing with children during these early, formative years.

Research tells us that children gain significant knowledge of language, reading, and writing long before they ever enter school. Children learn to talk, read, and write through interactive experiences with books, magazines and basic art materials like paper and crayons.

"Parents truly are their child's first teachers and children can only learn when they are feeling comfortable and loved," describes Jorgensen. "The brain is a work in progress, and optimum development results when a child has a close relationship with one or two key people in those early years. Healthy early brain development is so important because it lays the foundation for the rest of the child's life."

Here are some tips to make the most out of reading:

• Read with your child, not to them. When you hold children and let them play with the pages while you read, they learn that reading can be fun.

• Ask and encourage questions as you read. When you point to pictures in books and ask questions about them, you teach new words. You also help your child communicate with you.

• Make reading playful. A book can be a child's favorite toy. Children love to look at and hold books. They also enjoy participating in telling the story. Through physical and verbal interaction you are helping your child build their language and social skills, and exercise their imagination.

• Play games with words. Sounds are the building blocks of words. Saying words that all start with the same sound help your child identify speech patterns. Rhymes help your child hear how sounds come together to form words. They also help your child learn the rules of language.

Reading isn't the only way to develop your child's brain. The simplest kinds of interactive play can challenge the mind, foster creativity and develop thinking skills.

Here are some ways to make the most out of play:

• Creative, open-ended play. Simple toys lead to more inventive play. For example: through block play, children confront challenges related to measurement, equality, balance, shape, spatial relationships and physical properties. Avoid toys and activities that spell everything out.

• Physical play. Not only is physical play great exercise, but the repetition of basic physical skills helps children master an increasingly difficult series of tasks. They also build confidence and coordination.

• Social and imaginative play (make-believe). Dramatic play helps children explore and understand social roles and acquire social skills as they interact with others. Dramatic play enables children to appreciate each other's needs, values and perspectives. They learn how to express their feelings, use their imaginations, and develop decision-making skills.

• Let your child scribble, draw, and construct. Children learn to think and imagine when they create. The process of making pictures is what matters, not what the pictures look like. Talk about what your child is doing as she creates a picture, and allow her to share the story she's creating.

For more tips and information on healthy early childhood development visit ReadyAZKids.com or azftf.gov.


Donate Report a Typo Contact