Cognitive development is the ability to construct thought processes, including remembering, problem-solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. It refers to how one perceives, thinks, and gains an understanding of their world through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. Can the best Childcare in Macquarie Park foster cognitive development? Absolutely yes!
But before looking at the ways that can be achieved, let’s first fully understand what cognitive development is.
Understanding Cognitive Development In Children
Skills that fall under cognitive development include:
Logic and reasoning
Memory and working memory
Attention
Control
Flexibility, ability to adapt
Evaluation and analyzing skills
Ability to make comparisons
Explore and understand cause and effect
Critical thinking, higher-level thinking
French psychologist Jean Piaget through his cognitive development theory suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.
He argues that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct universal stages namely sensorimotor stage (birth - 2yrs), pre-operational stage (2 - 7yrs), concrete operational stage (7 - 11yrs) and formal operational stage (12yrs and up).
Each of these stages is characterized by increasingly sophisticated and abstract levels of thought. Each of the stages also builds on what was learnt on the previous stage.
How Do You Contribute To The Cognitive Development Of Your Kid?
Cognitive development is a crucial part of the growth in children as it provides them with the means of paying attention to thinking about the world around them. While a child's genetic inheritance is unchangeable, there are definite ways that parents/guardians can enhance their child's intellectual development. Centres for childcare in Macquarie Park have also been at the forefront in advocating for and implementing these tips. They include:
1. Collaborative Play
You should encourage children to work together in groups. It also exposes children to a variety of ideas and encourages creativity.
Playing together helps them come up with new ideas to spice up their fun time, compete against each other fairly and even come up with new games.
All these factors contribute to a growing mind and can easily be accessed when you get them the best childcare in Macquarie Park.
2. Storytelling And Narration
Telling stories to children helps develop their imagination capacity. Helps the kids think way beyond they already know.
Since this is their curious stage, any tale you tell to your child opens a whole new world and this exercises their mind. You can get good children's books from any sellers in Sydney and other places or from kids web pages.
3. Singing And Taped Messages
Taped messages and songs in audiotapes and/or CDs teaches kids to be attentive. Recorded music from different cultures also helps open the kids’ mind to diversity.
Playing music and taped messages to your baby draw their mind in, prompting them to process and store what they hear. The best place for them to have access to such tapes and CDs is at a centre for childcare in North Ryde.
4. Field Trips
While there are so many fun activities to do with your child at home, field trips expose their curious minds to all other possibilities around them.
You can visit community cultural landmarks while in North Ryde or any other part of Australia. You can as well take them to see a dance troupe, play, or musical performance as this broadens their cultural perspectives.
5. Collecting
Young children associate things they see and like with certain memories. Encouraging them to collect and keep souvenirs cultivates a huge habit of taking a bit of every place they visit with them.
Their collections could be a variety of props and material from a variety of cultures from all around the globe. Toys, menus, books, play clothes, furniture, musical instruments and other things your child keeps jog their memories.
It is important to note that fostering your child's cognitive development as soon as he/she is born provides the foundation for success in school and later in life. That’s among the reasons why you get them the best childcare in Sydney. Meanwhile, to better know what cognitive development ideas work for them, you can check children-oriented stores around Macquarie Park, North Ryde, and surrounding areas for inspiration.