How to improve your child’s intellectual development

By Wangwau JamesaAfter years of being told how important it is to stimulate your child’s intellect you must have done your best to help your child develop his mind at an early age. May be you started reading to him as an infant; you bought educational toys and took him to a good school. However, his intellectual level does not seem to match your efforts. You therefore wonder if there is anything more you would have done to help your child develop to his full potential.A growing amount of research shows that especially in the early years of life when the brain is still taking shape, parental attention even as simple activity as playing helps to construct the cells essential to intellectual development. There is evidence that early childhood experiences foster brain growth and that parenting style has a considerable contribution towards a child’s intellectual development.What then can you do at home to boost a child’s intellectual development?“You need not teach the child in the formal sense of instruction,” says sister Tinkamanyire, a Child Psychology lecturer at Makerere University. “What is necessary is crating a stimulating atmosphere for casual learning,” she adds.Here are some few tips suggested by psychologists to help you improve your child’s intellectual ability especially during the initial stages of the child’s life.- Talk to the child Mrs Phoebe Kyomukama, a lecturer of child Growth and development at Kyambogo University believes that language (especially mother tongue) is important to successful intellectual functioning. “A grasp of language goes beyond being able to say words. Children often think and form concepts in their first language,” she says. - Encourage exploration A child builds an intellect and learns about the world by reaching out to new experiences. Children are predisposed to seek and reach out to new world around them. you don’t have to urge them to do so. Nevertheless, you can encourage this curiosity by exploring with them. Pick up a toy and look it over then hand it to your child to examine it as well.- Make room for music Make use of some favourite bedtime songs or simple rhymes. Encourage your child to sing these simple songs with you at every opportunity. Psychologists believe that singing lullabies not only help your child’s brain to develop but also help to improve their communication skills.- Buy task oriented toys and playing items “Children need tasks which can stimulate their brains and make them think for themselves,” says Dr. Yona Balyage, Head of Education Department at Bugema University. Buy toys which a child can dismantle and rearrange or assemble the parts in different ways. While assembling the parts, the child leans to think faster accurately and creatively.Remember that you are the first teacher in your child’s life and your home the first school. Early years are a critical stage of development in which the brain is fine-tuned. Therefore, your role remains important. The writer is a counsellor and teacher at High Field Junior Academy, Gayaza.