Hey, kids don’t need toys!!! If you want to strengthen their cognitive skills and creativity, just let them run wild in the outdoors. You do not want to trap your children inside the four walls of their rooms and hand them some tacky toys and expect them to exhibit great skills. They need free play in the nature for their growth and overall development. But what about the times when going out is not an option, like during heavy rains, extreme cold or scorching heat. What do you expect kids to do then? Remember, balance is key. While outdoor play is essential, toys can also play a role in promoting a child’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. Hence in this post, we will explore five of the best toys to boost creativity and imagination in children between the ages of 3 to 6 years old.

It sounds like an easy topic, you may ask, what’s the big deal with toys? Many will say, it’s so easy to choose a nice toy for a child as there are thousands of options available in the market. Or, some may suggest, simply take your child with you to the toy store and they will choose the best one for themselves. However, parents who recognize the impact of toys on their child’s growth and learning would understand the struggle.

I want to recommend some toys based on my experience as these have played a crucial role in nurturing my son’s creativity, imagination, and various developmental skills. As I believe that by providing children with toys that stimulate their problem-solving skills and fine motor abilities, we can foster their cognitive development and enhance their creativity.

I have already talked about the importance of cognitive milestones in early childhood and how the stimulation activities and environment play an important role in the brain development of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

You may also read: brain-boosting games for children! I have also made a video on the same topic. Check it out below-

So, without further ado, let’s check out 5 of the best toys that can enhance creativity and imagination in young children.

5 Best Toys to Boost Creativity and Imagination in Kids

1- Big Building Blocks

The first on our list of toys to boost creativity and imagination in kids is the Building Blocks. There are numerous learning possibilities with building blocks for young children. When my son was a toddler, he learned numbers, counting, shapes, and colors using these blocks. These blocks can be helpful in developing gross motor skills, curiosity, creativity, and imagination. These blocks provide a hands-on experience that engages children in constructive play, allowing them to explore their environment and learn through building and problem-solving.

Mega Bloks is an excellent choice for early learners.

MEGA Bloks – Building Blocks

Recommended Brand – Mega Bloks

Recommended Age – 12 months to 5 years

2- Magnetic Blocks/Tiles

The magnetic blocks and magnetic tiles are a great open-ended toy to build creativity in young children. These are also the perfect toys to challenge children’s logic and thinking abilities. By manipulating the magnetic pieces, children can create various structures, fostering their creativity and spatial reasoning. They learn about shapes, symmetry, balance, and how different pieces fit together to form stable structures.

GEL MAG – Magnetic Blocks

GEL Tiles – Magnetic Tiles

Recommended Brand – GEL Mag & GEL Tiles

Recommended Age – 2+ years for GEL Mag and 3+ years for GEL Tiles

3- Jenga Blocks

Once you feel that your child has honed the primary skills using big building blocks, it’s time to introduce Jenga to your kids. This game can be played in many ways, it’s fun and it also tickles your brain. It not only uses your physical skills but also needs a lot of mental skills. By carefully removing blocks and maintaining balance, children improve their fine motor control and strategic thinking.

Playing Jenga with Nemit

HASBRO Gaming – Jenga

Recommended Brand – Hasbro Gaming Jenga

Recommended Age – 4+ years

4- LEGO Bricks

Lego is the classic toy loved by children worldwide. These little building blocks can keep kids occupied for a long time. This is one of Nemit’s all time favorites and he never ceases to surprise us with his amazing creations. It’s a perfect toy for children to work on their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Also, it is the best one when it comes to building concentration span in kids. As children construct different creations with Lego, they engage in problem-solving, critical thinking, and imaginative play.

LEGO Classic

Recommended Brand – LEGO

Recommended Age – 4+ years

You may also read – Fun Activities to do with Family at Home!

5- Activity Box/Science Kit

The last one on the list of toys to boost creativity and development in kids is the theme-based Activity Box and Science Kit.

An activity box for kids is a fantastic way to provide them with a variety of engaging and educational activities. These boxes typically contain a curated selection of crafts, games, puzzles, and other hands-on activities that cater to the interests and developmental needs of children.

Our son enjoyed doing activities from such theme based activity boxes. We have mainly used Flintobox & Firstcry Intellikit but I am not able to find links to these brands on Amazon now. I am not sure if they have stopped making activity boxes or they are just not available on Amazon.

Not to worry, I will recommend our current favorite brand. We love their STEAM educational DIY toys.

Smartivity Activity Box

Recommended Brand –  Smartivity

Recommended Age – 3+ years for Activity box.

Science kit for children is an excellent way to spark curiosity and foster a love for science from an early age. These kits provide hands-on experiences that allow children to explore scientific concepts through fun and engaging experiments. Science kits are still my son’s favorite.

Einstein Science Kit

Recommended Brand – Einstein Box

Recommended Age – 4+ years for the Experiment kit.

By providing children with these five toys, we can create an enriching environment that promotes creativity, development, and learning. Whether it’s constructing with Mega Blocks, building with Lego Bricks, or engaging in experimental activities, these toys offer endless possibilities for children to explore their imaginations and enhance their cognitive abilities. So let’s dive into the world of play and watch our children grow into creative, curious, and confident individuals.

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Would you like to recommend a toy that would help nurture a child’s creativity, imagination and cognition? Share that in the comments below.

Image Source

• Toys – Amazon.in

• Featured Image – Pexels.com (Photo by Yan Krukau)

• Pin Image – Pexels.com (Photo by Pavel Danilyuk)

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The post Toys to Boost Creativity and Imagination in Kids (3 To 6 Years Old) appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

In today’s post, I want to talk about the role of a nurturing environment on a child’s cognitive development. And share some easy ways to create a positive environment for your child. When I am saying environment, it includes both physical as well as the emotional environment.

We know how crucial are the initial years of a child’s life for their growth and development. A child’s brain develops rapidly during the first three years. It is the time of rapid physical, emotional and cognitive development.

If you have been following my posts on #FeedIQ, an initiative by Abbott, by now you know how nutrition plays a crucial role in a baby’s optimal development. As per a research from Abbott, 3 key nutrients i.e. DHA, lutein and natural vitamin E are essential to support brain development and encourage early learning skills in infants. Mothers can take care of their nutritional needs by including a good supplement like SimMom IQ+ in their diet.

But nutrition is not the only factor which influences a baby’s cognitive development. A positive, stimulatory, as well as a nurturing environment, plays an equally important role. In one of my previous posts, I have shared some of the age-specific stimulation activities for babies.

A study by neuroscientist Audrey van der Meer shows that neurons in the brains of young children increase in both number & specialization when they are exposed to a positive and challenging environment.

But do we parents really care about the environment our babies are exposed to?

Do we really focus on providing a positive & stress-free home environment for our babies?

Brain imaging research suggests that growing up in a stressful environment causes the brain to develop differently. Even pregnancy stress and postpartum depression are found to have negative effects on a baby’s cognitive development.

It is the responsibility of parents & caretakers to consciously create a warm, caring, loving & sensory-rich environment around the babies.

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Let’s see some of the best ways to create a nurturing environment around babies to have a positive impact on their cognitive development.

1- Cut out the stress and be a happy parent

We all want to raise happy babies but are you a happy parent?

It doesn’t take much to drop out the stress from our lives and focus on being happy beings. Children absorb all the sights, sounds, smells, textures and emotions around them. They can sense even the slightest tension in the environment.

Babies communicate their needs & emotions through their behavior. And if you want to understand their behavior, you should look at their environment.

I have shared a post on Instagram on how to be a happy parent. Check it out –

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Create a happy & positive environment at home. How? .

👉 Smile more…Laugh often! . 👉 Eat at least 2 meals together as a family. . 👉 Don’t complicate things, keep your life as simple as possible. . 👉 Do some crazy stuff together. . 👉 Don’t shy away from showing love n care to your partner. Say ‘I love you’ more often. .👉 Keep an unlimited stock of kisses n hugs & use them for no particular reason. .👉 Never take your fight to a level that it becomes abusive. . 👉 Show your child that 2 individuals who love each other can also have a difference in opinion & things can be sorted out by talking without getting highly aggressive. . 👉 Take care of yourself, do something for yourself without feeling guilty. . 👉 Remember memories matter more than money. . 👉 Throw out negative thoughts & people out of your mind and your life

A post shared by Neha Sharma (@growing_with_nemit) on Nov 25, 2018 at 10:31pm PST

2- Create a positive nurturing environment at home

One of the best ways to create a positive nurturing environment for babies is by providing them with unconditional love and care. Even the simplest acts of cleaning & changing your baby, breastfeeding her, rocking her to sleep, soothing her, makes the environment nurturing.

PIN IT

Also, be available for your child when you are present around them. Listen to their cues in understanding their behavior. Don’t neglect their cries because that is their way of communicating their needs. Allow your baby to spend time with each member of the family. And also encourage other people in the house to have a positive interaction with the baby. Try to adopt shared parenting as well as positive parenting approach.

3- Indoor/Outdoor Stimulatory activities

One of the best ways to help your baby achieve cognitive milestones is through stimulation. Play-based learning is the most fundamental in a child’s physical as well as intellectual development. It builds a range of skills that enable young minds to take risks, solve problems, imagine possibilities, negotiate, and much more.

Babies as young as a few days old are learning about their environment through their senses. Some of the fun indoor stimulation activities for babies are reading, giving a massage, playing peek-a-boo, talking, singing and responding to their coo’s.

Just like indoor activities, spending time outdoors is a great way for a baby’s physical and mental development. You can take your baby for a stroll, talk to her about the surroundings, show her the things around & let her explore the sights and sounds. Spending time outdoors also helps in a baby’s emotional as well as social development.

So, dear parents, these are some of the ways in which you can create a happy, healthy & nurturing environment around your babies to have a positive impact on their cognitive development.

Hope you find this post helpful and worth sharing. Do share your thoughts in the below comments section.

The post 3 Effective Ways to Create a Nurturing Environment for a Baby’s Cognition appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hi guys, today I want to take up another important topic related to babies i.e Cognitive Milestones in Early Childhood. 

In simple words, cognitive development is the brain’s ability to act and think. And cognitive milestones help keep a check on baby’s brain and intellectual development.

Just like any other new mom, I was also obsessed with the term ‘milestones’, when Nemit was a little baby. I used to keep a check on his physical growth every month and sometimes even every week since babies grow really fast.

For the first 30 days after birth, my complete focus was only on his physical growth. At that time I was not aware that there are cognitive milestones as well. And came to know about their importance only at a later stage.

At around 2 months, when a baby smiles for the first time, it is a growth milestone. And around 3-4 months, when the baby responds to our facial expressions with a smile, it is a cognitive milestone.

Keeping a track of cognitive milestones is as important as other developmental milestones.

Many parents are not aware of the different categories of developmental milestones. These are basically a bundle of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and communication milestones. And each one of these plays an equally important role in a child’s overall growth and development.

Physical milestones involve the development of gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills such as rolling over, crawling, sitting, standing and fine motor skills like mastering pincer grip, drawing, writing, eating etc.

With cognitive milestones, the focus is more on thinking, learning, exploring and problem-solving skills.

There are many ways in which a mother can assist her baby in achieving cognitive milestones. And further helping in infant cognition.

One of the best ways is through nutrition!

Source – Gooey Brains

You will be amazed to know that a baby’s cognitive development starts from the time of conception. And that is why during pregnancy, mothers are advised to take proper care of their health and nutrition intake. DHA and Natural Vitamin E are the most important brain-building nutrients responsible for baby’s cognitive development.

Many studies and research conducted by Abbott, reinforce nutrition’s impact on cognition.

Only a mother can provide these essential nutrients to the baby during pregnancy and later through breastfeeding.

I always say that each baby is unique and they achieve their milestones at their own pace. However, this is also true that parents play an important role in their baby’s growth and development. Cognitive development is directly influenced by the quality of time parents spent with their babies. Cognition is the most important part of a child’s development as it lays the foundation for lifelong progress.

Another best way to help your baby achieve cognitive milestones is through stimulation!

Source – www.essentialbaby.com

It’s important that parents provide the right environment and stimulation activities right from the birth. There are many benefits of stimulation for the development of baby’s thinking and intelligence, auditory and visual senses and also helps in improving their social and emotional skills.

To know more about the age-appropriate (0-2 years) stimulation activities check out this post here!

A baby’s brain doubles in size in the first year. And by the age of two, the brain has up to twice as many nerve connections as it will have in adulthood.

Babies are way smarter than we think. For the first 2 years after birth, they use their senses to learn about the world around them. They are constantly learning, thinking and exploring their surroundings. And working towards developing remarkable intellectual skills.

Hence, it becomes crucial for parents to keep a watch on their cognitive milestones. And take immediate action if they notice any red flags. As early intervention always help!

Check out the below chart for an age-wise list of cognitive milestones 

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I hope you find this post informative and helpful. Do share your experience with me related to developmental milestones in the comment below. And don’t forget to share this post!

Reference:

http://static.abbottnutrition.com/cms-prod/anhi.org/img/Cheatham.pdf

http://www.abbott.in/live-healthy/thrive/infant/boost-your-babys-development.html

https://anhi.org/education/course-catalog/B880EF2D92BB48A1AE80277F1B36C0C4

https://www.nap.edu/resource/19401/ProfKnowCompFINAL.pdf

https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2012/05/21/Abbott-Nutrition-Cognition-research-is-one-of-our-top-global-priorities

‘I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter’

The post Importance of Cognitive Milestones in Early Childhood appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

It is said that ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, how true is this in today’s world? Let’s talk about new age parenting and the role of parents in the cognitive development of their child. We are in an era where more and more families are turning nuclear and both parents have specific career goals. Due to multiple responsibilities, parents are always running short of time, still, they want to practice the best parenting method for their kids. However, I have seen parents struggling through this phase with little or absolutely no help around. Also, it’s commonly believed that the responsibility of a child is tilted more towards the mother. But times are changing and we can see many fathers proudly sharing parenting responsibilities and taking the load off the mothers’ shoulders.

Source – simmom.in

So, if you come under this category of nuclear family setup or joint family with zero support, this post is for you.

We are a nuclear family with no help around. Initially, after the birth of our son, I thought of dedicating my full attention and giving all my time to raising our kid. However, motherhood is not that easy, it comes with its own pros and cons. Postpartum depression hit me quite early and too hard that it took a toll on my mental as well as physical health. This, in turn, put a bad impact on bonding with my newborn. Luckily, my husband observed the mood changes and took the step to talk it out. That was the time when I poured my heart out and explained how difficult it was for me to manage a newborn all alone. Then onwards, we decided to follow a shared parenting approach.

Nemit and Papa shares a strong bond

You may read – How to conquer the Postpartum Depression?

I have already talked about how an impressive amount of a baby’s brain development occurs during pregnancy in my previous posts. And also how choosing the right nutrition plays an important role in boosting a child’s growth and development. We very well know how understanding the benefits of breastfeeding, choosing the right environment, and offering the age-specific stimulation exercises can all assist in the cognitive development of a child. These are some of the ways in which a mother can FeedIQ to her child.

Source – simmom.in

It is the responsibility of both parents to ensure that the child gets the right stimulatory environment by being mindful of their parenting approach. We make sure we are available for each other and for our son as and when required. This way we also try to inculcate the important values of equality in our son.

How do we ensure our child’s proper physical, social as well as cognitive development?

Let’s be true to ourselves, a mother can’t do it all by herself. She can fit well in all the roles but the fact can’t be ignored that she too needs rest and care. Here are some of the things we do in laying a great development foundation for our child.

An equally shared parenting truly is half the work and all the fun.

=> Outdoor Play – To ensure Nemit gets ample time outside, Sumit takes him to the nearby park twice a day. It’s an advantage to us since Nemit wakes up early, he gets his first dose of physical activity in the early morning hours, which in turn, helps in keeping his energy levels in check. Now, here it is important for parents to be a part of their child’s outdoor activity. Outdoor play or play dates also help in improving the child’s social development.

Toddlers still need their parents around; they feel secure and loved when parents show interest in what their kids are doing. This can also be the best bonding time for a father with his child. Just by playing with your child, you can help in reducing their feelings of anxiety and stress.

You may also read – How to make outdoor play more fun for toddlers?

=> Interaction – Talking to the child and making conversation is very important starting from an early age to develop their communication skills. And here I am not just speaking about making general talks, positive interactions with your child are helpful in a child’s social development too. Yes, your child’s social development starts with you. We do this by encouraging Nemit to share his day and activities with us, we help him in building a two-way communication. Listening to your toddler is as important as talking which also helps in their cognitive development.

When you speak with your child look into their eyes, respond with a smile and stay focused. Never shy away from hugging and kissing your child, always make them feel loved. All this helps in teaching a child to be affectionate and compassionate to others.  These positive interactions also help in maintaining a good parent-child relationship.

Cuddles are Fun

You may also read – Ways to develop good communication skills in kids!

=> Structured Play – I have always encouraged play-based learning for Nemit. In simple terms, structured play means ‘play with a purpose‘, and this may include pre-planned skill-based activities. These activities provide the right stimulation which in turn boosts the child’s cognitive development.

Play-based learning

The power of play should never be underestimated when it comes to a child’s cognition. In fact, these stimulation activities play the most fundamental role in their physical as well as intellectual development.

Finger Painting

I resort to these pre-planned activities mostly during the daytime when I am alone with Nemit. During Nemit’s summer break, this structured play helped in keeping me sane through the long summer days.

Pre-planned activities

I usually plan 3-4 activities which help in keeping him busy for good 2-3 hours. These are not just fun but helps in strengthening our bond too. Also, following the Montessori approach has helped in planning activities based on day to day life skills. I will be sharing more about these toddler activities in my next post.

You may also read – Activities to boost a child’s brain development (0-2 years old)!

When the parents provide attention and the right environment, it helps in shaping their child’s physical, social as well as cognitive development. This is how I manage being a work at home mom without feeling the undue pressure even in our nuclear setup. I understand this approach is not applicable for everyone, and I have no intention to portray that only equal parenting is better for every family than another parenting model. But this has surely helped us in many ways.

How do you moms manage your work-life balance? Does your family also follow the equal parenting approach? Share with me in the comments below. And if you liked this post, please do share it with your friends and family.

The post Role of Parents in the Cognitive Development of a child appeared first on Growing With Nemit.