As a parent we are all concerned about the development of our child, looking at how they are developing, worrying about what the future holds for them. From a parental viewpoint all we can do is best prepare them to cope with the challenges ahead. So, the question is how can we achieve this? A lot of research and effort has been invested in exploring child development and what can be done to influence it and one of the key factors that has emerged has been centered around the role of child development play.
I had playtime all planned out for the next 3 years for my young son. With hindsight I think that I got a little carried away in the early days. It didn't take long before I realised that the racing car set wasn't much use to a 6 month old. A great way to help your baby develop their cognitive skills in child development play is to actually play games! Simple. As an example take one of my all time favourites, peek-a-boo. Cover your face with whatever takes your fancy and then whip it off, making sure that you you have your happy face on!. Your baby will be thrilled to see you re-appear again. Although I couldn't quiet figure whether his fits of giggles were due to him having fun or whether he found my face hysterical.
Anyway, sooner of later he started to take the blanket off my head before I re-appeared. Apparently, this helps your baby develop their sense of 'object permanence'. To you and me that's understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. In my case, my head didn't actually disappear when it was covered. So,from then on we had lots of practice of 'object permanence' when he practiced throwing his toys out of their pram or from his high chair, I kept saying to myself 'He is simply practicing this newly developed skill', frustrating as it was after I had picked it up for the 50th time.
One of the first toys I bought him was a cloth multi-coloured octopus. Not sure I ever saw any of that species on the Discovery Channel though. Anyway, this octopus had different types or textures of material on each of its legs, presumably to promote some form of tactile development. That octopus and my son soon become inseparable, mainly one of its legs from his mouth. During the early months, a great deal of time was spent laid on the floor, talking to him, playing with various toys in order to getting to move about and to introduce new touch and audio-visual experiences.
I had playtime all planned out for the next 3 years for my young son. With hindsight I think that I got a little carried away in the early days. It didn't take long before I realised that the racing car set wasn't much use to a 6 month old. A great way to help your baby develop their cognitive skills in child development play is to actually play games! Simple. As an example take one of my all time favourites, peek-a-boo. Cover your face with whatever takes your fancy and then whip it off, making sure that you you have your happy face on!. Your baby will be thrilled to see you re-appear again. Although I couldn't quiet figure whether his fits of giggles were due to him having fun or whether he found my face hysterical.
Anyway, sooner of later he started to take the blanket off my head before I re-appeared. Apparently, this helps your baby develop their sense of 'object permanence'. To you and me that's understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. In my case, my head didn't actually disappear when it was covered. So,from then on we had lots of practice of 'object permanence' when he practiced throwing his toys out of their pram or from his high chair, I kept saying to myself 'He is simply practicing this newly developed skill', frustrating as it was after I had picked it up for the 50th time.
One of the first toys I bought him was a cloth multi-coloured octopus. Not sure I ever saw any of that species on the Discovery Channel though. Anyway, this octopus had different types or textures of material on each of its legs, presumably to promote some form of tactile development. That octopus and my son soon become inseparable, mainly one of its legs from his mouth. During the early months, a great deal of time was spent laid on the floor, talking to him, playing with various toys in order to getting to move about and to introduce new touch and audio-visual experiences.
As he became more mobile and he his exploration bug, I decided than rather than have him 'exploring' where he shouldn't, we bought his first climbing frame, not much taller than him. This gave him plenty of opportunities to push himself physically and that is a trait he carried on into his teenage years. This was a great little addition to his toys, fun for him whilst developing motor skills.
So, that was his first few years and as I said earlier, a fantastic time and lots of opportunities for you to help your child development play.
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