Top 3 Skills Learned At Play

Do you know that young children learn best by playing? Psychology asserts that games and toys play an important role on a child's development. This is why parents love to shower their kids with games and toys, even if they don't have any idea about what toys are appropriate for their child's age. See, games do teach important skills. Young children, in their early development years, learn fast with games, building a good foundation for math, science and various skills.

When you engage a child in some kind of game, you are actually providing him or her a venue to practice early the skills in language, physical or motor, emotional and cognitive or thinking skills of recognition, creativity, and hand-eye movements in a pressure-free, unstructured atmosphere. And, when they do, they acquire skills - such as the ones listed below.

1. Language skills - Experts say that those gurgles you hear from a tot when you engage her in a 'coo and silly sound' game is his or her way of speaking to you, though you hardly know what they mean. But, while you may not recognize what emotions he or she expresses with your game, he or she is responding to your stimulation. Also, when you sing to your baby or read him or her books before bedtime, you are actually teaching her words. When a baby repeats in his or her own way what you are saying, the baby is learning to speak. The little game you are sharing with your child is, in fact, an essential part of teaching language skills.

2. Motor Skills - Have you ever observed a baby trying desperately to grasp your finger if you wave it at him or her? Or, grabbing a rattle and seen the baby reaching out his or her hand to hold it? Then, whatever the baby has in his/her hand will automatically be brought to the baby's mouth. Experts say this is the start of the child practicing motor skills. Whoever first thought of hanging those multi-coloured and sound-producing toys over a crib must have known the logic behind!

3. Cognitive Skills - Babies are truly amazing beings. At such an early age, a baby knows when to get mom's attention. Just a cry and mom's coming. This is the start of cognitive thinking. Giving a set of puzzles to a young child will set him or her to putting the pieces together. Whether he or she succeeds or not doesn't matter; what's important is, the baby is trying to figure out a way of doing it correctly. Left on his or her own, the baby will most likely succeed later.