Brain Games for a Healthy Mind

By Sara Jackson, CSW
Safe and Healthy Families

For many children, the summer months are filled with fun and relaxation but lack any intellectual stimulation. Some children spend countless hours playing video and computer games. Many kids will return to school in the fall having forgotten parts of their times tables or how to construct a complete sentence. Although summer should be fun and provide some relief from school, it doesn’t mean your child’s brain should turn to mush! Just like our bodies need to be active to stay healthy, our minds also need some type of stimulation to stay strong.

For children younger than school age, early brain stimulation helps increase the chances for success. Psychologist Keith Gibson, Ph.D. states, “The root of later learning is grounded in strong cognitive skills. By helping their children build skills like memory, comprehension, logic and reasoning among others early—even before school years—parents are actually increasing the chance of academic success and likely, life success”.

Helping your children to maintain an active mind doesn’t have to be boring or tedious. Here are some ideas for fun and simple ways to keep your child’s mind engaged during the long summer months:

Play 20 questions: Think of a person or object and give your child 20 guesses to narrow down the answer by asking yes and no questions. Teach him/her to strategize by using questions that can significantly narrow down the answer such as “Are they alive?”
Read without pictures: Read aloud from a book but do not show the pictures to your child. Have him/her describe the scene in detail using all five senses.
Encourage participation in reading: Read stories that allow your child to participate by answering questions or repeating rhymes.
Encourage exploration: Using building blocks, art activities, make believe and dress-up can help develop curiosity, language and problem solving skills.
Encourage problem solving: Don’t solve your child’s problems right away. Help your child to think through problems and frustrations to help him/her develop competence and confidence.
Encourage your child to use both hands from a young age.
Sing: Sing songs/nursery rhymes to your child and encourage him/her to participate.
Loop them in: Include your child in adult conversations whenever possible to encourage critical thinking and to let him/her know that his/her opinion is valued.
Play with numbers: Ask your child to guess how many sweets are in the jar or to count the number of blue cars they see.

Remember, although summer should be fun, it’s important to maintain an active mind. Feel free to be creative and come up with your own ways to stimulate the brain. Create science experiments or a new recipe together and above all, have fun!

For more information visit:

http://media.learningrx.com/brain-stimulating-games-to-play-with-your-kids/

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-stimulate-childs-brain-6681384.html?cat=25

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-stimulate-brain-power-toddler-simple-2307836.html?cat=25