In this digital age, digital devices are used by parents and teachers to interact with kids. There's the ubiquitous phone, TV, computer, gaming console etc. Occasionally it is good to interact with kids, without digital bridges. Parents must give kids their full attention, especially in the younger years, when kids keep looking towards the parent for assurance and comfort. It is a fact, that kids react to the voice of their mother even before they are born, so where is the surprise in mothers and fathers playing important roles in the formative years of their kids!
When parents are busy, especially if they are working parents, it is easy to put educational preschool games in the hands of a child and feel less guilty about not spending time or playing, with the child. These games are good for the child, but they cannot replace the good that comes from interacting with a child.
Here are 5 activities for interacting with your child in the natural world:
1. Play Imaginary Games
Playing imaginary games and building an elaborate imaginary world with characters and other details is not a sign of troubled child. It is just fertile imagination. In fact 'paracosm' is the word which describes this imaginary world with it's own entities, geography and other details. Some of these imaginary worlds persist in an adult's world too. Research shows that older children, single children and children who don't watch much TV, create such worlds. Research suggests that it could be because they have the opportunity. Such imagination requires unstructured time. Here is a list of imaginative play.
2. Go on a Nature Walk
Right from when a child is young, it is imperative for a child to understand that humans are a part of Nature around us. We are like a puzzle piece in an evolving puzzle. Taking a child out into Nature is a good beginning. Growing this into a Nature walk is a simple and fun activity. Recognizing elements - stones, trees, rivers, lakes, birds, animals - of the world we live in a very important part of a child's life. There must be a sense of belonging in the outdoors. If it's raining, then there's always some indoor activities for a rainy day.
3. Build something
There's just something about building stuff, that can be engrossing. Just piling up blocks or pillows are great activities for little kids, but using sand, mud, snow, sticks etc. is much more fun. As they grow, it is amazing to see their imagination flower. One of the simplest activities is to get cartons and let a child lose on them. They can stack them, crawl into them, sit inside/on them, carry them over their heads, pile things into them, the exploration can be endless.This is great for a rainy day, but when the weather is good, head out.
4. Go shopping for food
Food is crucial to a human's survival. We eat to live, although there are many who live to eat!
Shopping for food is a fascinating activity for younger kids. They can explore color, texture, words, communication with people at the store via shopping. In fact as they age, they can learn responsibility by shopping for the family from a certain section, while the adult wraps up shopping in another section. Kids feel they are contributing, even as they learn to identify things, understand expiry dates, weight, good quality, ingredients which go into a particular dish etc.
5. Involve the child in simple chores
Living within a family is all about co-operative living. The give and take, wheeling and dealing, empathy for family members, responsibility etc., all this is absorbed by a child even as they do simple chores. As long as the chore is not harmful, a child can do it. Parents have to consciously create small chores for kids, slowly growing them as the child grows up and it's abilities improve. It is also a good way to build family relationships.
So here are 5 ways you can interact with your kids, in the Natural World. This is the world we belong to, and it is imperative that they understand what they are a part of.
Image Credit: Javierosh
When parents are busy, especially if they are working parents, it is easy to put educational preschool games in the hands of a child and feel less guilty about not spending time or playing, with the child. These games are good for the child, but they cannot replace the good that comes from interacting with a child.
Here are 5 activities for interacting with your child in the natural world:
1. Play Imaginary Games
Playing imaginary games and building an elaborate imaginary world with characters and other details is not a sign of troubled child. It is just fertile imagination. In fact 'paracosm' is the word which describes this imaginary world with it's own entities, geography and other details. Some of these imaginary worlds persist in an adult's world too. Research shows that older children, single children and children who don't watch much TV, create such worlds. Research suggests that it could be because they have the opportunity. Such imagination requires unstructured time. Here is a list of imaginative play.
2. Go on a Nature Walk
Right from when a child is young, it is imperative for a child to understand that humans are a part of Nature around us. We are like a puzzle piece in an evolving puzzle. Taking a child out into Nature is a good beginning. Growing this into a Nature walk is a simple and fun activity. Recognizing elements - stones, trees, rivers, lakes, birds, animals - of the world we live in a very important part of a child's life. There must be a sense of belonging in the outdoors. If it's raining, then there's always some indoor activities for a rainy day.
3. Build something
There's just something about building stuff, that can be engrossing. Just piling up blocks or pillows are great activities for little kids, but using sand, mud, snow, sticks etc. is much more fun. As they grow, it is amazing to see their imagination flower. One of the simplest activities is to get cartons and let a child lose on them. They can stack them, crawl into them, sit inside/on them, carry them over their heads, pile things into them, the exploration can be endless.This is great for a rainy day, but when the weather is good, head out.
4. Go shopping for food
Food is crucial to a human's survival. We eat to live, although there are many who live to eat!
Shopping for food is a fascinating activity for younger kids. They can explore color, texture, words, communication with people at the store via shopping. In fact as they age, they can learn responsibility by shopping for the family from a certain section, while the adult wraps up shopping in another section. Kids feel they are contributing, even as they learn to identify things, understand expiry dates, weight, good quality, ingredients which go into a particular dish etc.
5. Involve the child in simple chores
Living within a family is all about co-operative living. The give and take, wheeling and dealing, empathy for family members, responsibility etc., all this is absorbed by a child even as they do simple chores. As long as the chore is not harmful, a child can do it. Parents have to consciously create small chores for kids, slowly growing them as the child grows up and it's abilities improve. It is also a good way to build family relationships.
So here are 5 ways you can interact with your kids, in the Natural World. This is the world we belong to, and it is imperative that they understand what they are a part of.
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