According to scientists, a child’s brain develops significantly during the first five years of life. By age five, your child’s brain is about 90% of its adult size, meaning that from now on there will be minimal growth process. However, it’s important to understand that even if the brain doesn’t grow, it continues to develop. Indeed, the brain consists of brain cells, or neurons, that exist alongside each other. It’s the connections between these neurons that make the brain works. In other words, your child needs to develop these neural connections throughout their life to be able to improve cognitive abilities – and different abilities as well because the brain manages the movements of the body.
The brain is quicker to master movements because it’s something that children practice from birth. Mastering complicated thought processes can take longer for the simple reason that children are not exposed to complex ideas until much later in their life – until they start going to school. What this means is that your kid can find it tricky to organize thoughts, because the brain isn’t yet used to doing so. But you can help them to build these new connections.
They don’t know how to articulate their thoughts
Just because children don’t express their opinions clearly, it doesn’t mean their creative world isn’t as complex as yours. However, even the most creative children lack confidence when it comes to putting their thoughts in writing. Unfortunately, turning up short essays is something they will have to do at school from an early age. Admittedly, teachers will not be looking at the same thing in a child’s essay than they would in an adult’s composition. But you can still guide your child through the tricks of creative structure to help them express their thought process clearly. Indeed, it’s essential that you teach your child how to develop a logical structure around their creative piece. The structure acts as a skeleton, helping them to figure out where ideas belong in the text.
They can’t visualize abstract notions
Children have a fertile imagination – imaginary friends are a common occurrence. However, they fail to grasp concepts they can’t see. Discussing equality and fairness, for instance, is difficult. But psychologists have demonstrated that kids who take part in reward-based experiments where they can see some kids receiving a large reward while others not receiving anything – it’s a known Harvard study– understand the concept. Similarly, if a subject such as math is too abstract, you can create visual clues with Cazoom Maths worksheet to explain complicated theories. In later years, kids will be able to visualize mentally.
They can’t make sense of what they feel
Last, but not least, children also know and understand their surroundings. But it makes no sense to them that other people would think or feel differently. That’s precisely why exposing your child to a variety of opinions and sensibilities can help them to become more socially aware and make sense of intangible feelings. Reading books together when they’re young can make a significant difference to their development by introducing many characters, situations, and processes.
The brain is a constant work in process. You are still learning today. But, unlike your child, you’re responsible for how well you process and retain information. Young children rely on their parents to learn how to organize their thoughts appropriately.
