By Dr. Dhanalakshmi N.

Ph.D. (N), PG Psychological Counselling, M.Sc. Psychology

Introduction

It can be challenging to keep preschoolers and toddlers interested. How can you engage a toddler whose favorite word is “no” and whose favourite question is “why”? The trick is to take advantage of their enthusiasm and narrow focus. Early childhood education participants have greater test scores and lower dropout rates. Additionally, it makes kids more likely to succeed in life later on.

How young children learn

Having connections with you, other family members and caretakers like early childhood educators is the cornerstone of your child’s healthy learning and development. A young toddler learns via routine play and exploration in a welcoming environment. Spending a lot of time playing and interacting with both you and other people will help your child develop life skills including talking, thinking, problem-solving and interacting with others.

Active participation in their surroundings helps your child learn best. Some of them include:

• seeing objects, observing people and hearing voices
• paying attention to sounds, producing sounds and asking questions like “But why?”
• experimenting with objects, colors and elements like sand and water
• Building things out of materials like cartons or toy blocks or otherwise engaging in activities that engage their senses of touch, taste, smell, vision and hearing is an example of discovering.
•  Other activities include feeling objects, shaking them and turning them around. Toddlers also put objects in their mouths to learn about them. That’s natural. Just ensure they are protected from choking hazard and unclean surroundings.

Your child also learns by getting involved in decision making. This could be as simple as:

• selecting reading material or playthings to use.
• selecting an outfit to wear.
• choosing vegetables for dinner, etc. All kids gain from experiencing a wide variety of activities. As a result, kids have several opportunities to practice what they have learnt. Your child needs both indoor and outdoor activities, physical activity and calm activities, unstructured play and more structured play, for instance.

Tips to engage your child to learn

• Keep it brief: For children aged three and four, the typical attention span is eight to ten minutes. Make the most of your time while you have it because small kids have short attention spans. Schedule a 10-to-15-minute break between activities. If you need to finish a lengthy task, divide it into smaller sections and give the kids breaks in between to keep their attention.
• Engage your child: by reading, singing and talking to them as often as you can.
• Introduce various learning styles: Each child has preferred learning methods and learning styles that work best for her. You can utilise strategies to increase your child’s learning rate and quality by assisting her in identifying her preferred learning preferences. There are seven basic types of learning: auditory, visual, verbal, physical, logical (numerical), social and solitary. Children who are primarily visual, for instance learn best by observing how things operate.
• Use Game-based learning: Playing video games in the classroom stimulates students to desire to learn while also providing opportunities for deeper understanding and the cultivation of non-cognitive skills. When a child is actively participating in a game, their brain finds it enjoyable to learn a new system.
• Limit your child’s Media watching: Try to limit your child’s Media consumption (TV, Phone, Computer etc.). This applies whether you are home alone, have a babysitter or your kid is with you. Children need to hear and speak with adults in order to develop their language skills. It is possible and healthy to withhold TV altogether and keep the phone usage to a minimum of 15 minutes per day. Let your toddler learn from the people and environment instead.
• Make sure your child does homework: Every night, review your child’s homework. Your child should be able to articulate what she is studying. Ensure that homework is finished. Find a quiet area for your kid to study if you can and devote time each night to homework.
• Identify and celebrate achievements: You should acknowledge and applaud your child’s accomplishments, no matter how minor they may be. Children in elementary school need regular encouragement to study and improve, therefore this is particularly crucial for them.
• Focus on strengths: For your child to develop and advance in a balanced academic and emotional way, you must concentrate on his or her strengths. Another technique for encouraging your child to keep learning is to emphasise her strengths.
• Tell a story: Every now and then, children have trouble remembering certain information. But if you weave that content into a story, children will frequently get the lesson very quickly. You can tell stories about specific bits of information, such as the names of shapes or the alphabet’s letters.
• Use colour: Learning in colour is exciting. Objects, words and images in vivid colours should be included in learning activities. Give children colouring pages with basic shapes, letters or numbers on them and then let them decorate the images with their own colours.
• Make learning fun and every day a learning day: You may motivate your child to learn something new everyday. Keep it fun. Expose your child to new things, books and learning objects and they will automatically learn.

References

1. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/simple-ways-encourage-learning
2. https://www.educationcorner.com/motivating-your-child-to-learn.html
3. https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/play-learning/learning-ideas/learning-baby-to-preschool#how-babies-and-young-children-learn-nav-title
4. https://www.helpteaching.com/blog/how-to-engage-young-learners-toddler-and-preschool.html