Heavy Technology Usage – a distraction from learning
“Mommy! Mommy! Let me play my games for a few more minutes please!”
Does this sound like a familiar situation? Your child can spend hours unperturbed on his or her phone but when it comes to studies, he or she always needs a push.
The Singapore education system is a proverbial pressure cooker, with kids of a mere age of 4 already attending enrichment classes. Tuition centres in Singapore are already lowering the ages for enrollment, with Math tuition starting at kindergarten levels.
How do we help de-emphasise such stress on our kids while making sure they are motivated to study well? The answer lies in brain exercises and games. Through some fun and interactive brain exercises and games for your kids, this is not only a way for them to relieve their stress, but it also stimulates their thinking. This in turn creates a causation effect in their studies: killing 2 birds with 1 stone.
What Are Brain Exercises?
Brain exercises aim to develop your child’s memory, concentration and organisational skill. It involves a precise set of movements to stimulate certain parts of the brain – like drawing two images with both hands. There are several tuition centres in Singapore offering such brain exercise programmes for children, however, with a few tips, it is possible to simulate some of these activities at home too, especially during this Covid-19 period.
Using the less dominant hand for activities
An activity parents can consider in stimulating brain activity while having fun is to try out a drawing exercise with your kids, but with a twist – using the less dominant hand. This can even turn into a competition between parent and child to see who can draw a nicer drawing with their less dominant hand. Another activity could be a simple ball toss where each person has to put their dominant hand behind their backs – using the less dominant hand to catch and throw the ball. Developing the use of the less dominant hand strengthens the neural connections in the brain. When it comes to studies, this will stimulate thinking and help increase focus and motivation.
Yoga for Kids
Yoga is another exciting activity that your child will enjoy. Popular youtube channels like Cosmic Kids Yoga, have a lineup of yoga classes playlists that you and your child can try. Studies show that yoga can improve focus, memory, self-esteem and classroom behaviour as it encourages mindfulness and exercise. Make use of apps like Youtube to conduct productive and fun exercise sessions with your kids!
While we have focused on physical brain exercises that you can do, next time, in Part 2, we will delve into non-physical brain exercises that you can do with your child at home.