Saturday, Jul 23, 2016
Dubai:
Most children don’t get enough time to engage in different activities in an academic year due to the hectic school schedule. However, during the summer holidays, instead of spending it idly, parents should get them involved in constructive activities.
Aamnah Husain, Dubai-based clinical psychologist, suggests activities that are good for all children, despite their different interests.
1.Reading: It fuels the imagination and introduces children to ‘another’s’ perspective which is an important skill to have for empathy and understanding others.
2.Making music, enacting stories, recording songs, dance routine: This allows children to express their energies and ideas. They also get to use their bodies and appreciate what beautiful instruments their bodies are. Learning an instrument helps build special neural pathways in the brain.
3.Artwork using hands, crafts, wood work, pottery, sculpture, painting: Improves hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning. Teaches children to use their own judgement. Can reduce stress and anxiety.
4.Learning a language: Improves problem solving abilities, multi-tasking and critical thinking skills and makes for a more well rounded, culturally enriched individual.
5.Swimming, basketball, table tennis, trampolining, hopscotch, jump rope, bicycle riding, martial arts: All physical activities promote health and contribute to better mood, emotion regulation and thinking ability.
6.Cooking: An important life skill, it helps children learn to be independent, teaches them to care about what goes into their body.
7.Playing board games with family: Sense of togetherness, building camaraderie, a great opportunity for parents to learn about their children’s world.
8.Nature appreciation: Be it walks, going to the beach, climbing trees, collecting stones, gardening, so children can remember their connection to the earth, so they can learn to respect and appreciate nature and its variety and because it has a soothing calming effect.
9.Things that take consistent effort: So children get to see a project evolve, overcome mistakes, and learn the importance of consistent effort.
10.Something of interest to the child: So the child can take responsibility for his likes and dislikes and so they learn to pursue their own vision.
Mary Achkhanian, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.
