While your child will learn a lot of their fundamental skills when at school, there are also those that you can help develop from a young age. In doing so, you can give your child that much more of a head start, allowing them to further grow and learn new skills and pieces of information, even before their compulsory schooling. These do not have to take a lot of time, and can be achieved either incredibly cheaply, or even for free, so can suit a range of budgets and family lifestyles.
Drawing
When a toddler draws and colours, they aren’t just making pictures to be hung on your walls, fridge, or put into a scrapbook. They are also helping to develop their levels of creativity, as well as to work on their motor functions and ability to hold pens, pencils, and even paintbrushes. To further develop these skills, you may also wish to enable your toddler to practice colouring and drawing within lines, rather than having full artistic freedom. To achieve this, you could purchase a colouring book, or even get hold of some reasonably priced printer ink cartridges and print your own images at home, allowing you to tailor the pictures to their favourite shows and characters. Drawing and artwork can also be a great way to spend time together, indulging in an activity that can be fun for you both.
Reading Together
Studies have shown that reading to children, and also teaching them to read, can help to build on a number of skills. Not only will these children learn to have a great deal of appreciation and respect for literature, but it can also help to improve mental health, and even teach your child about emotions through the levels of empathy and understanding they feel for the characters within. This is also another way of building on your existing bond with your child. Cuddling up together with a book can help them to start recognising words and letters, even from such a young age, and give you more time to enjoy the moments while they are still small.
Go Swimming
Swimming is a gentle form of exercise that many, both young and old, enjoy taking. While it may not be as strenuous on the body, it is still great for keeping the mind and body healthy and active. Although your toddler may not be able to swim independently, that doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from regular swimming sessions. This can be a great way of making exercise fun, while teaching them an important life skill that can be used throughout the rest of their life, from school trips to days at the beach. On top of this, swimming can also help your toddler to become more confident in their own abilities, as well as being around water in general.
Spending time assisting your toddler with their personal growth can have a dramatic effect on their education and life skills as they grow older. One of the best benefits for you, the parent, is extra time spent together indulging in fun hobbies.