Play and Learn

Ayaan is Masha Allah growing up so fast! He is a perfect gentleman with enviable manners and polite demeanor. He is developing a super energetic and outdoorsy personality. His recent interests are Cricket and Hockey and he is actually quiet good at his ball deliveries and hockey dribbles. Makes me so proud every day. Watching the baby play and learn is just as enriching and rejuvenating for the parents as it is for the kid. It is a beautiful opportunity given to us by Allah SWT to revel in the delights of our young ones. Such are the simple joys of life; keeping you grounded and real.

Today, lets discuss a few of the lessons that I have grabbed along the way when it comes to play-n-learn.

Conducive Environment:

Remember how we used to feel frustrated and distracted during our exams if the TV or radio were to be too loud? Same rule for babies. They have very short attention spans. In order to build up their attention span and keep their interest in a particular toy or activity, ensure that they are comfortably seated on the ground, on a play mat or a play pan. Turn off noisy appliances (this includes TV, Radio and other household appliances). Above all, take some time out and make yourself 100% available for the baby, both physically and mentally.

Demonstrate:

Do not expect a young baby to grasp the technicalities of a wooden shape sorter or a stack all by themselves through mere experimentation. Kids learn by observations. In fact, observation is just as good a mode of learning as is first hand experience at this age (that is how they learn their manners, language and culture).

Talk and Giggle:

Engage the baby during the play. Explain the colors, shapes, the activity itself (Lets build a tower). Keep it short and sweet, use short crisp sentences and smile a lot. Giggle and make fun noises to keep the interest of your baby up.

Age Appropriate Toys:

It goes without saying that all toys should be age-appropriate and safe for your baby. Choose bright colors, assorted fabrics and textures. Wooden blocks are excellent for stacking and building towers and to hone those motor skills. Ayaan enjoys wooden puzzles (shapes, animals, transport) a lot. Play dough, lacing, lego, stacking cups, tolo car, tricycle, soft-bat and ball, water doodle, musical instruments and talking phones are fascinating for a 19 month old. At this age remote control cars and pinball tables can wait!

Books:

Lets not forget the books! They are just as good as the toys when it comes to spending some quality time with your baby. Make them as fun as possible and you will raise a reader for life! Ayaan started reading/browsing books when he was only 10 months old. His favorite were the soft cloth activity books (the ones with a zipper, lace, Velcro material etc) and the touch, feel and learn books. When buying books for this age, invest only in board books so that there is no fear of wear and tear. Ensure that each page has only one or two images at most as too busy a page will only confuse a little baby and slow down the learning process. Get a couple of fairy tales and nursery rhymes in board books and make them a bed time routine.

Repetition:

Repeat often; be it play with toys or reading a book. At this stage, repetition is the key to learning. Only proceed to new subjects once you are sure that the baby has grasped the concept. For example, if you are teaching "A is for Apple", repeat the same word at least 10 times to the baby not only verbally, but also show images, the actual fruit, videos, books and toys that have anything to do with an apple. This reinforcing is essential for long-term learning.

Above all, always keep yourself available for your child; his queries, his babbles and his smiles. Have lots of fun, takes lots of pictures, lots of kisses and hugs!