Early stimulation in boys and girls is a topic of great importance in child development. During the first years of life, children's brains undergo rapid growth and acquire new skills at an accelerated rate. It is essential to provide them with adequate stimuli to promote their cognitive, emotional, social and motor development. In this article, we will explore the staged exercises recommended to stimulate the comprehensive development of children in their first years of life.
Stage 1: Sensory Stimulation
Sensory stimulation in the first months of life is crucial for the development of children's senses and perception. During this stage, it is recommended to carry out activities that stimulate the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
Recommended exercises:
- Place toys with different textures in baby's hands to stimulate the sense of touch.
- Softly sing lullabies to stimulate the sense of hearing.
- Use toys with bright, contrasting colors to stimulate the sense of hearing. sight.
- Allow the baby to smell different soft aromas such as lavender or vanilla to stimulate the sense of smell.
- Let the baby suck on safe and appropriate objects to stimulate the sense of smell. taste.
Stage 2: Gross Motor Stimulation
At this stage, it is important to stimulate the development of coordination and balance in children. Gross motor stimulation refers to the development of physical skills that involve the use of large muscle groups.
Recommended exercises:
- Place the baby face down to strengthen the muscles of the neck and back.
- Provide baby time on the floor so he can crawl and strengthen his arm and leg muscles.
- Encourage crawling by placing attractive toys out of baby's reach. and encouraging the baby to move to reach them.
- Provide toys to kick and hit with the hands to develop hand-eye coordination.
- Encourage the baby to stand with support to strengthen the baby's hand muscles. legs.
Stage 3: Cognitive Stimulation
Cognitive stimulation focuses on the development of children's mental skills, including memory, attention, problem solving and creative thinking. During this stage, it is important to provide children with varied experiences that stimulate their cognitive capacity.
Recommended exercises:
- Read stories and show images to children to stimulate their imagination and creativity.
- Play memory games like "Memory" or "Simon Says" to improve memory and attention skills.
- Solve simple puzzles with children to encourage problem solving.
- Perform classification and association activities of colors, shapes and sizes to promote logical thinking.
- Stimulate symbolic play by providing children with toys that encourage role-playing.
Stage 4: Language Stimulation
Language stimulation is essential in the communicative and social development of children. During this stage, it is important to encourage the development of children's vocabulary, language understanding and verbal expression.
Recommended exercises:
- Talk and sing to children in a clear and slow way to promote their understanding of the language.
- Read stories and poems to children to stimulate their interest in words and narration.
- Encourage conversation with children asking them open-ended questions and encouraging them to share their experiences.
- Use gestures and facial expressions to accompany verbal language and facilitate non-verbal communication.
- Teach new words through association games of images with words.
Stage 5: Socio-emotional Stimulation
Socio-emotional stimulation focuses on the development of children's social, emotional and affective skills. During this stage, it is important to foster empathy, self-esteem, resilience and emotional regulation in children.
Recommended exercises:
- Encourage children to express their feelings. emotions through drawing, music or symbolic play.
- Teach children relaxation strategies such as deep breathing or visualization to manage stress and anxiety.
- Promote cooperative play between children to foster empathy and collaboration.
- Recognize and praise children's achievements and efforts to strengthen their self-esteem.
- Teach children to identify and express their emotions appropriately to promote emotional regulation.
In summary, early stimulation in boys and girls through exercises in stages is essential to promote their comprehensive development. Providing children with varied and enriching experiences in each of these stages will contribute not only to enhancing their cognitive, motor, linguistic, and socio-emotional skills, but also to laying the foundations for healthy and balanced development throughout their lives.