Six simple things parents can do to support your child’s healthy brain development
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sharifa Oppenheimer discusses how we can support vigorous brain functioning for our young children in the next section of Chapter One.
She recommends:
1. Drink adequate water,
2. Eat adequate protein—young children need both protein and fat for healthy brain development. This is why I added hummus or lentil soup to our class snack menu. Also, unfortunately, sugar is counterproductive.
3. Establish regular home rhythms—there’s that rhythm thing again!
4. Offer plenty of time to play indoors and out
5. Offer plenty of time for stories
6. Offer plenty of time for conversation
We will discuss most of these suggestions in more depth as the year goes on. What struck me as I was reading this again is how simple these things are. But they do require our presence, time and attention. It seems that in our modern society, someone is always trying to sell us toys or movies or other things to help us make our children smarter, faster, better. I like to be reminded that these simpler things are what really help our children to develop physically and emotionally. It is these simple things that will help them develop the resilience and creativity they will need throughout their lives.
Next week we will discuss the ever popular topic—Media and the Young Child, pages 19-27 in Heaven on Earth.
Important Dates:
Tuesday, October 23, 7-8:30 PM in the CWS Auditorium
EC and PC parent evening: The Early Childhood faculty and Educational Support teachers will speak about Healthy Development of the Child from Birth to Seven and First Grade Readiness
Weekend of November 16-18 (we are still finalizing the date)
PC Lantern walk—4:00 PM one of these afternoons. We will be making lanterns in class and baking cookies, too, in preparation.
PLEASE BRING A GLASS JAR TO MAKE INTO A LANTERN. The opening needs to be large enough to fit a tea candle through—we will use LED candles for our lantern walk—and small enough for your child to carry. Bring an extra bottle or two if you have them in case someone forgets!