you have an immense power
to affect their growth, development of
your children
No
matter how old your children are, you have an immense power
to affect their growth, development and success in life. By
actively pursuing activities that contribute to the better
development of their brain, you provide them with an
advantage over all other kids, and increase their chances to
be successful in life. By doing that, you also make sure
they will have plenty of experiences of success and
achievement, so that they become self confident, positive
and optimistic.
There is a lot of talk recently about the "Right Brain/Left
Brain" issue. Basically, researchers have found that the
human left brain is "responsible" for completely different
functions than the right brain. Researchers have concluded
that in every person, one of these hemispheres of the brain
is dominant. According to this theory, the left brain is the
analytical one, responsible for measurement, logic, math,
analysis and the right brain is responsible for creativity,
art, intuition and the use of words. Some people even claim
that men are left brain dominant, while women are usually
right brain dominant, and proceed to explain that men think
in pictures, while women think in words. No wonder, they
claim, there is such a big gap in communication between men
and women!
Research has shown, that it is very important to increase the
communication, or the connection between the 2 hemispheres
of the brain. If we do that, we increase the functionality
of the brain. This can be done in all ages, and has proven
to be beneficial.
Improved balance between the two hemispheres, improves peace
of mind, harmony, reading and comprehension, and develops
better concentration and focus.
The activities that have been shown to develop and improve the
brain hemisphere connectivity, are usually the ones that use
both sides of the body in concert. The cross pattern we all
use while walking or swimming and babies use when they
crawl, develops and strengthens the connection between the
brain hemispheres. By cross pattern, I mean the movement
when we bring the right arm and the left leg forward, and
then the left arm and the right leg. It has been shown that
some brain injured children who did not crawl, developed
severe handicaps, and by practicing the activity of
crawling, they have shown surprising improvements.
If you have a very young baby, and you want to help it develop
strength in both sides of the brain, you can massage both
feet, or both hands, for a few minutes, several times every
day. When you gently massage your baby's feet, and stimulate
both feet at the same time, and then each foot - one after
the other, and watch your baby's face, you will notice that
your baby enjoys this activity very much. It is not
necessarily a calming activity, because massaging the baby's
feet is actually stimulating.
I recommend doing this a few minutes every day, before or
after changing the baby's diapers. This activity also forces
you to take a few minutes a day to look into your baby's
eyes, smile to the baby, and massage its feet and hands. You
will notice that it
strengthens the bond you are creating with your baby, and this
is a priceless bonus.
Another activity that has been proven to greatly contribute to
higher intelligence as well as better health, is swimming.
This activity can be done at any age, and if you swim with
your baby or your child, it will contribute to your health
too. If you have a baby, find a "water babies" affiliate in
your area. If you have an older child, there are many ways
to involve them in swimming. Encourage them to participate
on a swim team, or to get involved with a school swimming
activity. Practicing every day will improve their health
tremendously.
Very young babies enjoy being in the water, kicking their legs
and use their arms for swimming. Many YMCA centers have baby
swimming classes. If you have a swimming pool at home, or
you belong to a club, you can take your baby with you into
the water, and hold it in the water. However, make sure that
the water they swim in is warm. Babies need a higher
temperature than adults need. Also make sure the water is
clean. The quality of water is important to children of all
ages, and I have to remind you to watch your child at any
time when they are in the water, to prevent drowning. Please
use caution.
Be aware, that very young babies have a very heavy head
compared to their body, and they cannot by themselves keep
their head above water. So make sure that your baby is
supported at all times.
Another activity that improves the brain connectivity and
balance, is crawling. If your baby is still young, and does
not crawl yet, swimming is preferred. You can also team up
with a friend or a partner, and "imitate" crawling movement
holding the baby's arms and legs, in cross pattern. You
stand on one side of the baby, while the baby is laying on
its tummy, and the partner on the other side. You hold a
hand and a foot, and so does the partner. Then while you
bring the arm forward, the partner brings the leg forward,
and visa versa, creating a rhythm. Do it just for a few
minutes, while having fun. You can repeat it several times a
day.
For all children who know how to crawl, make sure your child
has room and opportunity to crawl. You might have to clean
the floors, and make sure that the floor is free of little
objects your child can choke on, but encourage the child to
crawl as much as possible.
For older children, chasing each other while crawling can be a
fun and crazy game. You can get on your hands and knees too,
it will do you good! If you have several children, encourage
them to play "catch" while crawling. This is good exercise,
and it contributes to their intelligence.
Walking and running are natural activities, that utilize the
cross pattern, and are great at balancing right and left
hemispheres of the brain.
As we know, most people have a dominant hand. Some people are
right handed, and some people are left handed.
Statistically, most people are right handed, but there are
many left handed people. In the past, (a few generations
ago), it was common practice to force children to use their
right hand for writing, tie their left arm behind their
back, if they attempted to use it for writing.
Children were punished for using their left hand for
writing, cutting with scissors, playing ball etc.
For school age children, an exercise has been shown to create
wonders: practice writing using your weak hand. If you are
left handed, practice writing with your right hand, and if
you are right handed, practice writing with your left hand.
This can feel very awkward at first, and takes some
practice. So I recommend turning it into a game. Do it with
your child, take turns and compete. The one who writes
clearer, or faster, wins. For example, every word earns a
number of points, and whoever earns most points gets am
award. Invent some games, and turn it into a fun activity.
Only a few minutes of practice a day, will make a big
difference. And remember - by doing this you are giving your
child an advantage many other children do not have.
Another activity that is amazingly productive for your child:
drumming. I know, this is not for everybody. If you cannot
stand the noise, maybe it is not the right activity for you.
However, when your child learns how to drum, he is using
both hands in turn, and is also learning a pattern. It will
be a lot of fun to play a game, in which one of you invents
a pattern and "drums" it (you don't need a drum for this)
and the other(s) have to recognize the pattern and imitate
it. You can provide an award, and use it as an incentive.
The pattern can become more and more complicated as you get
better at this game. This game strengthens your child audio
memory, improves the brain connectivity and improves pattern
recognition.
My kudos to you for being a great parent! Next week we will
look into some other enjoyable activities that can give your
child the edge and turn him into a genius!
I HAVE GOOD NEWS! I have started a group on YahooGroups, for
all of us to share experiences. Please tell about your
experiences, any success stories or questions to the group.
Send a message to
turnYourChildIntoaGenius-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
to
subscribe.
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate
to email to me at
esther@all-gifted-children.com.
Let's change the world!
Esther Andrews
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to accurately
represent this information
We do not warrant or assume any legal liability or
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or results of
any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed.
Any claims of actual results and examples used are not
intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve
the same or similar results.
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