Want to get your PRESCHOOLER to LISTEN? Learn HOW from EXPERTS!

“My child zones out in the middle of any conversation!”

“Sirf wahi sunta hai jo use sunna hota hai!”

“My child doesn’t listen to me! What should I do?”

If you are one such parent who can relate to these comments and don’t know how to get your child to listen, this blog is for you! To start with: DON’T WORRY. We all have moments when trying to get a child’s attention feels like talking to a brick wall.

At home, this inability to listen can be infuriating and at preschool, it can get in the way of their learning.

The experienced educators at the best preschool in Bopal, Ahmedabad understand that this inability to listen can get in the way of a child’s learning. Here are some tips and secrets straight from the expert’s desk:

How parents can nurture good listening skills

At the best preschool in Ahmedabad, every teacher is constantly working on developing a child’s listening skills through different activities, but there are things that parents can do at home to help them even more:

1) Be a good listener yourself:

For young children everything starts and ends with their parents. You might not have noticed but every child observes and analyses their parents and unconsciously integrates the parent’s habits into themselves. They may copy gestures or internalize words learned from their parents. Children can easily tell if their parents are being attentive or not by the way parents reply or not to their words.

Hence, as parents, try setting a good example by showing children how to be a good listener by being one. Keep your phone aside or stay away from any kind of distraction and show your interest. Maintain eye contact, stop what you are doing and show your children that they have your undivided attention. No matter how irrelevant you find your child’s talk, make sure to respond and react to them.

Wait there’s more! It’s not just with your child, model positive listening skills with other people too, especially when your kids are around.

2) Be very clear while giving tasks

According to child experts, a reasonable attention span to expect of a child is two to three minutes per year of their age. That means, 2 years old would have an attention span of four to six minutes, 4 years old would have eight to 12 minutes, and so on. That is why it is very important to avoid over-explaining to young children. Moreover, they struggle to multi-task, so rather than expecting them to follow a long list of instructions, be short and crisp while talking to them.

For instance, rather than telling your children, “Brush your teeth, take a bath, comb your hair, pack your bag, wear your shoes.” Break it down for them. Give them one or two tasks at a time. Tell what’s expected of them and ask them to repeat everything you’ve said to make sure that they are listening and understanding everything.

Always remember, the way you talk also matters, so don’t just shout your request from the kitchen or the living room. Maintain eye contact while talking to them.

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Why Does Your Child Need Play Therapy?

You might be surprised but playtime can be much more than a recreational activity for children. Sure, children can unwind and have fun while they play. The most evident benefit of children’s play being that it fosters joyous emotions. This means that unstructured play, when encouraged by parents, can result in happier children.

But that’s not all. The trained child care specialists at one of the leading children’s play centres in Bopal, Ahmedabad share that through Play Therapy the benefits of playtime can go even further beyond.

First things first, what is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy or counselling that makes use of play to diagnose and address psychological issues in both children and sometimes adults as well. Growing scientific evidence suggests that using play therapy can be successful in treating a range of behavioural and mental health concerns.

Children often express themselves and understand the world through play. And the skilled professionals in our team at Little Wings, the best preschool in South Bopal, take advantage of play therapy to get children who might have trouble expressing themselves to do so through play therapy. A therapist or counsellor can observe play to learn more about the child and their mental and emotional issues. Once the issue has been identified, the therapist can assist the child in navigating their feelings and dealing with underlying trauma. Children can also learn new coping skills and how to correct incorrect behaviour through play.

Now that you know about play therapy, let’s dig in a little deeper…

What are the benefits of Play Therapy for children?

According to Play Therapy International, up to 71% of children who are referred to play therapy may see positive improvement. Although some children can be hesitant at first, confidence in the therapist usually grows over the period of play. The child may become more imaginative or talkative in their play as they feel more at ease with the therapist and their attachment grows.

Through play therapy at Little wings, one of the leading children’s play centres in Bopal, Ahmedabad, children learn to take responsibility for their actions, build empathy and self-respect, learn to recognise and express their emotions in a healthy way. This leads to an increase in self-confidence and improved interpersonal skills. Eventually leading to children picking up new social skills and even putting problem-solving techniques into practice in their daily life.

Because verbal and physical expression is such a major part of play therapy, it also encourages language use and the growth of both small and large motor skills. If a child has been diagnosed with a mental or physical ailment, play therapy does not replace medication or any other necessary therapies. However, it can be utilised in education institutes such as preschools in Ahmedabad or children’s play centres in Bopal, Ahmedabad and beyond, either on its own or teamed up with other therapies to chart a path for a child’s holistic development.

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Ensuring Holistic Growth & Development of Every Preschooler

The formative years in a child’s life are the most crucial period, where the foundations of lifelong learning, health, attitude and behaviour sets in. The conditioning and experiences that children have in their early childhood shape their mindset and capacity to learn, cooperate and respond to daily challenges as they grow up.

And in the 21st century, academic excellence alone won’t guarantee success nor happiness in life, hence it is important that your child gets holistic development through education. This is something we at Little Wings, a preschool in South Bopal, Ahmedabad, believe in and put into practice in our education system for the students and guide parents too so they can play an important role in it.

But, what exactly is Holistic Development?

In simpler terms, Holistic Development in preschoolers refers to a child’s growth in all aspects, physical, intellectual, emotional and social. These abilities, when developed and nurtured early in life, help children become well rounded professionals upon growing up. What makes it different from the conventional methods is that it imparts knowledge through experiences and not just textbooks. It makes children an active participant in charge of their own learning, while the parents and teachers play the role of a guide.

How can you, as a parent, encourage holistic development in your preschooler?

The educators at our preschool in South Bopal, Ahmedabad, have always guided the parents on how to be a mentor to their child without being dominant or intrusive. Nurturing holistic development in your child means…

Letting them explore

One of the most natural traits of children in their formative years is their curiosity about anything and everything under the sun. Let it thrive in your child, let them ask questions about matters outside their textbooks, about the people they interact with outside their day care centre, about the food they eat, the sounds they hear. But, refrain yourself from answering their questions right away, make it a fun and rewarding experience for them to find out the answers themselves through conscious learning or by looking for the answers together.

Letting them experience

This majorly involves the physical aspect of holistic development outside the day care centre. It includes the development of gross motor skills such as walking, climbing, and sprinting, all activities where the child uses her whole body for movement. Plan fun and engaging activities with your child which will help in improving their hand-eye coordination, strength, mobility and balance.

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The Power of Play-Based Learning in Preschool

When it comes to their children, Indian parents do not leave any stone unturned. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, Indian parents spend the most time helping their children with homework. All over India, 95% of parents help their children with their studies. This shows how most Indian parents bury their heads in textbooks to work on the endless projects given by the school to their kids, instead of the kid learning through new projects.

Choosing a preschool or a children’s play centre where rote learning or memorising is encouraged to get good grades or to get into good primary is perhaps not the best idea. This will just lead to preschoolers with poor learning skills.

So how exactly should you encourage healthy learning patterns in children? Play-based learning is the answer! Play means an enjoyable activity for children, with no end goal. In simple terms, play-based learning means children learning through playing like hiding, building, searching, games etc. Given the importance of play, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, also recognizes play as a right of every child.

Little Wings, one of the best play schools and preschools in South Bopal, emphasises play-based learning to lay the foundation for a child’s holistic growth & development.

Communication skills

While playing, children talk and listen to others, which polishes their communication skills and enhances their vocabulary. In these early years of education, when teachers in children’s play centres encourage conversation in a natural way, it can be especially effective as young children receive information and connect it with what they already know or with what they have just learned. Even singing or playing word games with their classmates can help the preschoolers increase their vocabulary and become more confident

Sometimes children play alone and talk with their toys or narrate an imaginary story while playing. “Hey my train is about to leave the station, cho-cho,” or something to that effect is what you might have overheard your child say. When they enact these multiple sides of the conversation, it encourages communication growth.

Motor skills

Young children have more than 600 muscles in their body and they actively use these muscles while climbing, running, playing ball games, jumping, throwing and dancing. Play based learning helps children enhance their hand-eye coordination, control over their muscles and helps them become more flexible.

On the one hand, activities like running, skipping, jumping, help children develop strong gross motor skills, activities like colouring and painting help them develop fine motor skills. When you see your child playing on a slide in the preschool or hopping on a monkey bar, it may seem like they are just enjoying themselves. However, their little body is doing a lot of work and strengthening their muscles. It makes children physically active from a very early stage.

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Why Parent-Teacher Collaboration Is a Must for the Holistic Development of a Young Child

Watching a kid grow up feels magical. From the day you hold them in your arms to the day they leave for college, the journey is filled with innocent love and loads of laughter.

When kids overgrow their parent’s laps, they have to get out of the protective shadow of their parents and enter the world of learning. And teachers, no doubt selected from some of the best preschools, are the first people who help in making this transition smooth for both the parents and the child.

However, this does not mean that the parents do not have any more role to play in the growth and learning of their child. Children have a lot to learn and this never-ending learning process is successful only with the teamwork of parents and teachers! When they work in tandem, it helps little ones achieve important learning milestones quicker, as parents and teachers are the two groups of people with whom children spend most of the time.

As the best preschool near Bopal, Ghuma and South Bopal, we have decoded the how and why of parent-teacher partnerships.

Benefits for parents

Parents are the first teachers to their child. They have an opportunity to nurture their child and advocate for their education. From having conversations with teachers during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up to monthly and weekly functions at school, there are various ways for a parent to communicate and establish a good relationship with their child’s teachers.

And what happens when parents have clear communication and strong partnership with teachers?

1. They understand the school’s academic programs better.
2. They gain insights into their kid’s growth and development at school.
3. They get ideas from teachers on how to support their kids in a better way, even after school.
   
4. They get to establish a bond of trust and support, if their child needs extra care.
5. Parents also gain confidence in their parenting skills after helping their kids at school.
6. Having an open channel of communication with the teachers means parents can confidently voice their important concerns.

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