Early stimulation in children: exercises for 5 stages

Several proposals of exercises to stimulate the development of the youngest children.

Both animals and human beings learn by interaction with the stimuli that surround us. Therefore, it is logical to think that the earlier such stimulation begins and the more it is enhanced, the more possibilities we have to learn and improve our skills.

These are the principles that govern early stimulation. Through these dynamic activities, children's abilities and skills are enhanced, facilitating their physical, psychological and social development.

What is early stimulation?

The activities of early stimulation are based on a series of exercises that have as an exercises that have as an objective to harness the development of the boy or girlat intellectual, as well as physical and social level. These practices can be initiated from the moment the baby is born and continue to be practiced up to 6 years of age.

It is necessary to specify that there are a series of routines or specific practices for each of the stages of the child, appropriate to the level of development of the age. The reason why the ideal age range to perform these exercises is up to 6 years old is that up to this age, the child enjoys a greater brain plasticity.

The concept of brain plasticity refers to the capacity of the nervous system to change and modify itself in reaction to interaction with the environment. This means that, through appropriate stimulation, our brain has the capacity to create new synapses and neuronal circuits that allow it to enhance or improve the activity and performance of certain brain areas..

These exercises can be practiced both with healthy children, with the intention of enhancing their abilities, as well as with children with some type of disorder or condition that affects their development. In this way, their compensatory capacities are stimulated and their physical and psychological abilities are improved.

In addition, these dynamics can be these dynamics can be carried out both at home and in specialized schools and day-care centers. specialized. After a short information period, those parents who wish to do so can carry out all these exercises in the comfort of their own home, thus strengthening the bond between parents and children.

The main objective of early stimulation is that, through a series of stimulating activities, the child develops increased autonomy and independence. In the same way, great advances can be achieved in physical development, cognitive, communication skills and sensory aspect.

What does it consist of?

First of all, it is necessary to develop a specific plan or program for each child. This program must be adjusted to the needs of the child, the availability and level of involvement of the parents, and the resources of the home.

In this way, it will be possible to progress of the child can be evaluated little by little according to the minimum objectives set.. With an adequate plan of activities, parents will be able to promote all those areas of the child that interest them.

Parents must be patient, and be aware that it is not possible to set too strict a time frame for achieving goals, since there is no pre-established time frame that dictates how and when the baby will have achieved a goal.

The most important thing is to provide the child with a series of exercises appropriate to his age, with which to work and increase his self-esteem. Gradually, the parents or those in charge of carrying out the exercises will modify the objectives of the plan according to the development of the child as well as the results obtained.

The first step will always be to create an emotional and affective link with the child, creating a space with the child, generating a space of trust in which he/she feels comfortable and safe to interact with us. Once this bond is achieved, the adult in charge of carrying out the early stimulation, can start working on the rest of the areas.

These areas include:

• Emotional area.Development of the child's autonomy and independence, as well as the recognition and expression of emotions.
• Cognitive areaDevelopment of the child's intellect and knowledge.
• Motor areaDevelopment of gross and fine motor skills, strengthening of Muscle control and coordination.
• Social areaDevelopment of interaction skills with the environment.
• Language areaDevelopment of the expression and comprehension of language.

Conditions to put it into practice

It is necessary to take into account a series of aspects that will make it easier to carry out these activities. The first one is that if the child is not in the mood or does not feel like doing the activities at a specific time, he/she should not be pressured, since for him/her it should be a fun activity, not an obligation or a punishment.

Also, as mentioned above, the exercises should be adapted to the child's needs, the exercises should be adapted to the age and capacities of the child.. If we force him to perform a task for which he is not prepared, we will only increase his frustration and lower his self-esteem. In the same way, if the exercises are too easy or do not represent a small challenge for the child, he will lose interest in them and will decrease, therefore, the motivation.

Reinforcement from parents or professionals is very important. Congratulating the child and praising his or her progress will be vital to maintain the child's interest. will be of vital importance to maintain the child's interest and motivation.

Early stimulation exercises according to the stage of the child's development

Following the line of the rest of the article, we present a series of examples of early stimulation exercises adapted according to the age of the child, as well as designed to enhance each of the areas of development mentioned above.

From 0 to 12 months

Gross motor skills: a very effective activity to work on the baby's gross motor skills is the one that helps to control the baby's head. To do this, the baby should be placed lying face down, showing toys or attractive stimuli that force the baby to keep his head up..

Social development: this exercise facilitates body self-knowledge and consists of placing the baby in front of a mirror, in a comfortable position, so that he/she can begin to recognize him/herself in it. Next, then make movements with the arms or hands to keep their attention.

2. From 1 to 2 years old

Gross motor skills: this exercise will improve the child's sense of balance. For this it is necessary to hold the child under the arms, moving gently from one side to the other and from front to back, allowing the child to straighten up and down.allowing the child to straighten up by himself/herself.

3. From 2 to 3 years old

Cognitive and language area: read aloud children's stories with illustrations that the child can see. that the child can see. Then ask simple questions about the story or let the child tell us his or her version of what he or she understood.

4. From 3 to 4 years old

Language and fine motor skills: ask the child to draw freely on a sheet of paper, asking him/her to explain what he/she is drawing while he/she is drawing.. They can also draw together and ask questions about the drawings.

5. From 4 to 6 years old

• Gross motor skills: encourage the child to dance. Doing fun dance exercises will stimulate their coordination and balance. will stimulate their coordination and balance.