From toddlerhood to starting school: how you can help your child learn

Young children are programmed to learn. Watch how many times a toddler falls over, gets back up and tries again.

Toddlers and young children still need physical care and protection like they did when they were babies, but they also need new and different experiences and the chance to try out new skills.

Two of the most important things you can give your children are time and positive attention – by playing with them, noticing what they're doing and praising the efforts they make.

Encourage your child's development when you're playing together by asking them what they want to do, following their lead and making positive comments. This is good for their self-esteem – and just watch the pleasure on your child's face when you get down on the floor to play together and let them come up with the ideas!

 

  • Play is children's work! You may feel you can't face another go at your child's favourite jigsaw, but if they still want to do it, it means they're still learning. And play doesn't need to mean lots of expensive toys – lots of things round the house can be used for games.
  • Talk as much as you can. Chatting together, asking questions and singing rhymes as a normal part of daily life will all help your child's language development, as well as helping them learn about the world around them.
  • Children learn through doing. They need to be physically active and have a go. In the same way they will learn how to get on with other people by mixing with other children.
  • Be realistic about what children can do. Children learn at different rates – if you expect children to be able to do things before they're ready, you're likely to end up feeling frustrated and your child may lose confidence.
  • Studies have shown that boys spend less time playing with their parent and doing things like singing and looking at books together. You may need to make more of an effort to involve boys in these activities to make sure they don't lose out.

Campaign for Learning have worked with parents, particularly fathers, to develop lots of useful tips about what you can do to support your child's learning. Icon: Acrobat PDFMore information

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Last updated: 10th December 2009 at 11:12:49