In the previous article, we discussed how physical activities closely relates to brain development. In this blog, we will go through another important scenario in child development.

What happens when children start walking without crawling?

It is like having a section of highways with missing base layer. When a child starts walking by skipping the crawling stage, the neuron pathways which develop due to crawling activity are simply absent in the child’s brain. In this case, reading skills get affected due to the absence of particular neuron pathways.  So, it is important for children to go through all developmental milestones to have a fully developed super brain. So, the first eight years are very important for children because we can easily develop numerous neuron superhighways by playing. We can set up various playing activities such as sand play, water play, playing with clays, manipulative plays, pretend plays, indoor games, outdoor games that involve jumping, skipping, running, rolling, kicking, passing for children.

What happens when children sit in a cramped place without moving on a daily basis?

Nothing happens to the brain. We lost those four hours of opportunity for children to develop their brains and experiment with their learning.  When a brain receives only auditory input without physical movements, for four/five-year-old children, it is over saturating the brain with too much information load. They can actively listen for 15 minutes i.e. brain process the input only for 15 minutes. After that nothing happens to the brain.  In fact, children’s emotions get stronger and they start thinking about the past or worrying about the future. They are simply not attentive in the present.  To make every moment as a brain building moment, you give freedom to explore, experiment and play as you used to give before they go to kindergarten.

Another important point is: The innate curiosity of the child to explore the outside world slowly disappears if we force them to sit in a cramped place. This is what happens for children in modern schools.  They are stripped of their curiosity and suddenly forget to learn.

AUTHOR

MANIKANDAN S T

Designing the Learning Experience

Mentor at Miyav Kids