Helping your Child learn through Playtime and Travel

How very true it is that children learn a lot through playtime and travel! Children learn about relationships, coordination and how to consolidate their existing skills to develop new ones through play. It is in the interest of children that parents devote time playing with their children instead of letting them be glued to games console and smart phones or tablets. Travel is another important aspect that gives children positive experiences and lessons about the world around them.

A survey indicates that every 2 out of 3 parents think they are not good at playing with children with every 4 out of 10 parents feeling self-conscious doing so. Parents need to be confident playing with children with age –appropriate toys or toys found in one’s own house to promote social, physical, psychological and intellectual development of the child.

Creative play with your baby by sharing experiences not only provides the children with an outset, but also strengthens the bond between you both and makes the time spent together special, rewarding and fun. Your baby learns and explores once he/she discovers the 5 senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste, with this interactive fun helping the child to soon respond, recognize and learn. Spend some time on creative play with your child when he/she is most alert, usually before food or before a nap helps.

Here are some ideas of creative playtime that would help children:

a) Box games: You could collect both big as well as small boxes, put small boxes into big ones or even hide a teddy bear inside it. You could pull them or bang them or even experiment tapping and banging objects like saucepans or plastic tubs. You could also ask where teddy is and make it jump out of the box or even hide behind or below boxes and use different words to describe the actions. This would develop the baby’s understanding of the world.

b) Ball games: Have fun playing soft balls that can be pushed, tapped and thrown and describe each action as you do it; start off with rolling the ball, then throw the ball into a bucket or tray as the child’s confidence grows. Your baby would also enjoy rolling the ball down a long cardboard tube.  

c) Messy game: You could indulge in some messy play with your kids; have clean cloth or baby wipes but do not indulge in cleaning the surface or your baby every few minutes. Clear up later to not stop the flow. Some ideas could be dipping hands or shaped sponges in water to make marks onto colored paper, allowing the baby to squish and squeeze jelly moulds and allowing the baby to explore textures by experimenting with safe food items of different textures.

There is no right or wrong in any activity; you should ensure your praise, clap, use positive words and smiles and build confidence in the child.

Travelling with children makes children learn a lot as Theodora Sutcliffe rightly puts it, 'If I'd known how much children learn from travel, I'd have started travelling sooner.

First travel exposes a child to different cultures and encourages a child to have an open mind. Travel exposes children to various environments and encourages and satisfies the curiosity of children and promotes continuous learning. Thirdly it encourages understanding and interaction with people who are so different from them.

It is also true that travel builds a child’s confidence for a lifetime to do anything, whether it is making new friends, climbing; this confidence lasts a lifetime. Another important lesson that travel teaches is the stories of other nations that builds a better perspective of the world, its present, past and future. Yes, travel encourages children to keep a proportion after they see the hard life other countries lead and are happy.

Travel, the hardships and challenges faced during it promotes patience and strength in children and encourages them to be resilient. It is travel that promotes understanding in children about the needs and sensitivities of different people and their culture and the way the big and complex world works making them wise. Lastly travel encourages children to overcome the fear of the new and encourages them to try out new things.

I am sure parents will agree with me that playtime and travel promotes learning in children.

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