How to Choose Activities for Cognitive Development

When a child is about a year old, his brain is developing at an amazing speed. He's learning to move and communicate more effectively in the world around him. You can help your 12 to 24 month-old toddler later in life by nurturing his cognitive development now. Work on his language, memory and comprehension skills with the following activities.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Point out colors while shopping for fruits and vegetables. Apples, bananas, grapes, squash, carrots and lettuce are just a few excellent items to promote your child's cognitive development.
2. Compare objects whenever you get the chance. Show your child a large jar of mayonnaise versus a small one at the supermarket and ask which one is bigger. Notice how his sensitivity to size differences improves as you work on this skill.
3. Test her memory by going over the day's activities at bedtime. Ask her who she saw today. Talk about a weekend trip or activity days beforehand, and on the day before you go, ask her where you've been promising to take her all week.
4. Have him find an object for you. Describe it by color and shape. Limit the search to a familiar item like a book or ball and a single room so he doesn't get too easily frustrated.
5. Sing songs with her. Rhymes are a great way to develop her language skills. You can also introduce concepts through songs and they'll be easier for her to grasp because of the tunes.
6. Make time for drawing every day. Besides developing a child's motor skills, drawing makes him think about colors, shapes and identifying words with objects. Make up a story and have your child draw the scenes, which you can then staple together into a book.
7. Read to your child every night before bed. This activity works on several cognitive development skills like language and visualization, concepts like time, and relationships between objects and memory.

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