Cognitive Skills – Importance and Ways
Cognitive Skills Development What are cognitive skills...
Menu
Cognitive skills are a basically combination of skills used by our brain to acquire knowledge, to manipulate and use the acquired knowledge as needed.
Processing speed is a cognitive skill which enables learning, academic performance, reasoning. Processing speed can be explained as the speed at which a person can take in some information, process it and take the required action. Slower processing speed can interfere with a person’s ability to do even basic activities.
Say for example, a child who has low processing speed might need more time to complete his studies, forgetting chores when something else is mentioned, difficulty in deciding what needs to be completed within a given time or the order of the works etc.
We need to understand that the slow processing speed is nothing to do with a child’s brilliance and smartness. Nor the child needs to be suffering from any ailments, though disorders like dyslexia, ADHD are often connected to this topic.
Slow processing can happen on its own. It is when as parents, we need to give the boost to improve his processing speed methodically, through support. Pushing the child who needs more time to complete a task faster, will make him more anxious and it is only going to take a longer time for him to get done with the activity.
Slow processing speed doesn’t mean the child is lazy, it is just that he finishes a task given at a slower pace.
Exercise is beneficial for improving processing speed. It’s important to include exercise that your child would be able to do throughout life. Simple exercises like brisk walking or jogging or running daily for half an hour. This will ensure good overall health and also improves alertness. Being alert and attentive can improve the ability to understand and process information better.
We need to encourage and guide your child to maintain healthy eating habits. Ensure that your child gets the required antioxidants and nutrients to improve brain health. Including green leafy vegetables, beet-root, nuts, grapes, etc in your child’s diet from a young age to ensure nutrients that will boost brain processing capacity. Brain booster foods such as walnuts, almonds, avocado, etc can help too.
Ensure your child is well hydrated and understands that it is important for his health to drink enough water. Proper hydration will enable a child to perform with full focus which in turn will ensure better performance.
Sleep is essential for our body to function at its best. That is true even for optimal brain processing speed. So ensure that your child maintains good sleep habits.
The above activities are a few of the ways to help your child to challenge their brain and keep it active in a fun way. Children and adults alike through these activities will enhance, develop and strengthen their cognitive skills. These activities will also be helpful in building good interpersonal relationships and create a stress-free environment. A calm and satisfied child will be able to give his best without being distracted.
A healthy and balanced lifestyle will ensure that your child has the best shot of improving their cognitive skills, especially processing speed.
Cognitive Skills Development What are cognitive skills...
Baby Developmental Milestones: 1 Month - 12 Months &nb...
How to Build Fine Motor Skills in Children What are Fi...
