School has started. PA and Miss K has both entered their new Language Immersion school that are taught in both Mandarin and English. Even the first week, I received feed back from teachers on how surprisingly smart and quick they are picking up new materials. It is so important to me as a mother to start educating kids at a very young age. While I’m not trying to be a tiger mom, forcing kids to learn things they don’t want to, I did a lot of homework figuring out a good and practical way to develop young minds even as early as 3 month. Whether it is playing peekabo or getting PA complex 3D puzzles to play with (he is a master at puzzles), I love playing cool games for babies.
In my research for the age appropriate games for kids, I have thumb through many credible parenting sites for advice. From infants, to toddlers, websites such as Baby Center, Parenting and Parents all offer wonderful guidance for new moms and suggestions of brain development activities moms can do with their babies. My favorite games are puzzles from Melissa and Doug. From the simple shape matching puzzles to the alphabet paring puzzles to the more complex wooden jigsaw and cube puzzles, my kids have done it all. I have home video showing PA at a young age of 2 doing 4 multiple puzzles simultaneously (#humblebrag). They are great for opening young minds to see things from a more spacial perspective.
Another great game we love are ones that promote free flowing creativity. Magnetic toys such as Tegu and MagnaTiles provides hours of fun and the best thing is that there is no wrong or right, just pure imaginations of creative young minds. We also like to take them when we go to restaurants because they are small to pack in the bags. What parent doesn’t want a whining free dining experience? These will for sure keep the kids stay put at the table. Plus you won’t get the stink eye from non-parents because you let your kids watch iPhone or iPad during meal (my personal pet peeve).
Keep the games fun and cool helps kids be engaged and want to play more. It is so tempting to turn on the TV after a long day of work or chores, but we have to be responsible as a parent to foster the intellectual growth of our kids. Learning starts young and there are so many cool, interesting games and toys that helps us. Let’s disconnect our iPhones, iPads, and TV and just play.
Amazing post, thanks for sharing 😉
– Bianca Unhas