Kaiserslautern American
Page 4
July 2, 2021
our y or r s e f m m p u i T S
Kids
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by Lisa Helenius contributing writer Summer is almost here, which means great opportunities for family fun! But did you know that many (if not most) of our favorite (and some lessthan-favorite) summer activities can also help your child to develop in a healthy, ageappropriate fashion? Here is a list of activities that will help make this summer a winner – both in terms of great memories and child development.
Hike
We all know taking a family
hike is great for the body and mind. But, developing your visual system? Game changer! In this day and age of 2-dimensional screens, going out in nature offers amazing benefits to one’s visual system, especially for babies and young children with developing nervous systems. Being in the woods supports your eyes being able to focus between distances (accommodation), seeing in 3-D (depth perception), following a moving target (tracking – hi birdie!) and allowing both eyes to focus together on an object at the same time (convergence).
Pee
If your tot is still working on potty training, summer is the perfect time to increase his / her
awareness. Simply playing outside “in the buff” will allow your toddler to, let’s face it, pee in the yard and visually see how things work. By eliminating the mystery, they will feel empowered to be free with the pee! Then, give them a target (a frisbee?) and eventually put the potty chair out there!
Bubbles
Want the simplest, cheapest activity that will actually help develop your kids’ mouth muscles and calm their nervous systems? For the older ones, give them some gum and have a bubble blowing contest! For the little ones, use regular bubbles for the contest (they can still chew the gum!). Improving oral-motor coordination can positively impact speech development.
Swim
Swimming is your “one stop
shop” for building up your kiddo. First, being in the water provides body pressure (proprioception), which calms the body and brain. Swimming also promotes body awareness and motor planning, which are needed to function in PE class as well as in the grocery store! Besides improving strength and coordination of the big muscles in the body, swimming also improves oral motor strength and coordination!
Crowds
If you have a very sensitive tween or teen, attending a county fair, Fourth of July festival or even going bowling can be overstimulating. Lots of teens wear ear buds, hats, hoodies or sunglasses for a reason. They are trying to reduce visual and auditory stimuli that might stress them out. Choose your battles. Does it really matter if your teen is wearing ear buds in a crowd or if your 12-year-old wears her
hoodie like a permanent extension of her body?
Rocks
Need a summer craft project? Collect rocks and paint them. You can decorate your garden, give them to friends and neighbors or even take a walk in the woods and leave one to surprise a fellow hiker. While you’re there, have your kid build a fairy house using rocks, sticks, moss, leaves, pinecones, etc. It’s a “thing” these days. Really! Check it out online.
Clouds
When was the last time you really stopped and looked up at the clouds? Well, this summer make it a whole event for your kids! Pack a picnic, bring a huge sheet or blanket and make the announcement that you are taking a trip (to the backyard! to the park! to the roof!) to search for pictures in the sky. What shapes
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