Lockdown activities for kids during Coronavirus (COVID-19)

How can we use this time as an opportunity to stimulate our child’s development…

Being stuck at home means that we are all living and working under the same roof. Understandably, parents doing double duty around the clock face physical and mental exhaustion, and kids get bored and cranky.

The below top tips are to help make the most of this experience as a family!

How parent-child interaction can stimulate baby’s curiosity…

Experience shows us that every little one is different, as are their home environments. External stimulation, provided by parents and siblings is the best education. Now is the time to play with your little ones and watch them evolve right in front of your eyes!

What do I look like?

Teach your little one to recognize everyday objects by their shapes, sizes and colors to develop their capacity of observation, concentration and exploration.

Treasure hunt!

Organize a treasure hunt for your child at home by hiding their favorite toys and helping them find them using a map of the house.  This game develops your child’s capacity for observation, memory and logic.

Experience games:

Other games, like making simple sculptures with folded paper, drawing and other crafts, stimulate their capacity for observation, exploration, and their curiosity for the sensory experience.

Use the hand and brain to stimulate baby’s creativity…

Creativity is one of the most important skills one can learn. It includes knowledge and intelligence, curiosity and imagination. Happily, nothing is simpler than developing your little one’s creativity - it starts with play!  Here are a few daily games that can help.

Expression games:

Storytelling and creative writing (stories, poems or jokes) help develop logical thinking.

Art games:

Crafts of all kinds develop creativity, concentration, and manual skills. Kids love finger painting, clay modelling, collage and other crafts…let them make a mess while stimulating their imagination! If you have two little ones it could even become a competitor or a project for two!

Becoming a social butterfly!

Social skills are essential in life. Babies learn to express themselves by imitating us. Social skills develop in larger groups, and in normal circumstances, our little ones are exposed to friends, family, teachers and even strangers. But given the current situation, contact is limited to parents and siblings. But there are ways to continue working on social skills together!

Guessing games:

Draw a picture for your little one and ask him/her to guess what it is. If your drawings skills aren’t up to the task, use words! Play “I Spy” by describing an object in the room and asking them to guess what it is. Then switch roles and get them to spy an object in the room and describe it for you to identify. Both are simple ways of developing language skills for social interaction.

Role playing:

To play this game, ask your little one to pretend to be you, while you imitate your little one. It’s a fun way to enhance your child’s observation skills and empathy through mime, which are both great for developing their social skills!