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When considering your child’s health, many parents often overlook the smaller details for the big picture and as long as their child isn’t running a fever, they’re deemed healthy.
During their formative years, the health of your child’s brain should be a priority.
The brain is arguably the most important organ to be developed in your child, since the human brain does not stop developing until the mid-late 20s.
So basically, a healthy brain leads to a healthy, well-developed child.
What is Cognition?
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Cognition is the process in which your child acquires knowledge by using their thoughts, senses, and experiences.
Cognition also covers various brain functions, such as memory, comprehension, decision-making, and judgement. So it is important as your child explores their environment, understands, and learns through cognition.
This leads to a child who is curious about the world around them, is ready to explore, and can absorb information like a “sponge”.
All of this produces a childhood that is rich in experiences and a child who loves exploring and can think critically. Additionally, going through many positive experiences during childhood can result in better mental health as an adult!
What Are Some Signs of Low Cognition?
Some signs of low cognition in children are a limited attention span, difficulty solving problems and regulating emotions, understanding cause and effect, and thinking critically.
While these signs are indicative, they are still fairly general and do not replace a doctor’s opinion. Remember that just because your child does not have every trait to check off a list, it does not mean that there is something wrong.
Every child is unique!
What Are Some Factors That Cause Ill Cognition?
Some factors are out of the parent’s control, such as neurodevelopmental disorders, prenatal factors, and genes.
However, external factors could include sensory deprivation, constant stress, malnourishment, head injuries, infections, and illnesses.
But luckily, the phrase “Young bamboo is malleable”, applies to children as well! By immersing your child in the right environment, your child will grow up in an environment that is ideal for moulding children into curious, critical thinkers.
Read on to learn how to encourage your child’s cognition and to keep their brain healthy.
Ensuring Ample Rest
Ensuring that your child sleeps enough every night (8–10 hours), goes beyond just making sure that they’re well-rested for the next day.
A lack of sleep affects the brain’s structure and function, particularly in the areas of memory, attention, and self-control. If your child is consistently not getting enough sleep, it could affect their ability to think critically and learn as well.
Furthermore, while your child is sleeping, their brain is sorting out and consolidating what happened that day, which allows for more cognitive function to take place the next day.
Quantity and Quality in Nutrition
20% of our body’s energy is used to power our brain, so ensuring that your little one has had enough to eat ensures that their growing brains will have enough energy to function optimally.
It is not just quantity that matters, but quality too! Make sure that your child fills up on the right nutrients for optimal brain health and development, such as Protein, DHA, Lutein, Omega Fatty Acids, and B and D vitamins.
Ensuring that your child has had enough energy and nutrients is a two-pronged approach to setting the seal on their brain’s health and development internally.
Use Protection
When your child is out engaging in physical fun, it might seem like a hassle for them to wear their protective gear, especially their helmet. But none of that annoyance should trump their safety.
The symptoms of head injuries can vary greatly, such as irritability and problems with memory, balance, and concentration for mild injuries and slurred speech for more serious injuries.
It would be a shame to invest so much into your child, just for it all to be ruined in a moment of fun.
Engage in Activities that Use Cognition with Your Child
Activities that require cognition are anything that requires your child to exercise their cognitive functions while offering a learning opportunity as well. Such activities include reading, having a conversation, and fantasy roleplay (such as waiter and customer in a restaurant).
We always found it extra fun when our parents participated in the games too, didn’t we? So participating in these activities with your child too would allow them to have fun while learning with Mummy/Daddy. This fosters a sense of positivity around learning, which encourages a love for learning in them from an early age.
This also fosters your parent-child relationship while building resiliency in your child, which is important as it is through resilience that children stand up again after falling.
Building A Strong Relationship with Your Child
Love and affection are essential to a happy, healthy brain.
Having a strong relationship with your child will build their confidence in their abilities. This would likely encourage them to be expressive and adventurous in exploring the world around them in the future, thus being engaged in more cognitive activities as well.
Furthermore, the way a child views themselves and how well they cope with stress are all affected by the way their parents respond to them.
So building a strong relationship with them and showing your child love and affection is likely to result in a child who is confident in themselves and can regulate their emotions.
Conclusion: What Can We Do to Ensure the Future of Their Brain’s Health?
Luckily, the state of your child’s brain development can be improved by you building resiliency and fostering a strong bond with them.
With neuroplasticity, the brain can reorganise itself physically and functionally over one’s lifetime, thus changing the trajectory of their brain’s health.
Along with time and neuroplasticity, nurturing your children with love, support, and affection while following the tips above can greatly improve your child’s brain health and cognitive function.
After all, a flower that is nurtured blossoms!
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