Even though it may seem like your child’s need for reasoning will only be in the distant future, the truth is it’s never too early to start teaching them how to develop their logic, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
Many industries require these skills, and they are also helpful in everyday life. By supporting your child’s development, you are setting them up for success down the road.
Because children learn valuable skills through trial and error during play, you can start developing your child’s logical brain with specific games and puzzles.
By equipping your child with the ability to think through problems and come up with strategies to solve them, you will help them overcome obstacles later on in life – and you’ll strengthen your bond with them, too.
Read on to discover four ways to help your child develop and improve their logic and reasoning skills.
1. Developing Problem-Solving Skills
If your child has a good grasp of how to go about solving problems at home, they will be more equipped to start school. Valuable problem-solving skills will teach them to persevere, even when the solution is not apparent.
In early childhood development, toys that require working out where pieces go – such as jigsaw puzzles and shape sorters – will boost a child’s problem-solving skills.
When children are older and more verbal, mental puzzles – like riddles from Icebreaker Ideas – will further refine their problem-solving skills.
2. Board Games
Board games aren’t just great for rainy days indoors; they also encourage your child to think logically and strategically.
Board games that require children to try to determine their opponent’s strategy in order to beat them are an excellent form of mental gymnastics. In fact, any game that encourages children to work with clues and develop their own strategies will get them to think outside the box.
Some of the best games to gear your child’s brain for problem-solving and critical thinking are Connect Four, Jenga, and Battleships.
3. Sand and Water
Believe it or not, the simple activity of building a sandcastle offers a lot more than meets the eye. While it may seem like your child is just pouring water and sand into containers, playing with sand and water actually serves as one of a child’s earliest science lessons.
When children play with water and sand, they are actually learning about weights, measurements, the properties of solids and liquids, and how they behave. They are learning the fundamentals of physics.
Give your child an assortment of containers in varying sizes and other objects they can place in water to observe if they will float or sink.
4. Introducing Numbers
It’s never too early to equip your child with basic math skills – and most children find that learning about numbers is also fun.
Introduce your child to counting books and action songs involving numbers as early as possible. Many sing-along action songs are designed to teach small children about numbers – like “Five Little Ducks” and “One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Once I Caught a Fish Alive.”
