Prakriti Poddar
29-Jan-2025
Prakriti Poddar, mental health expert and global head of mental health and wellbeing at Roundglass Living, writes how you can support your child’s cognitive development by making small adjustments and mindful choices.
Boosting your child’s cognitive growth doesn’t have to be complicated. By introducing them to holistic wellbeing practices, you can spark their natural curiosity, sharpen their focus, and strengthen their confidence—all key elements for both cognitive and emotional growth. Small, intentional actions, like engaging in thoughtful conversations, exploring new places together, or inviting them to ask “Why?” can help them understand and manage their emotions, develop self-regulation skills, and build a strong foundation of emotional resilience.
Research shows that biological, social, and cultural factors play crucial roles in a child’s cognitive growth. Through social interactions and cultural learning, children gain tools and symbols that shape how they think, view the world, and connect with others. By focusing on activities that mindfully engage your child’s attention, you can boost their brainpower and support their natural curiosity.
Help Kids Explore Their Emotions
Children have a natural sense of curiosity, wonder, and awe that keeps them grounded in the present. By encouraging emotional resilience in their daily lives, you can help strengthen this natural ability. Teaching kids to be mindful of their emotions improves focus and self-regulation. Practices like breathwork and meditation guide children in learning how to pause, breathe, and bring their awareness back to the present. These small steps help them develop valuable emotional skills that are useful throughout their lives.
Schools around the world have taken note of this and introduced mindfulness into curricula. The Roundglass Living app offers neuroscience-backed mindfulness practices for kids and teens, boosting focus, self-esteem, sleep, emotional intelligence, and overall brain function. Roundglass Living has partnered with schools to promote mindfulness, helping kids across India and beyond start their journeys toward lifelong wellbeing.
Encourage Kids to Move Mindfully
Children are naturally active, and play is essential for developing motor skills and learning about the world around them. Introducing mindful movement exercises, like yoga, dancing, or simple stretching, can significantly support brain development. Studies show that regular exercise not only helps children stay physically healthy but also improves memory and attention and supports emotional resilience.
By encouraging your child to listen to their body during these activities, you help them understand the connection between their physical and mental states. This awareness enhances cognitive function, making it easier for them to retain new information and stay focused—benefits that contribute to their learning and overall wellbeing.
Introduce Kids to Mindful Eating
Nutrition plays a crucial role in brain function, especially during childhood. Foods rich in omega-3s, leafy greens, and nuts support cognitive development. A balanced diet with protein, fibre, and healthy fats helps maintain energy levels, enabling your child to stay focused and attentive during and after school.
Encourage your child to engage with their food by thinking about the texture, taste, and smell of different items. This mindfulness practice not only enhances their eating experience but also helps build a healthier relationship with food that can last a lifetime.
Empower Kids to Share Kindness
Teaching children to focus on others fosters empathy, emotional intelligence, and a sense of connection. Meditation practices that nurture love and kindness deepen the ability to relate to the world around them.
Having a pet at home can be a powerful way to promote kindness and compassion, while also helping with your child’s emotional and cognitive development. Caring for a pet teaches responsibility, boosts self-esteem, and creates trusting bonds. It also helps expand a child’s mindset to think beyond themselves, nurturing a sense of compassion that fosters both connection and confidence. Through acts of kindness, children discover the joy of building relationships, both with others and with themselves.
Create a Mindful Environment for Kids
Creating a stimulating environment that encourages intellectual exploration is essential for fostering curiosity and cognitive growth. Start by reducing screen time and encouraging your child to spend more time outdoors, engage with nature, or interact with others.
Offer alternatives that actively engage children emotionally, such as interactive indoor games, science-based learning activities, and hands-on crafts. Studies show that hands-on experiences are linked to better attention spans and problem-solving abilities in children. These practices also help foster creativity and promote a sense of accomplishment. Activities like building blocks, puzzles, or colouring all encourage further exploration and learning, supporting both cognitive development and emotional growth. Even involving children in simple household chores, like setting the table or watering plants, can help boost memory and executive functioning skills while nurturing a sense of responsibility.
Adopting a Mindset That Supports Emotional Resilience
Supporting your child’s brainpower at home should not demand huge adjustments to your time and lifestyle, but it requires you to make small and intentional choices that focus on their cognitive development and emotional resilience every day. Take it one day at a time and mindfully support your child’s growth and holistic well-being with purpose and boundless love.
Cover Credits : Pexels
By Avisha Jhunjhunwala
Dr. Taylor Elizabeth
