KUALA LUMPUR – In early childhood education, play activities are the children’s development process that occurs comprehensively to give them the opportunity to express ideas, feelings and emotions.
Therefore, parents should be more creative in planning and determining an effective learning environment for children, hence producing an excellent generation.
Starting from there, a young mother Nur Izwana Asaad, 24, took the initiative to create various interesting play activities at home for her two-year-old daughter, Anggun Aadrika Azri Shah, without having to spend a lot.
She said parents need to be more creative and knowledgeable in attracting children’s interest thus helping to stimulate their brain development and sensory coordination.
“I have been exposing Anggun to flash card activities as early as one month old, and I don’t let her play with gadgets and she rarely watches TV,” she told Bernama.
Among the toys and games that she made herself are Zipper Board, Fish Bone, Ice Skating, Cut The Hair, Tracing Octopus dan Dancing Worms.
The housewife said that each of the toys and games is made from recycled materials such as boxes, mineral bottles, paper or whatever materials available at home.
“I can see that play activities bring positive development to Anggun, especially in terms of motor skills, discipline, social and communication skills,” said Nur Izwana who lives in Bukit Beruntung, Rawang.
For Nuraisyah Nordin, 28, play activities can help children create bonds with their parents.
The mother of two daughters, Nur Malaiqa Faiha Muhammad Firdaus Ridhwan, three, and Nur Mirsya Azkadina Muhammad Firdaus Ridhwan, one, said parents need to make play activities a daily routine.
“However, in order to make the activity successful, parents need to know the child’s limit. Don’t do activities beyond the child’s ability because they will become stressed to the point that they quickly lose focus and get bored and don’t want to do it anymore.
“Children’s attention span depends on their age, between five and 10 minutes, but this can actually be stimulated so that it can be longer and more intense.
“So, parents can increase their children’s activities that require a target and focus, such as pushing cotton swabs through the hole which is good to stimulate the child’s focus,” she said.
She added that the activities also help to improve the children’s communication skills as well as making them more disciplined and good at managing themselves thus preparing them for the school world. – Bernama
