Contest: Child Development; Growing Brilliance

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Hello everyone, compliment of the season. I believe the day went well as we prepare to end this year in joy.

Child development if not properly instigated can either make or mar the progress of a child in life. Therefore it is important to lay a solid foundation for a child's upbringing right from birth as this is what will mould them into becoming good leaders of tomorrow.

Child development can be referred to as the process of grooming a child to ensure that positive outcomes are derived in a child's social, physical, emotional and cognitive life from birth till a child reaches a stage where they can decided for themselves.

It also refers to how kids grow in their various spaces, adapting and taking cognitive facts of things around them.

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There are many factors which influences how a child grows and learn among such factors are:

• Parenting: Parenting is the foundation of child development, if the root is shaky or faulty then a child might possibly grow up to face challenges which might have been avoided if it was tackled well from onset.

Parents are a child's first teacher, therefore they should ensure that they give adequate support and counselling to their child in all areas of life, bringing out that in born skill in them and being their number one support system and motivator in a positive way as this have a way of instilling a sense love and a good sense of judgement in a child.

• Family Background: This plays a vital role in child development as it affects the child psychologically and socially. What a child grows up to see in his or her family is exactly what he will practice especially if a child grows in a large family.

According to Albert Bandura in social learning theory, children learn from observing and imitating, so it is more than possible for a child to speak and act like his family members because family is the first unit in the society and a child starts from there to learn various ways of life an can easily be influenced.

• Nurture: The environment a child is being raised has a greater percent influence on a child's upbringing. If it is an environment that is a rowdy or ghetto like, the child would more likely grow up to become a tout, gambler, street fighter and will constitute a nuisance in the society but a child raised in a more decent environment will likely grow up to be responsible, accountable and will contribute positively to the growth of the society.

There are numerous games and activities which Kids can engage in in other to enhance their thinking and learning abilities, and some of them include:

• Scrabble

• Cross word puzzle

• Jigsaws

• Chess game

• Drawing and painting activity

• Singing, miming or dancing activity.

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Parents can help their kids to make friends and get better at socializing by exposing them to interactive social groups such as literary and debating groups, engaging in podcast sessions, registering them in musical and instrumental groups as well as other extra curricular activities which stretches their potentials and skills as this will help them build self confidence from a tender age.

In as much as it is good thing for kids to socialize as no man is an island, it is also relevant for parents never to force friendship or extracurricular activities on their kids as there are better means that can be used in bringing out the best in children without getting to hurt their feelings.

Make them learn and experience things on their own most times and be there to correct them, remember, experience is the best teacher. Family they say is the bedrock of any nation, so train and develop a child in the way you want him to grow so that he will be a positive impact to the nation at large.

I'm inviting @alexanderpeace, @etette and @eliany to participate in this contest.