lobes have a huge impact on a
child’s day to day functioning. The
frontal lobe controls conscious
thought, emotions, and even a
child’s personality. People who have
suffered injuries to this region of the
brain typically struggle with impaired
attention span, motivation, judgment,
problem solving, decision making,
memory and organizational capacity.
What can parents do?
A proven , result driven solution
would be for example the Practica
Program , a comprehensive homebased educational kit with which
parents can monitor and grow a
child’s development and maximise his
or her potential with real-life fun and
games from birth to 7 years of age.
It consists of a wooden toy box filled
with the kinds of focused educational
apparatus that a therapist would use
to develop age-appropriate skills
in a child in a one-on-one setting.
The comprehensive Parents’ Guide
provides clear guidelines as to
what you can expect at every age,
as well as lists of games that you
can play as part of your everyday
lifestyle. Some of these activities
ask for apparatus and others don’t
– either way, the games are real,
laden with emotion and language,
physical, non-tech, age-appropriate
and hugely entertaining because
they engage children at their level
of development. Just what the doctor
ordered! Developing “executive
functioning skills” is the antidote.
Lizette van Huyssteen, who led
the team of experts that founded a
program (Practica Program) 21 years
ago says, “We started off as a onestop school readiness program and
we’re still very proud of the fact that
we provide parents with a complete
kit to achieve that goal. Nonetheless,
we now understand why Practica
children often impress teachers and
therapists with their confident and
competent approach to tasks: it’s
because our activities train children
to organize their thoughts and play
with a goal in mind. In other words:
we develop the frontal cortex. We
specialize in developing ‘executive
functioning skills’ in children.”
This is a refreshing ray of hope
in a fairly dimmed educational
environment in which children are
spending more and more time in front
of the television, and their only other
“researchers
have found
that too
much
television
actually
harms your
child’s brain
structure”
alternative play option is often to
reach for a gaming console.
Gaming consoles and cell phone
apps are more interactive than
staring at a television screen, but
they still don’t stimulate the brain
regions that are most vulnerable and
in need of nurturing in today’s day
and age. Children desperately need
interaction with key adults to develop
their little personalities, to develop
language and communication skills,
learn how to plan and execute tasks
in a step-by-step fashion and practise
regulating their emotions in real
life situations. And if all this can be
taught through fun and games, why
not? Think of your child’s developing
brain as a symphony orchestra.
“Every brain region can be viewed
as a musician. Say, for argument
sake, there are 50 musicians, all
waiting in anticipation, but only a
few of them get the opportunity to
practise together day after day –
what kind of a performance can
you expect from that orchestra when
opening night arrives?” asks Lizette.
“Back in the 80’s and 90’s parents
were able to spend time with
children doing everyday things like
washing dishes together, making
the beds every morning and playing
board games and ball games. We
didn’t realize it then, but those
shared activities taught children how
to think creatively, deal with setbacks and frustration, communicate
and express themselves, regulate
their emotions and focus on a goal
whilst following a series of steps.
Nowadays, hardly any parent has
the time to do these ‘old-fashioned’
things, so we turn to technological
pass-times to fill the gap. But the gap
isn’t filled. In fact, the technological
quick fix is creating a giant chasm
where there used to be only a gap.
And all of this is backfiring on our
children.” NH
To find out more about the Practica
Program, contact Vanessa Stroud on
082 532 1738.
To read more about the study, go to
cercor.oxfordjournals.org and then
search “The impact of Television on
Brain Structures”.
Almal wil ‘n slim kind hê!
Die Practica Program maak dit vir jou
maklik om jou kind se leerliggie met
‘n paar minute per dag aan te skakel.
Die mees volledige en gevestigde
tuisprogram vir kinders tussen geboorte
en 7 jaar in Suid-Afrika.
Beproef en vertrou sedert 1993.
Skakel Vanessa op (021) 913 7376 vir ‘n gratis demonstrasie
(geen verpligting) en loer gerus op www.practicakids.co.za
WWW.NORTHERNHILLS.CO.ZA
A
avai lso
lab
in le
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CHRISTMAS ISSUE 2014 / NORTHERN HILLS / PAGE 19