Improve your child’s learning capabilities with expert advice from Dr Justin Coulson

Is your child struggling to concentrate? These tips may help.

By Parenting expert, Dr. Justin Coulson

With the human brain already at 95 per cent of its peak size by age six, the first few years of a child’s life are critical to their learning and development.

Poor development in the early stages of life can be associated with a reduced ability to concentrate, significantly impacting a child’s ability to learn – and even socialise within their most formative years.

Here are the top five things you can do to improve your child’s learning capabilities. Try them out and see which your child best responds to. Remember, learning should be fun and completed at your child’s own pace. If you have concerns, speak with their healthcare professional.

5 ways to improve your child’s learning capabilities

Engage in memory tasks: Research shows that increasing omega-3 may support short-term memory in children who had low levels to start with. Nursery rhymes repeated over and over can be a little tedious for us parents, but for kids they have a very important role – helping your child develop language patterns. Repetition and memory tasks such as alphabet learning through books or playmats and reading books that link noises to the pictures also help a child to learn cause and effect relationships.

Give them a yummy head start: A healthy diet including omega-3 is number one for developing healthy brains, so it’s important we all consume fatty fish such as salmon, kidney beans and blueberries or blackberries. Eggs add protein, while peanut butter adds vitamin E, both of which protect the membranes of the nervous system. By creating a strong and healthy brain, learning is made easier.

Supplement their diet: If your child’s a fussy eater and doesn’t like the taste or texture of the yummy health foods mentioned above, you can ensure they can still access brain-benefiting fatty acids by complementing their diet with DHA Fish Oil supplements. These fatty acids are considered essential because the body cannot make them itself. Research shows 50% of Australian children have low levels of DHA from fish in their diet, which may be associated with impairments in cognitive and behavioural performance.

Encourage good sleep hygiene: I understand this can be a hard one, but it’s a good tip so stick with me! Sleep hygiene – the environment in which a person sleeps – has a huge impact on mental and cognitive health, allowing the brain to rest and process everything learned throughout the day. A bedtime routine is an easy way to manage sleep in children. Start to wind them down a few hours before bedtime by turning off all screens, turning on their favourite lullaby, bathe them and put them in their pyjamas. All of this will cue them to understand ‘it’s time for bed’. Once in the bedroom, a black-out curtain and white noise can help to create an optimal environment for sleeping through (fingers crossed!).

Manage eye development: Bright colours and large icons are incredibly interesting to little ones, in a good way! While Scandi décor may be en vogue, the more coloured toys your child plays with, the more engaged and stimulated they will be. Poor eyesight can impair learning – simply because it’s easier to learn when you can see what it is you’re doing. Did you know that omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, are present in the retina in high concentrations? If you notice your child struggling to make sense of what is in front of them or squinting or going up closer than expected to see items, consider seeing a healthcare professional for a quick and painless eye exam.

Giving your child the room to develop at their own speed cultivates trust. Remember, everyone learns at their own pace, but supplements such as omega-3 can support with giving your child the best start for learning. If you’re ever unsure or have any questions about your own child’s development trajectory, speak with a healthcare professional.

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