It’s on every parent’s mind – how to Develop and improve their child’s brain from a young age into their toddler, tween, and teen years. Here are a few toys, games, and activities I’ve found to be super effective in developing young and older children’s minds by appealing to a variety of the brain’s functions.

Solving puzzles

Solving puzzles is not only a fun activity, but it’s also extremely stimulating for the mind. Learning how to solve a new puzzle, depending on the style of puzzle can require memory, spatial awareness, logic, problem-solving, and a whole plethora of mental activity. For puzzles I love the standard 3×3 Rubik’s cube, and there are a lot of other variations for it as well like 2×2, 4×4, and every multiplication you can think of!

Other types of puzzles include metal puzzles like the famous Hanyama puzzles, or wood puzzles which are often spatial and shape oriented.

Either way, any puzzle you can get your child to play with will not only be extremely entertaining for them but also help develop a whack of different areas in their brain.

Board Games

Since puzzles are often an individual game,  I also recommend board games which can be played with a group of family members for another great and fun way to develop the mind. Games like chess, trivia games, or strategy games all have their own unique strategies and styles that can develop a young mind. WHILE teaching them manners, cooperation, social behaviors, and having fun!

Skill Toys

This almost falls under the same category as cubing, but skill toys like Kendama or Yo-Yo are really great ways to get kids to improve their coordination, mechanical control, and approach to improving at things.

Kendama is a cheap string and ball toy that has a really high skill cap. I’m older and I still play with one to this day. Allowing your kid to play with one will give them a lifelong hobby of getting better, and improving at skills which is a useful talent for anyone.

Check out a guide to picking a Kendama here if you want to get your child started with one.

Reading

Reading, often overlooked in the digital age, is the foundation which I built my vocabulary, story telling abilities, and imagination upon. Get your kid reading as soon as possible: reading anything, puzzle books, stories, comics! The options are endless – just because it’s not a novel or textbook doesn’t mean it’s not reading.

Wrap Up

Hopefully, these options and activities for developing and stimulating your child’s mind were helpful. Let us know in the comments below if you use any other activities or games to help your child’s brain along in the development journey.