Your 6-Year-Old Niece or Nephew Is Already Planning for the Future
Written By Savvy Auntie Staff Writers
By Katelyn Fry
November 8, 2017
Do your nieces and nephews have a favorite game they like to play every time you see them? Or a magic trick they like to try repeatedly until they get it right? How about a cool dance move they practice again and again? While we may grow tired of watching their activities repeatedly, your young nieces and nephews are doing a lot more than just having fun; they are planning for their future.
According to research at the University of Queensland in Australia, by age 6, children begin to understand that practice improves their skills for the future. For the experiment, 120 kids ages 4-7 to three different motor skills games, including a target game they were told they would be tested on later, winning stickers based on performance. The children were then brought to a second room with replicas of the three games and allowed to play whichever game they wanted before returning to the original room to take the test. The researchers found that the majority of six and seven-year-olds deliberately chose to play the target game understanding that the practice would help improve their test scores.
When you agree to Monopoly Junior with your niece for what feels like the 100th time, you’re encouraging them to accomplish a goal they may already have on their own – winning the game! Every time we help kids practice something, we are simultaneously helping them understand the importance of future goals and how to achieve them. Kana Imuta, a psychology researcher at the University of Queensland, and study coauthor, recommends that “it may be beneficial to start having conversations with children as young as 6 about their future goals, and encourage them to think about and work toward those goals. A focus on the future may help kids understand why practicing is so important."
Perhaps that niece of yours is practicing to be a real estate mogul one day. Or, a banker. Or, a game designer. Whatever the case, practice is the perfect way to encourage their development,
Photo: Yastremska
Source: Society for Research in Child Development. "Starting at age 6, children spontaneously practice skills to prepare for the future." ScienceDaily. (accessed November 8, 2017).