By the time a child reaches 5 years old, 90% of their brain has developed (Hunter, 2017) and in the early years of life, children learn through play and interaction with family and friends (Coreas, 2017), through pre-school and primary school interactions.
Play-time activities can benefit a myriad of skills including social skills, motor skills, confidence, team-work, emotional intelligence and the concept of friendly competition. However, the days of kiss chase and “you’re it” are slowly becoming a myth due to social distancing rules and it might potentially have long-term effects on kid’s developmental progression and their future.
According to a report by Save The Children (2020), across the globe, 10 million children may never go back to school due to the Corona Virus, social distancing rules and worried parents.
Psychologist, Baron-Cohen suggests that our ‘theory of mind’ is the ability to think of oneself in the mind of others. Ultimately, this is the ability to make sense of the world, and predict another person’s behaviour through empathy. Baron-Cohen suggested that children obtain ‘theory of mind’ by understanding emotions through the eyes of other people, and that children with autism lack a ‘theory of mind’. Developmentally, witnessing other’s facial features and emotional reactions to situations and surrounding differences is key in human growth.
According to research from a team of neuroscientists at Cardiff University, empathetic leadership matters more today than ever. This is because the longer-term benefits of developing empathy and social skills at the early age show children achieve better academic success through greater engagement with school and healthier lifestyle choices.
So will kids be able to fully develop and progress without school’s social play-time and integration with other children?
However, there are ways in which companies can assist… and some already have.
Hand2Mine - toy manufacturer, who specialises in encouragement of hands-on learning and discovery - have identified the core current issue in children’s social skills and emotional intelligence, and have researched and innovated a solution:
The 'See My Feelings' mirror
This is a mirror with six different slide-in photos of real children expressing real emotions. It is aimed to help children recognise and identify emotions in themselves and others: happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, silliness and anger.
Whilst less and less children are exposed to other people in the wave of the Corona Virus, Hand2Mind have found a way to assist with the change in culture and social situations.
The most successful of brands are those which identify a current and niche issue and provide a solution based on insight and evidence. This is especially important when the solution is provided for a child’s better future.
