We value your privacy We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyse our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies. CustomiseReject AllAccept All Powered by [Visit CookieYes website](https://www.cookieyes.com/product/cookie-consent/?ref=cypbcyb&utm_source=cookie-banner&utm_medium=fl-branding) Customise Consent Preferences We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below. The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... Show more NecessaryAlways Active Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data. - Cookie rc::a - Duration Never Expires - Description This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. - Cookie wpEmojiSettingsSupports - Duration session - Description WordPress sets this cookie when a user interacts with emojis on a WordPress site. It helps determine if the user's browser can display emojis properly. - Cookie rc::c - Duration session - Description This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. - Cookie VISITOR\_PRIVACY\_METADATA - Duration 6 months - Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain. - Cookie cookieyes-consent - Duration 1 year - Description CookieYes sets this cookie to remember users' consent preferences so that their preferences are respected on subsequent visits to this site. It does not collect or store any personal information about the site visitors. - Cookie wordpress\_test\_cookie - Duration session - Description WordPress sets this cookie to determine whether cookies are enabled on the users' browsers. Functional Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features. - Cookie VISITOR\_INFO1\_LIVE - Duration 6 months - Description A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. - Cookie yt-remote-connected-devices - Duration Never Expires - Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos. - Cookie ytidb::LAST\_RESULT\_ENTRY\_KEY - Duration Never Expires - Description The cookie ytidb::LAST\_RESULT\_ENTRY\_KEY is used by YouTube to store the last search result entry that was clicked by the user. This information is used to improve the user experience by providing more relevant search results in the future. - Cookie yt-remote-device-id - Duration Never Expires - Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos. - Cookie yt-remote-session-name - Duration session - Description The yt-remote-session-name cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video. - Cookie yt-remote-fast-check-period - Duration session - Description The yt-remote-fast-check-period cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences for embedded YouTube videos. - Cookie yt-remote-session-app - Duration session - Description The yt-remote-session-app cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences and information about the interface of the embedded YouTube video player. - Cookie yt-remote-cast-available - Duration session - Description The yt-remote-cast-available cookie is used to store the user's preferences regarding whether casting is available on their YouTube video player. - Cookie yt-remote-cast-installed - Duration session - Description The yt-remote-cast-installed cookie is used to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video. Analytics Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. - Cookie \_ga - Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days - Description Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors. - Cookie \_gid - Duration 1 day - Description Google Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. - Cookie \_hjSessionUser\_\* - Duration 1 year - Description Hotjar sets this cookie to ensure data from subsequent visits to the same site is attributed to the same user ID, which persists in the Hotjar User ID, which is unique to that site. - Cookie \_hjSession\_\* - Duration 1 hour - Description - Cookie \_ga\_\* - Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days - Description Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views. - Cookie YSC - Duration session - Description YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Performance Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. - Cookie \_gat - Duration 1 minute - Description Google Universal Analytics sets this cookie to restrain request rate and thus limit data collection on high-traffic sites. Advertisement Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns. - Cookie \_\_Secure-YEC - Duration past - Description YouTube sets this cookie to stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video - Cookie \_\_Secure-YNID - Duration 6 months - Description Google cookie used to protect user security and prevent fraud, especially during the login process. - Cookie \_\_Secure-ROLLOUT\_TOKEN - Duration 6 months - Description YouTube sets this cookie to manage feature rollout and experimentation. It helps Google control which new features or interface changes are shown to users as part of testing and staged rollouts, ensuring consistent experience for a given user during an experiment. Uncategorised Other uncategorised cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet. No cookies to display. Reject AllSave My PreferencesAccept All Powered by [Visit CookieYes website](https://www.cookieyes.com/product/cookie-consent/?ref=cypbcyb&utm_source=cookie-banner&utm_medium=sl-branding) # 7 Things to Do This Summer to Boost Your Child’s Development Summer is finally here! For many families, the long sunny days between June and September offer lots of chances to reconnect and have fun together. While it’s great to plan special family outings like a trip to the beach, sometimes the simple, everyday activities you do with your children can make the best memories (and teach them important new skills). Here are 7 things to do with your child this summer—to bond with them and boost their cognitive and social-emotional skills at the same time! ## 1\. Do an outdoor activity every day you can When the rain stays away and the sun’s not too scorching, give your child’s motor skills a pick-me-up with fun outdoor activities. Choose activities that involve both gross motor skills (running, hopping, climbing, catching) and fine motor skills (grasping tools, digging, drawing, stacking). Make an outdoor “adventure path” or obstacle course for children to follow, collect items like rocks and shells and sort them into categories, go for a walk and create a map of your neighborhood, or take turns moving like different animals. ## 2\. Read to them every night ## Shared reading is one of the single most important activities you can do with a young child. Not only is it a fun way to bond and relax together after a long day, it also strengthens your child’s communication and language skills and sets the stage for early literacy development. Engage your child while you read—ask them what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story, or have the child act out the story with you and pretend to be different characters. (For more tips on making the most of shared reading with your child, [check out this post on the Inclusion lab blog](https://blog.brookespublishing.com/16-shared-reading-tips-to-share-with-parents/).) ## 3\. Give them special jobs to do around the house Kids love to feel important and needed, so giving them their own official “summer jobs” will boost their confidence—and help strengthen their social and motor skills. Select age-appropriate jobs for them: toddlers can take on table-wiping duty or help you sweep up the floor, while older children can prepare their afternoon snack, fold and put away laundry, or sort silverware into different compartments in the drawer. To practice their cooperation skills, siblings can work together on a bigger job like making lunch. ## 4\. Set up little mysteries for them to solve To keep young minds active during the hot summer months, challenge them with fun “mysteries” that engage and expand their problem-solving skills. Hide one of five toys and then ask your child which one is missing, send them on a treasure hunt with a map you drew, give them silly or interesting riddles to solve, and make a simple repeating pattern with blocks or beads and ask your child to finish it. ## 5\. Enhance daily activities with simple, skill-boosting games With just a dash of creativity, your daily activities can be learning experiences that enrich your child’s communication, social, and problem-solving skills. While walking through the neighborhood, read signs together or make up funny nonsense phrases and see if your child can repeat them back. You can also have your child search for specific letters and numbers on signs and cars, or put pictures of things you’ll see on your walk in an envelope and have your child pull out the images when you return to remind you of what you saw. As you’re driving, ask your child to count all the blue cars, animals, or tall things that pass by. Daily activities can boost development while you’re both having fun, and your child will pick up new skills as a bonus! ## 6\. Talk about your day at the dinner table Family dinners are a great way to help your kids develop social-emotional skills. This summer, whenever you can, gather the whole family around the table for dinnertime and let each family member take turns talking about their day. Help your child share stories about the day by giving a little gentle prompting. You might say, “Latoya and I went for a nice walk today. Latoya, tell your sister who we saw on our walk.” (For more social-emotional skill-boosters for children ages 2 months through 5 years, print these [**free ASQ:SE-2 activity sheets**.](https://agesandstages.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/asqse2-activities.pdf)) ## 7\. Do a quick check of their development One of the most important things you can do this summer is check to see if your child’s overall developmental skills are on track in all the areas mentioned in this article. You can do that for free in about fifteen minutes or less. Fill out an online ASQ questionnaire to see what your child’s biggest strengths are, uncover new milestones to celebrate, and reveal any areas where your child may need extra support. ( **[You can access the free questionnaire here](https://agesandstagesresearch.com/en?utm_source=article-7-things&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=asq4-data-collection)**.) With the tips in this article—and your own creative ideas—you can transform any summer day into a rich learning experience. The kids will be having so much fun, they’ll never guess you’re teaching them new skills they’ll use forever. Whatever activities you choose to do with your child this summer, enjoy exploring, discovering, and learning together! _The activities suggested in this post were adapted from the ASQ-3 Learning Activities_ _and the ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities_ _._ _©2019 Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. To republish this article for free, [contact us](mailto:DTruckenbrodt@brookespublishing.com)_ _._ - #### What ASQ Users are Saying “I like the ASQ:SE, which is an easy non-threatening tool to use to assess important social-emotional developmental milestones of the baby…. **This tool lends itself well to developing educational activities to foster a healthy parenting relationship**.” Cynthia Suire, MSN, RN, Nurse–Family Partnership Program Louisiana Office of Public Health - [Previous](https://agesandstages.com/7-things-to-do-this-summer-to-boost-your-childs-development/#) - [Next](https://agesandstages.com/7-things-to-do-this-summer-to-boost-your-childs-development/#) reCAPTCHA Recaptcha requires verification. [Privacy](https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/) \- [Terms](https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/) protected by **reCAPTCHA** [Privacy](https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/) \- [Terms](https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/)