It could be defined as “the ability of our brain to adapt our behavior and thoughts to environmental situations, which may be novel, unexpected or changing.”
Children change their behavior and adapt it depending on what surrounds them, which favors their autonomy and their ability to adapt.
However, not everyone adapts equally, this has to do with a very important cognitive ability, mental flexibility, an ability, just like language, attention or motor skills.
This skill has its own development and maturation at the brain level and can be trained from a very young age with simple daily actions, exercises, etc.
How can we enhance mental flexibility?
We leave you some ideas to be able to do daily:
- Offering them new activities, challenges, family plans, an escape room for children…
-Stimulate reading and/or writing, since they are two ideal tools to enhance the imagination. Read stories or books that interest you, resources to create stories, games, etc.
- Play to give ideas about what the same object is for (different from its everyday uses). With this game you work on your originality, since we invite you to go “beyond” what is visible, what is traditional, what you already know…
-Change things around. The fact that they have to look for them in another place, added to the fact of seeing the environment differently, can help them develop this skill.
Benefits of enhancing mental flexibility
-It helps them adapt to changes and everything new.
-It allows them to capture different dimensions of the same reality.
-It helps them adjust their behavior, attitude and thoughts to each situation.
-It helps them establish relationships, or associations, between things.
-It allows them to find different solutions to the same problem.
-It helps them better tolerate mistakes, changes in plans…
-Stimulates your imagination.
“Playing leads to imagination, the more imagination the more mental flexibility”
Pedagogical Coordinator
