The ability to communicate well and learn verbally is strongly emphasized both at home and at school. However, useful though verbal skills are, there’s another extremely important area of learning that many experts feel we’re neglecting: Spatial skills. The term “spatial skills” is used to describe the ability to accurately interpret and remember the spatial relations between objects. In simpler terms, this aptitude lets us picture and manipulate three-dimensional objects in our minds, then apply our knowledge in a practical way. People who are adept at building and designing new things and mentally navigating three-dimensional systems (e.g., visualizing the chain of a molecule while performing a chemistry experiment) possess excellent spatial skills.
Why are Spatial Skills Important?
Spatial skills are integral to a wide variety of different professions. Most people know that architects, engineers, surgeons, urban planners, and visual artists all rely heavily on the application of spatial knowledge. What is less well-understood, however, is just how many common everyday tasks also require visualization skills. When you’re glancing at a map while driving, for example, you’re using spatial skills to picture where you need to go. If you have a well-developed ability to visualize, you’ll be able to imagine your route accurately while still keeping your eyes safely on the road. Tasks like building a new piece of furniture, installing a new appliance, planning the layout of an apartment, or landscaping a yard also require spatial skills.
Emerging evidence shows that developing a child’s spatial abilities may help him (or her) strengthen other skills as well. Children who demonstrate a strong spatial aptitude early in life generally go on to outperform their less visually-adept peers in both mathematics and science. They also usually use technology more effectively. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, however, research has revealed that kids who have excellent spatial skills are also better readers.
How to Help Your Child Develop Better Spatial Skills
A child’s level of spatial intelligence is not fixed. Just as communication skills can be improved, spatial skills can also be honed. This rule is true for both genders: While certain spatial skills (namely the ability to mentally rotate 3D objects) have been linked to higher levels of testosterone, research suggests that girls can quickly “catch up” with practice. In one study conducted at Harvard, female students were able to match their male peers at mental rotation tasks after just 21 days of training. The male students in the group were able to improve their areas of deficit as well; at the beginning of the study, they were less adept than the female students at mentally “folding” a flat piece of paper (in order to produce a shape). By the end of the 21 day period, the gender gap had closed here as well. Similar studies have shown that the results of such improvements are long-lasting, too. One study, which used video games to help improve participants’ spatial skills, revealed that gains the volunteers made during the study were still present five months later.
If practicing spatial tasks yields such noteworthy results in adults, the improvements made by children are likely to be even more profound. To help your child develop his or her spatial skills, we recommend using the techniques outlined below:
1. Encourage your child to engage in active, physical play.
While it’s true that computer and video games can enhance spatial skills, a child’s spatial education should still start in the physical world. Research shows that babies who are allowed to actively explore their environment and handle a diverse array of three-dimensional objects develop better mental rotation skills than infants whose movements are more limited. Parents should therefore provide their children with an array of physical learning aids, such as blocks, rings, simple shape-based puzzles (like tangrams), and balls. Note that blocks have been shown to be particularly important to developing spatial skills. Allowing children to build structures from an early age has been shown to greatly increase their spatial awareness.
2. Involve your young child in everyday tasks that improve spatial intelligence.
Teaching your toddler how to tie his own shoes, make his own bed, or wash (plastic) dishes can help him to develop better spatial skills. While you guide your child through these tasks, talk to him about the spatial relationships between the items he’s handling. For instance, point out how his bed cover fits over his bed, ask him whether the left lace goes over or under the right lace when he’s tying a bow, and show him how certain dishes fit together to form stacks. Not only does this kind of conversation stimulate your child to think more deeply about spatial relationships, it helps to give him a fully functional spatial vocabulary. He’ll learn essential descriptive words like “right, left, over, under, on top, square, sphere, long, short,” etc. This will allow him to communicate spatial concepts to his peers more effectively during play.
3. As your child gets older, encourage him to engage in structured block play.
Structured block play describes a type of block play wherein the parent provides the child with an image of a structure to emulate using blocks. Generally, this type of play is most effective when the parent helps the child achieve the final outcome (while still letting the child lead the way, of course).
There are a number of block sets available on the market today which facilitate this type of play. Lego block sets, for example, often include blueprints of complex designs that the child must follow in order to build a space ship, pirate ship, or other structure. Three-dimensional puzzles also provide a worthy challenge for older kids.
4. Organize treasure hunts for your children.
Having to read and follow a map forces kids to hone their spatial intelligence. Fortunately, most children absolutely love treasure hunts, so they’ll engage in this challenge willingly if there’s a collection of exciting rewards to be found.
Treasure hunts are more fun when there are a number of people involved, so if possible, talk to the parents of your children’s friends about making this game a neighbourhood affair. Likewise, you should do some research into how complicated the provided map should be based on the age of the children involved. Young children have a difficult time translating a two-dimensional “bird’s eye view” representation of the world into three-dimensional space, so it’s easy to frustrate or confuse them. In general, it’s best to start with a relatively simple map, then make the map slightly more complex with each successive treasure hunt.
If you don’t have the time or resources to organize a treasure hunt, note that giving kids an incomplete map of a familiar area (like the local park) and asking them to fill in any missing features can also improve spatial knowledge. This activity works well in school, too, so you may want to suggest that your child’s school implement a similar exercise (i.e., having students fill in a map of the school) as a way of improving students’ spatial skills.
5. Let your child experiment with photography.
The modern obsession with snapping pictures has been shown to have a positive impact on the development of spatial skills, so parents should consider letting their children indulge freely in this hobby. Every time your child takes a picture, he needs to consider the lighting, the angle of his shot, and where the camera is focusing. This is a great way to get him thinking about how objects interact in space.
6. Allow your child to play video games and puzzle games (within reason).
While it’s true that too much “screen time” isn’t good for kids (particularly just before bed), allowing your child a moderate amount of gaming privileges will help him hone his spatial intelligence. Both three-dimensional video games (like driving games, flying games, etc.) and simple arcade-style games like Tetris can enhance mental rotation skills, depth perception, and distance perception. Indeed, it may be worthwhile to encourage girls to participate more actively in game-playing of this kind rather than allowing them to be intimidated by male-dominated gamer culture.
7. Use descriptive body language when talking about spatial concepts.
Research suggests that both children and adults perform better at spatial tasks when they use physical gestures to aid in solving the problem. As such, when communicating spatial concepts to your child, you should use your hands where appropriate, e.g., rolling your hands over one another to illustrate a flipping motion, or drawing a shape in the air while verbally describing an object. Your child will pick up on this habit and emulate it.
Using the above strategies will improve the spatial skills of most children quickly and effectively. There are some children, however, who are slower spatial learners—but this doesn’t mean they can’t get better. If your child has significant difficulties with spatial concepts, remain patient and persistent. In time, he or she will begin to show signs of progress.
