Strengthening Emotional Well-being with Mental Arithmetic

As it is known, mental arithmetic is extremely beneficial towards a child’s educational growth as it cultivates their ability to concentrate and sharpens their cognitive skills. However, do you also know that mental arithmetic plays an essential role in shaping children’s emotional well-being. In fact, brain training activities like mental arithmetic can be quite fundamental in improving one’s emotional health.

Mastering the Skill of Emotional Regulation

Having good emotional health is one of the most important things in life. Emotionally healthy people are those who are in control of their thoughts and behaviours. They know how to manage and cope well when faced with challenges. Emotional wellness can lead to success, so it is crucial to prioritise and foster a healthy mindset in children from a young age. A recent study has shown that the ability to perform numerical calculations like mental arithmetic is correlated with the ability to regulate emotions such as fear and anger. People who are able to solve complex math problems can look at difficult emotional situations in different ways and manage them well. This shows that children who partake in mental arithmetic education are more skilled in regulating their emotions compared to those who do not.

Mental Multitasking

Both mental arithmetic and the ability to regulate emotions can be considered as a type of cognitive multitasking as these actions require one to simultaneously oversee more than one concept. Mental arithmetic requires a lot of working memory and scientists have proven that the cognitive regions where working memory occurs are also vital for emotional regulation, seeing that both require keeping goals in mind while mentally manipulating ideas. In spite of that, this mental skill does not appear overnight and it requires years of practice and development. This is why it is advantageous for children to practise mental arithmetic from a young age in order to ensure good mental health as they grow up. 

Picking up Healthy Coping Strategies

Children who grow up with a mental arithmetic background are more prone to master ways to manage their emotions effectively. With this, they are capable of seeking healthier and better coping strategies when faced with difficulties. Good coping mechanisms are helpful to reduce stress and empower people to get through a tough time more maturely. Children who have stable coping strategies from a young age are also more likely to succeed further down in life. 

Now that you have read that, you will come to realise that mental arithmetic is more than merely calculations and it has more benefits towards children’s development than you think. As part of our core idea to encourage children to ‘Think Good Thoughts’, we wholly believe that it is possible to foster good mental health in children through mental arithmetic. It is never too late to get your little one started on mental arithmetic so start their mental development journey with Wekie today!