Experiments whose results were published in the February 2022 issue of Psychological Science show that what actually influences the development—measured by MRI—of the brain region responsible for automatic numerical processing is regularly engaging in out-of-school activities more or less directly related to mathematics, such as board games, mental arithmetic and reciting multiplication tables. And we know that the more automatic basic calculations become, the more brainpower is available for more advanced mathematical tasks.
Yet more proof, if any were needed, of the importance of play in our children’s cognitive development. But our readers knew that already!
