Babies require adult care who understand their needs, yet it would not serve their wellbeing to have ALL aspects of life revolve around them. Human babies were designed to learn by engaging with loved ones and experiencing life within families and communities.
That means the key to supporting their brain development for babies is having meaningful interactions with both of their parents in an affectionate and joyful manner, while watching as they go about daily tasks.
Share life with your baby while not making her the focus of all attention at once. She needs to know you will always be available if needed; but being constantly the center of attention may cause unnecessary anxiety for both of you.
Respondent parenting refers to providing your baby with an environment in which she can thrive; responding to her needs while creating an ideal learning space for her is key, but don’t make every moment about your baby; that would only create anxiety!
Reacting appropriately to your baby’s needs is vital, in that you feed her when she needs food and create opportunities for naptime when necessary, letting her explore by watching a bug on the sidewalk – yet not becoming overprotective by constantly looking at her and asking “What shall we do next?”
She must know that someone bigger is calling the shots; otherwise it would feel unsafe and frightening for her.
Simply set a schedule that works for her and provides comfort (“In the morning Mom does dishes while I play nearby with my toys; then we head out on our daily tasks.”)
Engage warmly with your baby while going about your daily tasks.
Baby brain development does not need sensory bombardment – she will find plenty of stimulation through daily life activities! But she must interact with special people during most of her waking hours in order to optimize cognitive growth.
Babies depend on parents as secure bases from which to explore the world, looking to you to interpret everything that they encounter and experience. Through interaction, their brain forms connections that will shape who they become later on in life.
Understanding Infant Brain Development
Infant brain development begins from an emotional foundation of trust.
That means your primary focus must be on enjoying her, engaging with her and responding appropriately. Show her the world, show them things they may find frightening or give reassurance when necessary.
Studies demonstrate that infants who excel intellectually, emotionally and physically are those whose mothers were more attentive, responsive and warmly engaging with them as infants.
She definitely doesn’t require you to focus on her intellectual development in terms of counting, ABCs or any conventional intellectual tasks.
She will experience immense mental stimulation through games of hide ‘n seek, pulling all of your pots and pans out from storage cupboards, or seeing the world from within a backpack carrier while grocery shopping or socializing with other people.
Reading to and playing with your baby are great activities to engage her mind, but talking to and with them throughout your daily tasks — such as folding laundry, dish-washing or cooking dinner — is even better! Involve her and speak to them while doing these daily tasks: folding clothes or washing dishes etc.
Baby crawling marks an exciting stage and it is natural for them to explore everything around them, which may involve getting told “no”. Babies that frequently hear “No” tend to stop thinking outside the box.
How to Stimulate Baby Brain Development
Want to know how you can boost the development of your daughter’s intellect? Baby-proof her space carefully while keeping an open-door policy for exploration – giving her enough freedom for discovery without overbearing you or becoming complacent!
After several weeks or months, she will eventually move beyond this phase and realise the world awaits discovery – no longer looking back with regret at any hurdle in its path!
Babies love experiencing new environments.
If he seems restless while sitting still, take him for a stroll!
If she seems restless while in her sling, encourage her to play on the floor by practicing turning over and hoisting herself up onto hands and legs.
If he seems unhappy being left on his own to clean the bathroom, take a break to play water games together with him.
Babies find fascination in watching how things function; only interactions with their parents captivate their interest more intensely.
Brain development activities for babies
Should You Play Brain Development Games with Baby? While brain development games with your baby may be beneficial, make sure they’re interactive and age appropriate-which means providing sensory stimulation as well as cognitive development. Sing to her, play pat-a-cake games like patacake or play pat-a-cake with them massage her, introduce various kinds of music for her pleasure or dance together with them; make sure she gets plenty of opportunities to interact with other babies or children her age!
When in need of inspiration, take time out for browsing in bookstore baby shelves. There are lots of books offering ideas for games – many don’t even need to be owned in order to provide ideas! I was surprised recently to discover used copies of Julie Hagstrom’s classic Games Babies Play were for sale online (she also wrote Games Toddlers Play!).
Should You Allow Your Baby To View Educational Videos? Experts caution against it for several reasons. First, babies watching videos reduce time spent socially connecting with humans – studies show this contributes to delayed language development among other things.
Second, screen usage affects brain development. We don’t yet have all of the facts but screen use early in life may contribute to decreased concentration spans and shorter focus.
Making every moment count can be an admirable goal, but you don’t want your baby learning that being productive every minute matters the most.
Make every moment count with your daughter by being present rather than overstimulation her mind and senses. Babies do not benefit from over stimulation.
Your pet needs plenty of interaction from us, as well as time alone to explore his or her world: play with their toes, listen to music, observe dust motes in sunlight beams or figure out their muscles themselves.
At these times, babies don’t require us to intervene with teaching anything or engaging them – they already are! All babies require time for playtime without our interference – learning this ability is a significant developmental accomplishment that must be nurtured throughout early development.
Cherish every moment spent with your baby; knowing we cherish their presence may be what they most need from us as adults.
This story was initially published on October 5, 2017 and has since been modified accordingly.