By Family Education and The National Association for the Education of Young Children New insights into brain development affirm what many parents and caregivers have known for years: 1) good prenatal care, 2) warm and loving attachments between young children and adults, and 3) positive stimulation from the time of birth make a difference in children’s development for a lifetime. Ever look at a baby and wonder what she’s thinking? Well, there’s a lot more going on in there than previously thought. According to the newest brain research, babies’ brains begin crackling with activity before they’re even born! At birth, an infant’s brain houses 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons. Immediately, connections—or synapses—between the cells form as the baby experiences her surroundings and makes attachments to caregivers. This network of neurons and synapses controls various functions, such as seeing, hearing, and moving. If a child’s brain is not stimulated from birth, these synapses don’t develop, impairing her ability to learn and grow. The impact of environmental factors on a young child’s brain development is dramatic and specific, not merely influencing the general direction of development, but actually affecting how the intricate circuitry of the human brain is “wired.” How humans develop and learn depends critically and continually on the interplay between an individual’s genetic endowment and the nutrition, surroundings, care, stimulation, and teaching that are provided or withheld. Warm and responsive early care helps babies thrive and plays a vital role in healthy development. What does this mean for parents? Practice these four parenting tips which will help ensure a child’s healthy brain development and emotional stability for years to come. 1. Be warm, loving, and responsive: Studies show that children who receive responsive caregiving, such as touching, rocking, talking, and smiling, cope with difficult times more easily when they are older. They get along better with other children, and perform better in school than kids who are less securely attached. 2. Talk, read, and sing to your child: Communicating with your child gives him a solid basis for learning later. Talk and sing about daily events. Read stories in a way that encourages older babies and toddlers to participate by answering questions, pointing to what they see in a picture book, or by repeating rhymes and refrains. 3. Encourage safe exploration and play: While many of us think of learning as simply acquiring facts, children learn through playing. Blocks, art, puzzles, and play-acting are some activities that help children develop curiosity, confidence, language, and problem-solving skills. Let your child choose many of her own activities. If she turns away or seems uninterested, put it aside. Let her pick it up again later when she’s interested. 4. Use discipline as an opportunity to teach: It is normal for children to test rules and to act impulsively at times. Parents need to set limits that help teach children, rather than punish them. For example, tell your child what behavior is acceptable and communicate positively: say, “Feet belong on the floor, please,” instead of “Get your feet off the chair!” By Elizabeth Montgomery, Pre-K Smarties
It is never too early to introduce your child to books. Although infants will be unable to follow a plot or understand a theme, infants will benefit from exposure to books. In addition to the bonding that is inevitable when you hold your baby in your lap and communicate with her, reading to your baby is valuable in the development of language skills. Long before your baby utters her first word, she is absorbing sounds that will first help contribute to the development of speech, and later reading. Books also stimulate your baby’s imagination, helping her to make sense of situations she has experienced and introducing her to new ones. Reading to your infant today promotes good reading habits tomorrow. As infants are particularly responsive to the sounds of language, the best books for babies emphasize rhythm, melody, and repetition, such as nursery rhymes and books with patterned language. Rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and familiar language sequences will captivate babies. Books for infants usually have minimal text; the words often function like labels or captions for the pictures. Infants enjoy looking at pictures of other people, especially other babies. They recognize facial features and expressions. Babies and small children love seeing familiar objects like a stuffed bear or a rubber duck, or people doing things that they have had some experience with in their daily life, such as getting dressed or taking a bath. Books are not just educational and developmental devices. Babies, like adults, are entertained by books. Parents and other caregivers find that books are a very effective way to keep babies happily occupied. Indeed, early enjoyment of books will help form a foundation for the vital role books will play in your child’s formal education. ***** We expose children to reading too late. By six years of age the ability to take in raw facts, whether auditory (spoken) or visual (written), without the slightest effort is just about gone. … It is easier to teach a five-year-old to read than it is to teach a six-year-old. It is easier at four than at five, easier at three than at four, easier at two than at three, easier at one than at two, and easiest of all below one. The superb truth is that babies take in raw facts such as written and spoken words at a rate that no adult could come close to matching. “Why Teach Your Baby to Read?” by Glenn Doman, Founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (Excerpts) By Sharmini Odhav Before my baby was born, I tried to imagine what she would be like. When she wasn’t sleeping—which I expected her to do most of the time—I pictured her sitting serenely contemplating the meaning of life or contentedly observing me as I went about my cooking, cleaning, or other work, all the while learning the essentials of womanhood. Little did I know that sleep would be the very last thing on her mind. She wasn’t nearly as interested in finding out what was on my agenda as she was in letting me know what was on hers. She wanted every second of my time, and nothing held her attention for more than three minutes. When she got fussy, she could keep it up for hours on end, despite my doing everything but fly through the air on a trapeze to try to amuse or distract her. At times I felt like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off, running in circles trying to clean and wash and fold and keep up with all of my other necessary activities while also caring for this hyperactive new addition to my life. There were times when I felt like I just couldn’t do it anymore, and I would throw up my arms and ask God why He was punishing me. How did other women cope? Was I the only one not, in fact, superhuman? My first reaction was to try to do everything on the double so I could somehow cram it all in to what now seemed like a minuscule 24 hours. For the most part it seemed to work, and it gave me a rush to get more done than I had before. But babies somehow just can’t be rushed through like anything else. It must be God’s way of teaching parents patience. Trying to put a baby to sleep in haste, or commanding her to “be happy,” or expecting her to entertain herself for more than a few minutes so I could do something else just didn’t work. The usual consequence was a confused, frustrated, unhappy baby, and it would take even longer to put her to sleep or help her return to her happy self. It took me awhile to realize that the less attention I showed her, the more irritated she would become. Too often I found myself barking orders or whining back at her. Eventually I asked myself why things were the way they were. What had I become? I didn’t want my baby’s first years to pass this way, and I certainly didn’t want to be that kind of a parent to my child! Then my mom said to me, “You should make the most of this time with your baby, because before you know it, she’ll be grown up!” I prayed for a change of attitude, and I got it. I learned to enjoy every moment with my baby—every smile that tells me that she’s happy that I brought her into the world, every time she nestles her head on my shoulder in trusting repose, every time her tiny fingers wrap around mine or stroke my cheek, every time I feel her soft skin or smell her baby breath, every miracle I witness in her infant life that finds me shrieking in excitement. I even enjoy her cries to have some need met because they remind me of the immense responsibility I have been blessed with—her little life entrusted to my care. And when I figure out what it is she needs or cradle her in my arms and she stops her crying or fussing, I’m left with the most amazing, satisfied feeling, realizing that I am the most important, loved, and appreciated person to her. I also imagine that the way I respond to her now will influence how she will respond to me later in life. As soon as I stopped seeing my baby as an additional chore on my to-do list, the quality of my life improved. I realized how much I love her and what an incredible experience it is to be a mother. Now I find myself looking for ways to spend more time with her, because I don’t want to miss one second of her life before it flies by. I’m thankful for this opportunity I have to pour more into her. I’ve learned that if I put everything else aside and attend to her needs, she rewards me by being a happy, contented, and attentive baby. When she finally goes to sleep, I have time to do some of those other things I wanted to. But until then, they can wait. She’s the most precious time consumer I could ever ask for! When things get especially busy and I think I don’t have time to give her that little extra, I remind myself that quality time spent with our children is never wasted. The love we store in their hearts will last a lifetime and beyond. If we invest time and love in our children, we’ll spend the rest of our lives reaping the dividends. * * *
Would you write your name among the stars? Then write it large upon the hearts of the children. They will remember! Have you visions of a nobler, happier world? Tell the children! They will build it for you. —Author unknown |
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