Tips for Boosting Your Baby’s Brain Power
How would you like your baby’s brain to be as buff as the bodybuilder version of Arnold Schwarzenegger? You can strengthen your child’s brain and pave the way for the best possible outcomes in life. It’s a powerfully good thing to do because the brain is a use-it-or-lose-it type of organ. The following tips can help you increase your baby’s brain power.
Start Early
Avoid activities that are known to be destructive to a baby’s in utero brain. Of course, drug abuse can do a lot of harm but so can smoking cigarettes. One study showed that fourth-grade reading scores are lower among children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.
Talk & Sing a Lot
People love to speak gibberish to babies, and a little of that is perfectly fine. For the sake of brain development, however, talk to your baby from the very beginning. Use exaggerated facial expressions and draw out syllables as you talk baby talk using actual words. Significant input is needed for the part of the brain in which speech comprehension develops. Singing is also good, whether you sing the viral hit Baby Shark, the nursery rhymes you remember from your childhood or other tunes.
Express Joy Toward your Baby
Use body language to communicate the love you have for your baby. This will allow him to understand that he is lovable. Looking at your baby with sparkling eyes, paying attention to his baby talk, and giving gentle hugs all express the joy your baby gives you.
Read to your Baby
If you begin reading books to your child when he is a newborn, he is likely to have great delight in books. Use plenty of voice modulation as you read, and point to images on the pages. Use sounds and wordplay as well as expressive language.
Provide Interactive Toys
Your child can learn reasoning skills, cause-and-effect responses, and much more using toys. Blocks may seem overly simple, but they provide terrific learning opportunities. The blocks will fall if they aren’t laid straight or if they’re stacked too high. Playing with toys stimulates a baby’s brain and helps to develop coordination.
Lessons for a Crawler
When your baby starts to crawl, use words that will help him build his vocabulary. Make sure you have a safe crawling area in the home. Use words such as over, under, near, far, big, and small. Speak about relationships between shapes and sizes. This helps to build comfort into your baby’s interaction with the world around him.
Respond Promptly to Cries
Research proves that a baby develops emotional security when crying is not ignored. By cuddling and calming your crying baby, a critical brain signal that has a lifelong effect is developed.
Show Empathy Toward Others
Your child will learn about kindness, caring, feelings, and sharing by your behavior. If someone appears to be upset or sad, demonstrate empathetic responses. This helps to set specific brain circuits that establish positive emotional skills.
Relax the Brain
One of the most important things to do as a parent is to relax and enjoy your child. Wanting your child to have all the best advantages is a worthy goal but can add pressure to both of you. Learn and do what’s best without allowing expectations to spoil the enjoyment of a child’s natural growth progress.
