5 Ways to Boost Your Baby’s Brain Development
At birth, your baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons and he or she will grow trillions of brain-cell connections, called neural synapses by toddlerhood. When these synapses are not “wired” together via stimulation, they can be lost. So it’s important to provide enriching experiences for your baby early on to help stimulate all those connections that can lead to better reasoning, planning and language skills.
1. Play games that involve the hands like peek-a-boo, patty-cake, and little piggies. Babies respond well to these simple games that involve body parts and songs.
2. When you change your baby’s diaper, you are the ideal distance to attract attention to your mouth and speech. This is the perfect time to talk to baby and to rub baby’s tummy and head. Studies show that babies who are touched more often have larger brains than those who are touched less frequently.
3. Choose toys that are developmentally appropriate for your child’s age to encourage baby to explore and engage. Look for toys that introduce cause-and-effect relationships – for example, toys that reward baby with lights and sounds when baby pushes a button or activates it using motor skills.
Baby Einstein’s™ Neighborhood Friends Activity Jumper Special Edition™ is perfect for introducing baby to cause-and-effect learning. 12+ activities include a light piano that flashes and plays melodies, piano notes and language learning when baby presses the keys. The seat rotates 360 degrees to give baby access to all the stimulating toy stations. 5 height positions and a padded, extended seat back for support as baby grows. Available at BabiesRUs.ca!
4. Don’t just respond to baby with silly sounds. Use different pitches and vocalizations and draw out the syllables of words to get baby excited about speaking.
Look for the Discover & Play Piano from Baby Einstein to get baby learning with silly sounds, animal noises, languages, numbers and classical music!
The Baby Einstein™ Discover & Play Piano™ features soft piano keys that respond to baby’s touch with 2 play modes: instruments, numbers, and animal sounds. Numbers mode allows baby to hear numbers 1-5 in English, French and Spanish. Animal sound mode turns each musical instrument into fun animal sounds. Baby will enjoy 20+ classical melodies and sounds. Great for at home or on-the-go! Available at BabiesRUs.ca!
5. Get your baby interested in books. It’s never too early to start! Point to pictures and make noises and sounds to go along with the pictures. Use different pitches in your voice and encourage toddlers to talk about what they see in the pages. While baby is young, building baby’s understanding of language is more important than trying to develop any vocabulary.
The Rhythm of the Reef Play Gym™ from Baby Einstein™ provides flash cards with real-life imagery to help babies explore their new world. Engage baby with lights, classical music real-life imagery and more! Baby Neptune is a plush toy that attaches to the play gym, but can be removed for use on most cribs and carriers. Flashing lights and 8 classical melodies can play continuously or be set to baby-motion activation. A fish-shaped prop pillow keeps tummy time comfy. The adorable palm tree features 3D crinkle leaves and toys include: a baby-safe mirror for self-discovery, octopus bead chaser, and starfish teether. The padded play mat is easy to clean and provides plenty of soft comfort. Available at BabiesRUs.ca!
Great minds start little.™
