Providing a Smart Head Start

 
A child's brain is a miraculous entity. It is composed of billions of nerve cells, known as neurons, which grow to connect to each other in order to help the baby store his experiences in his brain. Researchers have learned that the baby's environment can help his neurons grow and make more extensive connections. The effect of the environment on brain development is known as environmental feedback and is crucial to helping the baby get a smart head start on life.

The following is a list of twelve hints to follow in order to help the baby get smart from the start:

♦ Start in the Womb

· Fetal development is strongly affected by the mother's actions during pregnancy. Substances such as alcohol, cigarette smoke and narcotics are known to harm fetal development and should be avoided during pregnancy.

· Good nutrition is also important. The mother should focus on eating omega-3 fatty acids, found in cold water fish (e. g. ocean salmon or tuna) and B-vitamin folic acid.

· Thinking good thoughts and avoiding negative emotions is also good for the health of both the mother and the baby. As well, engaging in light exercise will create endorphins which will relax the mother and the baby.

♦ Carry the baby Around

· While the mother may think that the baby will be amused only by a play mobile above his crib, this is not the case. The baby will be fascinated with the world of adults and he can access this world if he is carried around by the mother in a baby wearer. When carried, the baby will cry less and pay attention alertly to his surroundings. He will learn about adult interactions, conversations and about his own environment.

♦ Eat Smart

· Studies have found that breastfed babies score higher than non-breast fed infants on IQ tests when they are older. The reason for breast milk being 'smart milk' involves its composition of fats such as DHA and cholesterol, nutrients vital for the development of brain tissue. Milk sugars such as lactose and galactose are also important in brain tissue formation.

· Since breast milk is digested faster than formula, the baby is allowed to have more feedings and more contact with the mother which ultimately results in a stimulating relationship between mother and child. This increased physical contact has a large impact on the extent of a child's intellectual and physical development.

♦ Talk Smart

· If the baby tries to communicate with the mother, she must not worry about 'spoiling' him by responding to his needs. This cue-response relationship is crucial to the development of smart communication skills. When the baby 'talks' to the mother, he also learns subtle aspects of communication, such as turn taking and proper pitch and intonation.

· the mother's method of talking is very important to how well the baby will understand the mother. Many parents speak to their children in a language known as parentese in which they raise the pitch of their voices and speak at a slow rate. Words are exaggerated along with facial expressions to convey a meaning to a baby. Often times, the mother's method of talking to the baby will be more important than what she is actually saying to him.

· Studies have found that listening to a person's live language, not a TV or radio, is what helps babies develop their communication skills. Often this is because the baby needs to see the people who are talking, sometimes even needing to touch or smell them too!

♦ Answer Smart

· Listening is as important as talking. By listening to the baby's language, e. g. his crying, an important relationship is built that, more than objects or classes, will greatly impact the baby's communicative ability in the future.

· A meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1996 concluded that the most important influence on a child's intellectual development was the responsiveness of his or her parents to the cues he emitted.

♦ Reading Smart

· The U. S. Department of Education conducted a study finding that children who were read to by their parents performed better in school than children who were not read to at home.

· When reading to the baby, explore beyond the words in the book to describe and discuss the pictures, etc. Ask questions such as 'See the dog? What sound does a dog make?' to stimulate conversational skills.

· Books can help to describe certain life situations to the baby, such as going to the doctor or visiting the zoo. The baby will love a book about himself that the mother can make by pasting pictures into a scrapbook.

♦ Brainy Music

· Music, specifically classical music, can make infants calmer and possibly smarter by acting as a brain stimulant. Later on, this may aid the baby in having a higher attention span and performance level when doing work with classical music in the background.

· the mother can start playing music when the baby is in utero and this may create the 'Mozart effect' in which classical music is claimed to help build smarter brains. Overall, the most beneficial aspect of this music is that is relaxes the mind and body while promoting organization of the brain, especially in areas involved in creative reasoning.

♦ Play Smart

· To the baby, playing and learning are the same thing. As an infant, playing can help the baby develop his motor, social and language skills as well as his reasoning and concentration.

· Play can help the baby imitate what he sees in the adult world, giving him a feeling of power and competence.

· the mother should play with the baby as often as possible. But she should not be too pushy - she should play with toys that the baby prefers. Sometimes, as shown by the following list, toys are not always necessary:

º Face-to-face game (Age 2 wks - 2 mos)

· When the baby is quiet and alert, stay about 8-10 inches away from his face and make facial expressions such as sticking out the tongue. The baby should respond by mirroring and also sticking out his tongue. Both the mother and the baby will learn that facial expressions are contagious!

º Mirroring games (newborn)

· the mother can also mirror the baby's facial expressions back to him. Mirroring can enforce the baby's self-awareness.

º Grab and shake games (4 mos)

· the baby will love games with rattles, rings and soft little blankets.

º Sit and hit games (4 mos)

· the baby will love trying to punch a toy or mobile being dangled within his reach.

º Kicking games (4 mos)

· Attach pom-poms, rattles or noisemakers to the baby's ankles and let him kick away.

º Finger games (4 mos)

· Give the baby 6 inch pieces of yarn to play with and watch how he uses his fingers, hands and arms. However, it is important to watch him at all times to prevent the string from being a choking hazard.

º Banging games (4 mos)

· the baby will love dropping and banging on the mother's pots and pans!

º Stacking games (4 mos)

· Give the baby measure cups or containers of various sizes so that he can learn to stack them from largest to smallest.

º Fill and dump games (4 mos)

· Let the baby fill and empty a shoe box full of blocks to learn about filling and emptying containers.

º Water games

· With strict supervision allow the baby to dump water in a bathtub and make splashing noises.

The following are a couple of games that are chosen to be interesting to a 6-9 month old infant:

º Playing Ball

· Playing with a ball is always a fun and simple game for the baby.

º Mirror Play

· Sit the baby within touching distance of a floor to ceiling length mirror and watch him match his hands to the image. The mother should stand behind him and watch his surprise as he is captivated by his reflection.

These next games are good for a 9-12 month old infant:

º Hide and seek

· Test the baby's newly acquired skill of object permanence by hiding an object under one of two blankets then watching the baby try to find it.

· Play hide and seek with the baby. Eventually, the baby will also imitate the mother and hide, waiting to be found.

º Hide and seek with sounds

· Adding sounds to hide and seek will help the baby follow the mother's voice to find the person that the baby has mentally matched to the voice.

When buying toys for the baby, the mother will have to consider ten main factors to ensure that she is buying the right toy:

1. What is the educational value of this toy for the baby?

2. Will it hold the baby's attention for a decent amount of time?

3. Is it safe for the baby to play with?

4. Does it annoy the mother in its visual or audio features?

5. Does it promote the baby's creativity and social interaction?

6. Is it a non-combative, non-aggressive toy?

7. Does it promote hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills?

8. Does it stimulate as many senses as possible? (E. g. a toy with flashing lights and rough and smooth textures with a beeping sound).

9. Will the mother enjoy playing with the toy?

10. Will the toy have a long play life?

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