What Can Parents Do To Facilitate Their Baby’s Brain Development?
What’s the take home lesson regarding brain development for you as a new parent? One of the most important things to keep in mind about brain development is that the brain continues to change, develop and build connections throughout childhood and it needs stimulation to do that. The more focused interaction and stimulation (in the form of conversation, reading, play, toys, and games) the more the brain has to chew on. This ensures that your baby’s brain is fine-tuning itself in ways that optimize its ability to perform these same sorts of functions throughout childhood and into adulthood. Does that mean that we need to stimulate our babies all the time? Not at all. Babies need plenty of rest, of course, and are not going to be receptive to interactive stimulation when they are fussy, hungry, or tired. But your baby will have moments (they’ll be rare and fleeting early on but will become more frequent as your baby matures) when she or he is calm, alert, and attentive. Those are the win
