Your Child's Amazing Developing Brain
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Here are proven ways to stimulate your baby's brain and set the stage for a lifetime of learning.
Your baby was born with 100 billion brain cells-and counting. For healthy brain development to take place, they all need to be activated and connected
with each other. You can help.
"The more we engage infants in our daily world through gestures, language and motions, the more synapses (connections in the brain) occur," says Vicki
Folds, Ed.D., vice president of education and professional development for Children of America Educational Childcare Centers in Delray Beach, Florida.
Check out these stages of early brain development and how you can help it along:
4–6 months: Babies are keenly tuned in to sounds and language, and you'll start to hear a symphony of babbles and coos.
What you can do: Talk, read and sing around your baby.
8 months: Babies connect experiences with memory. Notice that if your daughter pushed a ball to make it roll yesterday, she'll
remember and try again today.
What you can do: Repetition is key. Play with your baby using the same toys as yesterday to build memory.
10 months: Babies begin sounding out single syllables.
What you can do: During conversation, be sure your baby is looking at your face so he can mimic mouth formations such as the
heartwarming "ma-ma" and "da-da."
12–18 months: Children learn object permanence (they can retrieve hidden objects) and the concept of cause and effect. It's what
you're witnessing when your baby drops toys from her high chair to the floor again and again-and laughs each time.
What you can do: Provide toys that your child can manipulate for cause and effect, such as a jack-in-the-box. Playing peek-a-boo will
reinforce the notion of object permanence-that just because he can't see something (like your face) doesn't mean it's not there.
18–24 months: Vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. From "apple" to "zoo," you'll be amazed at the pace your child adds new
words.
What you can do: Expand on what your child says to build her vocabulary. For example, if she says, "Ball fell down," respond with,
"Yes, the basketball tumbled down the stairs."
30 months: Your child now has twice as many brain connections as an adult. He's making sense of his environment and he can envision the rooms of his house in his
mind.
What you can do: Include him in problem-solving games, such as finding Daddy's gloves.
"Activity, experience and stimulation are the keys to your child's development," says Folds.