For any baby, their journey into the world of learning begins at birth. Your baby’s brain grows faster in his first two years than at any other time, and all the encouragement you give him will help him make the most of his ever-expanding potential. Brain development during the first few years of life is critical to the continued success of all children. During these first few months, when the baby’s brain is developing rapidly, adult participation in even simple activities with young children leaves a lasting impression. Here you can get some ideas on what you can do to help your baby learn
In the first 3 months of a baby’s life, he will use his sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell to help him understand the world. You can help stimulate your senses by doing the following;
· Speak to your baby in a soft, reassuring tone of voice. When they coo, you should respond to their signal.
· Gently touch or massage your baby’s hands and feet. You can stroke her head, arms, or legs. You can also blow gently on her hands and feet or let her grip your finger with your hand.
· Experiment with different positions when holding your baby. Cuddle him in your arms or support him on your shoulders. This helps the baby to see the world from a different perspective.
Put your baby in different textured fabrics, soft satin, cool silk, warm wool, or soft flannel.
· Make faces at your baby and watch his responses, smile or stick your tongue out for an answer.
Play hide and seek with him when you pull his clothes over his head. This helps you develop self-confidence.
How to improve your baby’s development
Talk to your baby. The most helpful way to nurture your baby’s development is to communicate with your baby with both your voice and your eyes. Even babies as young as a few days old can pick up on the characteristics of your voice and use speech patterns later when they learn to speak. You should also sing any song that is familiar to you, not just nursery rhymes. He will love hearing the sound of your voice as you communicate with him.
Take care of their basic needs. All babies cry when they’re uncomfortable, whether it’s from a wet diaper or because they’re hungry. A calm and happy baby will learn faster and be more receptive to stimuli. So pick him up as soon as you can, hug him, and meet his needs before engaging him.
Choose the right toys. Always check if the toy is suitable for the age group your child is in. Check the packaging when you intend to buy a new toy for your baby. It is important to choose things that are appropriate for his developmental stage, for safety reasons, and because he will get more out of a toy that he is physically ready to play with. For example, a 6-month-old baby cannot play with a wind-up toy, but will enjoy a toy with a special texture or a bright color.
Books for babies. Even young babies enjoy the experience of sitting on your lap and looking at bright pictures of everyday things that you will recognize, such as animals or toys. Choose books that are made of cardboard or cloth because they are designed to be chewed and touched.
Classroom every day. Go out every day, to the shops, to the park, to your local parent-baby group, to visit friends or just go for a walk. The change of scenery is exhilarating for you and your baby.
Use flashcards. Get your baby started on the reading path by showing white cards with big words in red. The use of flashcards to help children read and learn math has been well researched by Glenn Doman. These are ready-to-use or you can make them out of hard white paper or cardboard and use a red marker. To save time, you can also use specially designed children’s educational software to generate the words for you on a computer screen.
A good baby learning tool built into computer software should also display math dot cards and other pictures on the screen to speed up your child’s development. You can save your lesson plans to use later and as often as you like. You will be amazed at how inexpensive a good program can be, and it will pay huge dividends when your child enters school.
So start your child early on the learning path. Remember that it doesn’t take long to bring out your child’s genius – a few minutes a day can make a big difference in your child’s pursuit of lifelong learning.