As a parent, everything you do once you discover you are about to become one has a spillover effect on your child. They steep this more towards the mother. Your little one’s ability to learn, be curious about things, become a polyglot, or understand and interpret human feelings is hinged on your upbringing and parenting skills.
To set you on the right path that will make your baby have top-notch health and a fully functional brain, then you have to put certain elements and support systems in place, and here is a highlight of what should count as support to help your child’s development in the early stages of their life.
Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
As a mother, you can give your child a good head start for growing through a developmental stage in your womb. You would have heard stories about how a pregnant woman affects her child’s development by remaining a drug addict through the pregnancy to term. Also, some food intake or composition can do wonders to your well-being as a pregnant woman, which may result in a spillover effect on the child growing inside you; therefore, doctors recommend particular food, fruit, or drugs to pregnant women.
You need to know that taking certain drugs during pregnancy helps your child develop well in the womb; experts revealed that children who experienced drug abuse while still in the womb had learning problems.
Encouraging Playtime
As a parent, one of the best gifts you can give your child is allowing them to engage in the fun right from when they are babies and still babbling. Encouraging them to play, talk, or sing is an excellent way to engage their brain actively. Experts recommend that crib mobiles are the perfect way to support a child’s brain development, as they get to play with the toys on it and serenade with tunes that stimulate their brain function and activity.
During playtime, sing songs to them and show them while at it. This will help them understand hand motions and gestures. Also, engaging them with their Lego toys to construct stuff with the colorful set can enhance their child-like creativity and imagination.
Buying Them Educational Toys
Another way to support your baby’s brain development healthily is by buying them educational toys to play with. Yes, some children’s toys are labeled educational to help them play and learn, but not all of them have the desired results. Therefore, you need to be cautious when getting such material for your kids.
The best educational toys are recitals for toddlers that they can play with, cartoon videos they can watch and listen to, and Lego sets with numbers or letters. These items sharpen their listening, interactive, and problem-solving skills at an early age.
Reading To Your Baby
Yes, another tested and proven support for healthy brain development for kids is reading to/with them. Why do you think children’s books are some bestsellers in the world? The reading habits shape your child’s language and communication skills, they are exposed to long before they can recognize or point out alphabets or words.
Illustration books are the most recommended literature for children because their brain can easily recognize or connect hearing words and seeing pictures, which is suitable for their developing cognitive skills. When you read to them, and they can see the images, it builds familiarity and recognition in their mind. Some brains need to be fully functional and develop at total capacity.
Providing Comfort and Routine
Babies are creatures of habit that we have exposed them to, which is an excellent way to help them develop their brains. When babies are exposed to situations and environments that make them feel safe and loved, it positively affects their brain development.
The rocking, cuddling, feeding, playtime, story readings are also routines that help them get comfortable in their environment and can be counted on to affect how they develop, socially and mentally. Not only that, keeping them agile with fun talks about anything, everything, and nothing at all. When you are rocking them is another exciting way to support your child’s brain development because repetition is something that a child’s brain recognizes the most and capitalizes on to reach complete and functional outcomes.
As a parent, another goal is to help your child build their self-esteem and confidence as they grow up — one way to ensure that providing some of the support as mentioned earlier will enhance their brain development.