Nurturing the Brain of A child
It is true when people say that a child’s first teacher is their parents. The first two years of a child’s life are crucial in establishing the foundation for how they explore the world. It may seem daunting to think of laying the foundational steps needed for your child to succeed, however, if we lift the curtain back and focus on the importance of engaging with our children, we are enabling them to be as successful as possible in the future.
In the early months of an infant’s life, they process information that contributes to many facets - language acquisition, social bonding, brain development, emotional development, and communication skills. By immediately engaging with them through language, we are ensuring that their developmental needs are met.
1. Language Acquisition
When you expose your child to various sounds, words, and sentences, you are helping them start to recognize and understand language patterns.
2. Social Bonding
Talking to your child creates a sense of security and connection, which helps foster the bond between parent and child.
3. Brain Development
Research has shown the importance of frequent conversations with parents/caregivers to stimulate the part of a baby’s brain that is responsible for language processing, furthering their ability to understand and learn language later on.
4. Emotional Development
By responding to your baby's cues with verbal communication, you are promoting healthy emotional; development.
5.Communication Skills
Babies learn to communicate through facial expressions and body language, which you can further encourage by responding to them. Although they can’t speak yet, they are communicating with you and learning from you!
These concepts may seem small and obvious, however, repetition of engagement is truly laying the groundwork for a child throughout their first year of life. Your one-year-old will have already had a solid foundation built for them so they can further these different facets of development when they enter daycare, preschool, and elementary school.
It may seem as simple as talking but remember - you are helping your child’s brain develop to the best of their ability. One day when they decide what career they want, what school to apply to, or even what country to travel to, it can all be traced back to the foundation that was laid for them.