Baby

3. care and interaction foster brain development

Obviously a baby needs warmth, food, comfort, diaper changes, baths — the list goes on. But caregiving activities are important not just for a baby’s survival and moment-to-moment well-being, they also provide the setting for all sorts of parent-child interaction that promotes brain development.

When you bend over your baby to change his diaper or give him a bath, you touch him and talk to him. When you carry your child in a sling, he feels secure, he feels your heartbeat and, as you walk around, he feels the motion and takes in lots of sights and sounds. When he cries, you come to him and try to figure out what he needs. As you care for him in these ordinary ways, you and your baby exchange little signals, many of them non-verbal — facial expressions, touch, nurturing sounds. These little exchanges are how you get to know one another. But taking in and making sense of this information is also your baby’s first step on the way to higher-level thinking, including the skills needed for success in school and career.

4. The five senses are the portals to your baby's brain

Think about how much you love to smell the top of your baby’s head, run your finger gently along her cheek, press your lips to her tiny finger.

Now flip that and imagine how those loving actions feel to your baby. We can only guess. But what neuroscience tells us is that, at birth, your baby’s brain is wired to be especially receptive to that kind of experience. “The very first neural pathways to develop are those which involve the five senses,” Shanker explains. “The more sophisticated pathways that develop later, such as those that allow us to regulate our emotions, to understand ideas, to have empathy and be creative, are built upon the foundation of those initial sensory pathways.”

What should parents do about this? Nothing special. Just enjoy and respond to how your baby looks, feels and smells (well, most of the time), and let her use her senses to explore you and the world. Give her chances to look at, touch and listen to the people and objects that interest her.

Originally published in Today's Parent Baby & Toddler, Fall/Winter 2009