Baby

6. Infant brains are wired for interaction with people

When talking about early brain development, people often use the word stimulation. Some, especially those with products to sell, speak about brain stimulation in a way that suggests that babies need specially designed sights and sounds from toys, dangling mobiles, pictures or videos to get their little brain connections firing and crackling.

Not so. The truth is that babies’ brains are wired to get information from people. Again, this does not mean you have to be in your baby’s face every minute. Just because something is good and important doesn’t mean that more and more and more of it is better. Babies can be overstimulated.

The real point is that no matter how hard anybody tries to sell the idea that a particular toy, book, video or baby activity program provides the “stimulation that little brains need to grow,” remember it’s just hype. The most important stimulation babies need comes from everyday care and interaction with their parents (and others) and from exploring the natural world and the objects, including simple baby toys, in their environments.

7. In early childhood, play equals learning

We sometimes think of learning as structured activity where somebody teaches a specific idea or skill. But children are learning constantly from the moment they are born, and structured learning is a relatively small part of it. Children’s most important learning comes through play. In fact, this is true of all primates. Even baby apes and monkeys learn how to hunt, solve problems and protect themselves through play.

When a baby plays with a shape sorter, she’s learning about spatial relationships and colours, as well as developing hand-eye coordination. When a toddler sits in her bath and pours water in and out of a plastic cup, she’s learning about science — quantity, gravity and sound. As she works out an imaginative story with a playmate, using dolls or stuffed toys, she’s learning how to plan, negotiate and communicate. “Fantasy play is also a way for children to experiment with and learn to understand feelings,” says Shanker. Unstructured play, where children are free to follow their own ideas, provides many learning opportunities and is also a great stress reliever for young children.

There’s a saying that play is a child’s work. But, really, it’s how kids prepare for life.

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