5 ways to help set your child up for future success
Parenting is considered one of the most difficult jobs in the world, but there’s no formal education available on how to parent successfully. The good news is there are many ways parents can stimulate their babies’ brains and use day-to-day events as exceptional learning opportunities. Carlota Nelson, director of the documentary Brain Matters ,…, 1. Stimulate baby talk and treat it as real conversation, The sounds and gestures that babies make might not always seem like much, but it’s their only form of communication. Early childhood development scientists say we should stimulate Baby talk: Mini Parenting Master Class baby talk and treat it as real conversation. Parents should respond to baby’s sounds, cues and actions and engage with them…, 2. Read to your baby to exercise language, Babies might not be talking or reading yet but they’re born ready to learn. Even at 3 months of age, they can distinguish each sound used in every language in the entire world. Every time you read out loud to your baby, you are building language skills. Make sure to point to the pictures in the book and ask questions about the story and the…, 3. Use everyday experiences as learning opportunities, For babies, each life experience is all about learning. Whether it’s bath time, sorting laundry, cooking or running errands, these activities are great learning moments. Narrate what you are doing to stimulate language. Count and sort laundry to teach maths and play with food ingredients and textures to promote scientific thinking. Making faces…, 4. Take play seriously, Young children are learning all the time. When they play, they’re building important life skills. Make-believe play allows them to experience what it’s like to be someone else and understand others’ feelings. When they play with others, they’re learning to compromise and take turns. Engaging in imaginative free play, like pretending a toy train…, 5. Lead by example, Babies are genius impersonators. They pick up on everything they see you do. Until they talk, they become experts at reading faces and non-verbal attitudes and learn to mimic them. By watching your body language, how you treat others or how you react to a challenge, babies will adopt these attitudes and actions themselves. The way you act around…