Babies are born to learn – it’s how they grow to be able to navigate their environment and reach maturity. From the earliest days, your infant will be soaking up everything they observe and experience. A high level of stimulation in an informal environment during your baby’s first 12 months will lay solid groundwork for communication, expression and education in the years to come.
Strong and varied relationships
Your relationship with your baby is the foundation for their learning. If your baby feels secure, healthy and loved they will feel free to explore their surroundings and engage with their environment. They will also feel safe to interact with family and friends, increasing their exposure to different tones of voice, body language, faces and vocabulary.
Provide stimulation
Stimulation creates special connections in your baby’s brain called neural pathways. These allow your baby to build their understanding of the world and to better control their interactions with it. You can help stimulate your baby’s brain development by:
- talking, cooing and singing to them
- reading books with bright pictures
- spending time outdoors in the backyard or in parks
- providing different textures – sand, grass, water
- playing with toys that have diverse parts, movements, shapes and sounds.