Talking, reading and singing are all fun and easy ways to help your baby’s brain to grow.Ī safe, calm and loving home - When you are relaxed, your baby is more likely to feel calm too. This back and forth contact helps build healthy brain connections which help your child develop well.įun activities - Time spent playing gives your baby new experiences which ‘feed’ their brain! This is better than time spent watching TV and using tablets. Positive experiences - When a baby babbles, cries or smiles and you respond with eye contact, a smile, a song, words or a cuddle this helps build connections in the brain. They will learn that the world is safe, and will feel secure. Try to respond to your baby when they cry. Love and attention - When you respond to your baby in a loving and consistent way, you can help their brain connections to be made. You don’t need to do anything complicated or have expensive toys. Your child needs you to help their brain grow well. What does your baby’s brain need to develop well? When your child is angry or distressed they need you to help them calm down. Before the age of three a child’s rational brain is not well developed.

This part of the brain also helps your child control or calm feelings like anger. The higher brain helps your child to make decisions, for self awareness, empathy and imagination. The middle brain is responsible for emotions like fear, bonding, anger and joy.

The lower brain is used for the behaviours your child needs to stay alive like feeding, breathing and movement. From birth to age two your child will form 700 new connections per second!Īs these connections build your child will develop skills like holding a toy, crawling, taking a first step and saying their first words.Įach part of your child’s brain has a different job to do.

In your baby’s first years of life, connections develop at an extremely fast pace. It is your love, affection and closeness that help wire up the connections.

Each area of the brain has millions of brain cells, or neurons which are connected to each other by synapses.Īt birth your baby has 100 billion brain cells but few connections (synapses) between these cells. Your baby’s brain is made up of different areas that control everything they do from hearing and walking to problem-solving and how they feel. Play, love and care and responding to their cries and babbles will give your child the right kind of experiences to help their brain to grow well. During the first three years it will grow the most and by age three 90% of their brain will be developed. Your child’s brain begins to grow and develop before they are even born.

Brain neuron connections