Love Your Baby

Children need love. Your emotional caring and support give your child a secure base from which to explore the world. This isn't just touchy-feely advice. Hard scientific evidence shows that love, attention, and affection in the first years of life have a direct and measurable impact on a child's physical, mental, and emotional growth.

 

Love and touch actually cause your child's brain to grow, according to Marian Diamond, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child's Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions From Birth Through Adolescence.

 

How do you show your love? Hug, touch, smile, encourage, listen to, and play with your little one whenever you can. It's also important to answer her cries immediately, especially in the first six months or so, when experts say it's impossible to spoil a child.

 

In fact, responding to your baby when she's upset (as well as when she's happy) helps you build trust and a strong emotional bond, according toZero to Three, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of infants, toddlers, and families.

 

Bonding and Soothing Techniques

Your new born baby is an entirely new person and it might take a little time to bond with her/him as you have to get to know him/her just like they have to get to know you.  

 

Bonding, probably one of the most pleasurable aspects of infant care, occurs during the sensitive time in the first hours and days after birth when parents make a deep connection with their infant. Physical closeness can promote an emotional connection.

 

For infants, the attachment contributes to their emotional growth, which also affects their development in other areas, such as physical growth. Another way to think of bonding is "falling in love" with your baby. Children thrive from having a parent or other adult in their life who loves them unconditionally.

 

A true parent-child bond is a byproduct of everyday caregiving and while there is no magic formula for bonding there are a few things that parents can try to get the process started.  

 

• Begin bonding by cradling your baby and gently stroking him or her in different patterns. Both you and your partner can also take the opportunity to be "skin-to-skin," holding your newborn against your own skin while feeding or cradling. Human touch is soothing for both you and your baby.

 

• Babies, especially premature babies and those with medical problems, may respond to infant massage. Certain types of massage may enhance bonding and help with infant growth and development.  Be careful, however — babies are not as strong as adults, so massage your baby gently.

 

• Babies usually love vocal sounds.  Look into your baby's eyes and talk and sing to her regularly.  Your baby will probably also love listening to music. Baby rattles and musical mobiles are other good ways to stimulate your infant's hearing.

 

• If your little one is being fussy, try singing, reciting poetry and nursery rhymes, or reading aloud as you sway or rock your baby gently in a chair.

Some babies can be unusually sensitive to touch, light, or sound, and might startle and cry easily, sleep less than expected, or turn their faces away when someone speaks or sings to them. If that's the case with your baby, keep noise and light levels low to moderate.

 

Baby Basic needs

Your baby needs good health and energy so he can learn and grow, and you can help by covering his basic needs. Take him for regular well-babycheckups and keep his immunizations up to date.  This is very important.

 

Allow your baby to get as much sleep as possible.  During REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, your baby's brain cells are making important connections. These synapses, as they're called, are the pathways that enable all learning, movement, and thought. They're the keys to your baby's understanding of everything he sees, hears, tastes, touches, and smells as he explores the world.

 

Tend to your baby's physical comfort promptly. Be sensitive to whether he's too warm or if his diaper is wet.  Always keep baby comfortable..

 

Talk to your Baby

Research shows that children whose parents speak to them extensively as babies develop more advanced language skills than children who don't receive much verbal stimulation. You can even begin during your pregnancy – it is also a great way to start the bonding process.

 

Once your child is born, talk to him/her as you diaper, feed, and bathe her.  She'll respond better if she knows the words are directed at her, so try to look at her while you're speaking. 

 

Parents naturally use baby talk, speaking in simplified sentences and phrases with a high-pitched voice. This actually helps young babies learn language, but as your baby gets older it's important to wean yourself off baby talk so your child can develop good language skills.

 

Read To Your Baby

Reading out loud is one of the most important things you can do to help build your child's vocabulary, stimulate his imagination, and improve his language skills. It also gives you an opportunity to cuddle and socialise.

 

Jim Trelease, a reading expert and author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, says even newborns enjoy listening to a story. Make a point of reading to your child from day one.

 

Stimulate all his senses

For your child to learn about people, places, and things, she needs to be exposed to them. Every new interaction gives her information about the world and her place in it. Studies show that children who grow up in an enriched environment – where they are presented with new experiences that engage their senses – have larger, more active brains than those who grow up without adequate sensory stimulation.

 

Of course, children can become overstimulated – you don't want to bombard your child 24 hours a day or try to engage all her senses at once.  And it's important to note that doctors recommend no TV or screen time for children under 2.

 

When your child is interested in playing, though, provide a variety of toys and other objects. Choose things with different shapes, textures, colours, sounds, and weights.

 

Learn about the effect of music on your child's development at different ages, and sing the lyrics to your favorite lullabies. Play interactive games such as peekaboo and patty-cake, go on walks and shopping trips together, and let your baby meet new people. Even the simplest daily activities will stimulate your baby's brain development.

 

It's also essential to give your child room to roam. To develop strong muscles, good balance, and coordination, she needs plenty of space to crawl, cruise, and eventually walk. She'll also benefit from safe spaces where she can explore her surroundings without constantly hearing "No" or "Don't touch."

 

The easiest way to do this is to childproof your home (or at least the common areas). Keep dangerous or valuable objects out of your baby's reach and safe ones accessible.  

 

Encourage new challenges

It's important not to frustrate your child with toys and activities that are way beyond his abilities, but a little struggling goes a long way toward learning new skills.

 

When an activity doesn't come easily to your baby, he has to figure out a new way to accomplish the task. That type of problem solving is the stuff better brains are made of. If he's attempting to open a box, for example, resist the urge to do it for him. Let him try first. If he continues to struggle, show him how it's done, but then give him back a closed box so he can try again on his own.