Helping Babies Build Brains

Help your baby develop his brain with these activities:

• Support and respect your baby’s unique personality.
• Hold, rock and touch your baby. Stroke your baby’s skin to increase brain activity.
• Respond to your baby’s likes and dislikes. You will be able to understand his body language long before he talks.
• Talk, read and sing to your baby. Language increases brain activity and learning.
• Label objects and actions for your baby (ball, walking, washing, etc.
• Keep the environment calm. Protect your baby from emotional stress. It’s hard for him to concentrate if there’s loud music and constant television noise.
• Help your baby safely explore using all five senses. Help him use taste, touch, smell, hearing and seeing. Talk to your baby and name the tastes and textures (sour, sweet, etc.).
• Avoid interrupting when your baby is concentrating. Your baby needs playtime to explore and imitate. This happens through play. Standback and watch. Try to understand what your baby is working on.

This content has been provided freely by CMC. Click Healthy Start, Grow Smart—Your-Eleven-Month-Old for your free download. Click GreatDad Free Ebook to download the entire Health Start, Grow Smart series.

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