2017 Mid-Year Report

Guest Submission:
EARLY LEARNING & BRAIN SCIENCE
From the first minutes of life, babies
are always learning. You as their
parent are your child’s first and best
teacher. But not many people have
been taught how to be a good parent
and teacher. When we as parents
and caregivers better understand
the “brain science” of how babies
learn, we can help them be the best
they can be in life. Good quality early
learning builds the foundation for
success in life.
There has been a lot of research on
how babies brains grow. Brains grow over time starting
from simple connections and skills followed by
more complex circuits and skills. In the first few years
of life, many connections between the brain cells are
occurring—as many as 1 million new connections
form every second! To help those connections stay
strong, babies need responsive relationships and
positive environments.
Responsive relationships mean two way interactions—you
do something to get your baby to respond
to you or the baby does something to get a response
from you. For example, when you smile at your baby,
you want them to smile back. And when they smile at
you, they want you to smile back at them. Talk to your
baby about the things you see around you when you
take a walk or go to the grocery store. They are listening
and may move their arms or make noises in response
to your voice. During the day when your baby
makes noises or waves their arms, they are asking for
you to respond to them—mimic their movements or
laugh and talk to them. Read to your baby every day
for at least 10 minutes—they are learning new words
and they love the sound of your voice. If you have
older children in your house, have them read to your
Sue Kreinen
Early Learning Advocate
baby too. Your baby is learning every
minute so even in your routine daily
tasks, talk to your baby and show
them what you are doing.
Positive environments are safe,
stable, and caring. You are doing
everything to protect your baby
from getting hurt physically—you
use car seats and baby gates and
watch for what they are trying to
put in their mouths. Protect their
emotional well-being as well. Loud
noises and rough handling scare
babies so they need to be handled with care and
love. Sometimes, we all get overwhelmed and upset.
Your baby can feel that you are unhappy, so
give yourself a break and have someone take care
of your baby while you take some time for yourself.
The positive environment you create by taking care
of yourself as well as your baby will help all of you
enjoy being a family.
There are a number of resources available for you
to better understand how to be the best parent and
teacher for your children. A great source is your
local library. You can get a free subscription to Parenting
the First, Second and Third Year newsletter.
It comes in the mail every month and is great for
sharing with baby sitters, child care providers and
grandparents. Subscribe on line at www.brigidcollins.org.
It is available in Spanish. There is a Smart-
Phone app called Daily Vroom that gives you daily
activities and information about your baby/child.
Most of all remember your baby and children are
always learning so be the best parent and teacher
that you can be to help them achieve their full
quality of life.
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