As a mother feeds her child, she gazes lovingly into
his eyes. A father talks gently to his newborn daughter
as he changes her diaper. A caregiver sings a child
to sleep.
These everyday moments, these simple, loving encounters,
provide essential nourishment. Just as their bodies
need food to grow, science now tells us that the positive
emotional, physical and intellectual experiences that
a baby has in the earliest years are equally necessary
for the growth of a healthy brain.
The brain is the part of the body that allows us
to feel joy or despair, to respond to others in a
loving or angry way, to use reason or simply to react.
These capabilities don't just magically appear - they
result from the interplay between a child's heredity
and the experiences he or she has during childhood.
Research in brain development and school readiness
suggests the following ten guidelines that can help
parents and other caregivers raise healthy, happy
children and confident, competent learners:
- Be warm, loving and responsive
- Respond to the child's cues and clues
- Talk, read and sing to your child
- Establish routines and rituals
- Encourage safe exploration and play
- Make TV watching selective
- Use discipline as an opportunity to teach
- Recognize that each child is unique
- Choose quality child care and stay involved
- Take care of yourself.
Source: Convention on the Rights of the Child,
United Nations.
