Maximize your child's brain potential!
- Colic Guru
- May 19, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 10, 2023
Head Start - The unfair advantage for your child.
Let's be honest. we all want a smart child. the intelligent one who talks early. picks up on numbers and shapes and colors before the 'others'. Generally the 'clever' baby in the group.
By providing your child with a head start and maximize your child's brain potential, you can!
While a novel could easily be written on the subject, I'm sure you're short for time. So I've rounded up 20 of the most crucial exercises, activities and habits, as recommended by leading child psychologists and researchers, you can adopt to give them an intellectual boost from a young age.
Grab a cup of tea, kick back for a few minutes. this short read may just be the best investment you can make for your baby!
Nature and nurture
Although there are many factors that influence intelligence, the big three are genetics, nutrition and the quality of their nurturing. Babies learn best by being allowed to explore and experience their surroundings and by setting their own agenda. Intelligence is the ability to reason and solve problems, think abstractly and learn from experiences. play is actually your baby’s work time!
1. Breastfeed for as long as you can
Most studies agree that breast-feeding has many advantages, including the possibility of slightly higher IQ scores. The consensus seems to be that it is best to breastfeed or at least provide whole milk to your child for 12 to 24 months, when 75% of the child’s brain development will be complete. It is also generally agreed that the longer babies breastfeed during the first year, the higher their IQ tends to be.
Still, if you choose formula, don't fret. Studies have found that the ultimate IQ difference is just a few points, on average. if you're using formula, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an iron-fortified one for your baby's first year.
2. Consume foods rich in fatty acids
3. Proprioception in the early months
4. Reading and talking
5. Teaching hand eye coordination
How to maximize your child's brain potential with the 5 senses
Some senses (such as smell and taste) are at their most powerful at birth, and hearing fully matures at 1 month, while sight develops gradually over the first year. Variety is the key to enhancing the senses and so boosting intelligence.
6. Touch
During the first few months of life, babies are busy absorbing sights, sounds and more through their five senses - and learning at a furious rate. Every little bit of a newborn baby is like a sponge! By four months, your baby can reach out and begin actively touching whatever's nearby - blankets, toys, your face.
You should let them feel as many different textures as you can - silk, leather, different cloths, a cool window, a smooth plant leaf, and other safe objects, labeling items as you go. And when they're ready, serve foods that vary in texture – and let them play with them where you can!
7. Smell
8. Sight
9. Sound
10. Taste
Exercises and habits
The more balanced in terms of physical and mind activity with solid rest, the better. Little brains absorb and process a ton of new information a day, boosting their intellectual capacity. These are fantastic exercises, habits and tips to help them do that!
11. Establish good night time sleep
According to the academy of sleep medicine, good night time sleep vs. daytime naps may speed an infant’s brain development and increase executive functioning, which enables skills like attentiveness, self-discipline and memorization.
Although this is common sense, many parents struggle to get their babies into a good sleeping routine. Studies show that the three-step bedtime routine of a warm bath, massage and quiet activity, such as a story or lullaby, improves children’s sleep.
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