Healthy brain development means your child will be more likely to:
- Have good health
- Do well in school
- Understand right and wrong
- Have good self-control over their behaviour and emotions
Building Healthy Brains to Build a Healthy Future
Give your child the building blocks to be the best they can be. When you respond to your baby in a consistent and positive way, you help your baby's brain develop.
- Create a healthy environment where your baby feels loved and safe to explore their surroundings.
- Play with your baby and your baby's brain will respond to what is going on around him.
- Talk, read, sing to your baby regularly.
- Tell your baby you love them.
- Respond to your baby's cries, smiles, and babbling.
- Breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months.
- Once baby is 6 months old, continue to breastfeed and begin to introduce solids. Provide healthy nutritious foods for a healthy mind and a healthy body.
- Always respond in a caring, sensitive way when your baby is upset, scared, hurt or ill.
- Encourage your child to talk about their feelings
- Create a stimulating environment to help develop their senses
- Help them identify new smells (i.e. flowers, food cooking)
- Offer a variety of foods to stimulate their taste buds
- Play music and identify new sounds
- If you are feeling overwhelmed or stress, talk to a health care provider. Taking care of yourself helps you to care for your baby.
Date of creation: December 9, 2014
Last modified on: January 11, 2016
Last modified on: January 11, 2016
Health Connection
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- Monday - Friday
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Supportive and Stable Relationship with Caregiver
