Boost your baby's brainpower

Your baby is influenced by what she sees, hears and experiences and by the way in which you interact with her, but she has to learn how to interpret the world around her – in short, she has to learn how to think. Her memory and the way she learns to understand certain key concepts play a vital role.

Your newborn’s brain

At birth, your baby’s brain is made up of 100 billion cells, but the connections between the cells are underdeveloped. This means that she’s capable of only the most basic biological functions, such as breathing and sucking.

How you can help

From day one your baby is constantly trying to make sense of her world and her early experiences are crucial. Stroke her cheeks, hug her, kiss her or tickle her – this stimulates her brain cells to connect, and eventually this will make her capable of more complex actions, such as planning, reasoning and problem solving.

Your baby’s memory

Your baby’s ability to register and retain information depends on her memory. In order to remember something, she has to notice it, understand it, store the information and then retrieve it when it is needed. There is evidence that a newborn baby’s capacity to remember is greater than previously thought. Your baby learns to recognize your voice while in the uterus – in a study, newborn babies were given teats to suck which were linked to headphones through which they could hear either their mother’s voice or the voice of a stranger. The babies sucked more when they could hear their mother’s voice – and kept up their speed to make sure it kept playing. You also may notice that your baby settles to music that you relaxed to while you were pregnant

How you can help

Repetition is important when it comes to helping stimulate your baby’s memory. Sing the same nursery rhymes to her over and over, recite the same stories, and keep her daily routine the same. This ‘library’ of past experiences helps her to make sense of the events that happen around her – a pointer for life. She will soon be able to remember that certain actions lead to a certain outcome and will associate key words with particular activities.

Learning about cause and effect

Your baby’s memory also helps her to work out that she can make things happen through intentional action. For example, very early on she will work out that you always pick her up and cuddle her when she cries. Studies have shown crying babies pausing briefly to see if their sounds are having the desired effect – that is, to bring you rushing to their aid – and then continuing to cry even louder if you don’t respond.

In one study, a soft ribbon was used to attach a mobile to the leg of babies aged around two weeks of age. The babies worked out that by jerking their legs they could make the mobile move. After a two-week time lapse the babies remembered exactly what they had to do to produce the same effect… and if the mobile was no longer attached to their legs, they seemed surprise when their actions failed to move it!

How you can help

Understanding of cause and effect is linked to your baby finding her hands. This is the means by which your baby discovers there is a world apart from her. Help her along by giving her a brightly colored wrist rattle, or lay her under a play gym with interesting objects for her to swipe at. These will help to reinforce the notion that an action (batting something with her hand) has an effect (it makes her toy swing or make a noise).

Problem solving

Your baby thrives on stimulation and has the ability to reason even though she is very young. She is selective, studying the things that are most interesting – patterned surfaces over plain; complicated patterns over simple ones; curved rather than straight lines. Research has shown that babies really do absorb what they see, and grow tired of it once the information has sunk in– in studies, babies who were shown a picture of three different objects over a period of time lost interest and looked away – but if they were then shown a picture of two objects, they showed renewed interest.

How you can help

Hold your newborn close so that she can gaze into your face, and poke out your tongue at her. Before long she will try to copy you. It sounds simple, but think again… your baby has worked out which parts of her face correspond to yours and has figured out how to make them move like yours did – even though she has never even seen her own face. She has studied what you did, absorbed the knowledge and learnt how to do it herself. So keep on giving your baby interesting things to look at. A mobile is ideal for a newborn; and as your baby gets older, give her stacking beakers or blocks, and things to put inside other things. You’ll see her studying them and trying to work out what to do with them… the decision-making process will be reflected in her facial expressions.

Object permanence

A young baby can’t remember people or objects when they are not there because she doesn’t yet understand that objects continue to exist when she can’t see them. The only world that exists for her is the one that she can see at that moment. At four months, she may drop a toy from her stroller but she won’t look for it. However, it won’t be long before she begins to comprehend that things can still exist even if they are out of view. This is vital for her understanding of how the physical world behaves and for her feelings of security – she needs to know that you haven’t ceased to exist simply because you have left the room.

How you can help

When your baby drops that toy from her stroller, point to it and show her that it is still there – soon she will look for it herself. Play hide and seek  – disappear from view and then pop out and surprise her. Try placing a cloth over her favorite toy… at first she will simply think it has gone but if you pull back the cloth to reveal that it is still there, the message will sink in.

Predicting what comes next

Your baby’s crying is just one example of her ability to work out that a certain action has a certain result. Experiments have underlined her early ability to predict and anticipate actions – in one study, babies under a week old were shown a glove puppet which popped up in front of them in a different direction each time. Scientists were able to track how the babies’ eyes shifted from left to right as they tried to anticipate where the puppet would appear next.

How you can help

Play tickling games so that your baby can learn to anticipate the enjoyment to come. Use key words to help her predict actions – for example, as she becomes more aware she’ll look towards the door when you say the word ‘out’ – she will be able to predict the action that follows that word.

Toys and games to help your baby think

• Making faces This stimulates your baby’s inbuilt urge to mimic you – she will have to figure out how to copy the face you are making.
• Roll a ball towards her as she sits propped up by cushions – she will soon work out that she can use her hands to roll the ball back, reinforcing her understanding of cause and effect.
• Play action games such as Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, Clap Hands, or Round and Round the Garden – she will learn that she can join in with you and anticipate the tickle or cuddle at the end.
• Pop-up toys from different directions – watch as she tries to work out where the toy will appear next.
• Toys that squeak or which have buttons to press to play a sound or activate a light will reinforce cause and effect.
  

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.