Stimulating Your Baby’s Brain with STEM toys

Your baby needs mental stimulation. You’ve heard about this even before your kid was born. And you’re probably one of those who made their baby listen to classical music even before she was born because according to studies this helps stimulate a baby’s mind.

But your baby’s mind cannot be stimulated by only making her listen to classical music. There are a variety of practical ways you can do to ensure that she is adequately engaged and well nourished.

• Communicate with your baby. Sure she is not yet fully equipped with the necessary vocabulary to enable her to respond to you in a full sentence, but that does not mean that talking to her goes in vain. Talk to her while you clothe her, while bathing her or feeding her. This encourages interaction, and soon enough she will respond with a giggle, a coo or some syllables.

• Have her engage in activities that are mentally stimulating. Allow your baby to explore by taking her around the house, a stroll at the park or simply let her play with safe household items like plastic cups or bottles. Just be sure that she doesn’t play around with hazardous objects or put anything in her mouth.

• Give her mind-stimulating toys like building blocks, shape sorters and push and pull toys that will invite her to use her creativity, imagination, logical thinking and teach her a variety of lessons like spatial awareness and cause and effect.

• Encourage socialization and interaction. Introduce your baby to other kids and neighbors. Teach her how to conversate by planning a puppet show with her teddy bears or making her play with toy cell phones and have her imitate you when you talk to a person on the phone.

• Give constant signs of love and affection through hugs and kisses to make your kid feel loved and cared for, to assure her that she is safe and secure which is also a contributing factor to the development of self confidence.

• Read books to your baby. This is important as it widens your baby’s language capacity and introduces her to different concepts.

• Avoid subjecting your kid to stress. Don’t overstimulate her by bringing her to noisy, overcrowded places. Also, avoid having verbal arguments in front of your child because this may cause psychological trauma and will be detrimental to her overall development.

• Of course, it is of utmost importance that you give her the proper nutritional diet suitable for a baby. If she’s already started on solids, make sure you give her adequate nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are needed for her brain to thrive and develop properly.

Your baby’s brain development is one of the most important aspects of her overall development as an individual. As a parent, it is your duty to provide a safe environment where she can freely explore with her mind and senses and learn about the world around her.