Brain Development: How Parents can Make a Difference Research on brain development shows that young children's relationships with people have a vital influence on their brain development. Everyone who cares for young children -- parents, family, friends, teachers, and child care providers -- can make a difference.
Here are some guidelines that can help parents raise healthy, happy children. Be warm, loving, and responsive When children receive warm, responsive care, they are more likely to feel safe and secure with the adults who take care of them. Researchers call these strong relationships "secure attachments," and they are the basis of all the child's future relationships. We have always known that children thrive when they feel secure; now we know that children's early attachments actually affect the way their brains work and grow. Respond to your child's cues and clues Infants can't use words to communicate their moods, preferences, or needs, but they send many signals to the adults who care for them. Among the cues and clues they send are the sounds they make, the way they move, their facial expressions, and the way they make (or avoid) eye contact. Children become securely attached when parents and other caregivers try to read these signals and respond with sensitivity. They begin to trust that when they smile, someone will smile back; that when they are upset, someone will comfort them; and that when they are hungry, someone will feed them. Parents who pay close attention to their children's needs for stimulation as well as quiet times help them form secure attachments. Talk, read, and sing to your child Making up stories about daily events, singing songs about the people and places they know, describing what is happening during daily routines -- all of these conversations give your child a solid basis for later learning. It may seem that very young children can't take in what you're saying, but in important ways they do. Infants don't yet grasp the meaning of words, but it is through these early conversations that language capacity grows. When babies hear you say words over and over, the parts of the brain that handle speech and language develop. The more language they hear in these conversations, the more those parts of the brain will grow and develop. Talking, singing, and reading to your child is not only important for brain development, but is also a wonderful opportunity for closeness with your child. Establish routines and rituals One toddler knows it is nap time because his mom sings a song and closes the curtains, as she always does. Another toddler knows it is nearly time for her dad to pick her up because her child care provider gives her juice and crackers. Daily routines and rituals associated with pleasurable feelings are reassuring for children, as caregivers have long known. Repeated positive experiences, which form strong connections between neurons in the brain, provide children with a sense of security. They also help a child learn what to expect from his environment and how to understand the world around him. Children who have safe and predictable interactions with others have also been found to do better in school later on. Encourage safe exploration and play In the first months of life, the parents will be the child's whole world. Interactions between parent and child form the basis of all subsequent learning. As infants grow and are able to crawl and walk, they begin to explore the world beyond their caregivers. Parents should encourage this exploration, and be receptive when the child needs to return to them for security. Play is equally important as a learning experience. While many of us think of learning as simply acquiring facts, children actually learn through playing. Make TV watching selective Television by itself can't teach an infant language, and it can't teach him how to communicate. Studies show that children who learn best in school have families who limit the amount of time they spend in front of the TV and are selective about the kinds of shows they watch. Very young children are still learning about the difference between what is real and what is pretend. Some TV images strike them as delightful, but many other images can be confusing or even frightening. Be selective and involved in your children's TV habits. Don't use TV as a baby- sitter. Whenever possible, sit and watch programs together with your child, and talk about what you are viewing. Use discipline as an opportunity to teach As children grow, they become capable of even more exploration, discovery, and experimentation. In the process, they often experience more confusion and frustration. At times, their feelings can become very intense. As children explore their ever-expanding world, they need limits and consistent, loving adult supervision. Studies reveal that the way in which adults provide discipline -- which really means to teach -- is crucial to their children's later development. Recognize that each child is unique Children have different temperaments: One child is outgoing, while her brother is more bashful and slow to warm up. Children also grow at different rates. Their ideas and feelings about themselves reflect, in large measure, your attitude toward them. When children master the challenges of everyday life, they feel good about themselves, particularly when you acknowledge their accomplishments with specific praise: "You climbed those stairs all by yourself." When children receive concrete praise, they begin to see the connections between their actions and your responses. Parents who are sensitive to their particular child's cues and clues will have children with positive self-esteem. Choose quality child care and stay involved Research shows that high-quality child care and early education can boost children's learning and social skills when they enter school. But it is often difficult to decide which child care programs are good enough. To make a good choice, visit and observe how providers respond and interact with the babies and children in their care. Seek a provider who responds warmly and responsively to the baby's needs. Select someone who cares about children, is eager to learn about their development, and will give children individual attention and engage them in creative play and exploration. Find a setting that is clean and safe. Make sure that there are enough caregivers so that your child can get individualized attention. Carefully check the provider's references. After choosing your provider, stay involved. Studies show that the children who have the most success in school have families who stay involved in their care and education. Take Care of Yourself Parents need care, too. Taking care of children is the most important, most wonderful, and often the most challenging job in our society. Because you provide the primary environments for infants and young children, your health and welfare are extremely important. When you are exhausted, preoccupied, irritable, depressed, or overwhelmed, you will probably have a harder time meeting the needs of young children. When you feel overwhelmed, take care of yourself. Reach out and get some help. Family, friends, neighbors, pediatricians, child care providers, and others can assist you in fostering your child's healthy development and school readiness. When you do make a mistake, as all parents do, remember that you will have many opportunities to make up for it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Source: http://tinyurl.com/6pfa6 ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------- DUKUNG situs Balita-Anda.Com sebagai Situs Terbaik Wanita & Anak 2004-2005 versi Majalah Komputer Aktif, dengan ketik: POLL ST WAN 2 ke nomor 8811, selama 16 Okt sd. 30 Nov. 2004. Raih sebuah ponsel SonyEricsson K500i, dua buah ponsel Nokia 3100 dan 10 paket merchandise komputerakt!f bagi para peserta polling yang beruntung. Satu nomor ponsel hanya berhak memberikan satu suara dukungan untuk tiap kategorinya. 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