From the moment they’re born, we strive to witness their every move. Each smirk, crawl, step, giggle, and discovery is important. It’s almost like we’re living vicariously in a way through our newborn children. Every nuance they enjoy, we want to share with them. And more importantly, we want to make certain they can’t get hurt. It’s no mystery how fragile they are at such a young age. But how can we truly monitor they’re every move at all times? Hmm, well in this day and age, this is feasible. Contemporary baby cameras can help you keep an eye on your little one as much as you please. It’s amazing what technology offers.
Surely you’ve seen old-school baby monitors. The ones back in the day worked with an audio system. You could place a monitor in your child’s room or mount one on his/her crib, and proceed to monitor the child with a receiving device. It was a cool and helpful product to have at the time. Fortunately now days it’s gone a step further with the advanced baby cameras. Not only can you hear your little one, but you can see them as well. Now this is ideal.
Modern baby cameras are perfect for any household. You can mount them near the crib or in a specific room and keep an eye on your infant or toddler at all times. This is highly recommended now days. It’s even a synch to watch them as they sleep and take naps. Maybe there is a concern at some point, but you’ll catch it with the help of baby cameras.
Probably one of the largest reasons for the success of baby cameras concerns nannies and babysitters. Parents across the nation are taking full advantage of baby cameras and placing them around their homes so that they know what exactly goes on when they’re away. More than once, a sitter has abused a child of infant. However, this is not as common now due to baby cameras and monitoring systems. Parents can view the tapes or live feed while their child is being watched. This leaves little space for error. Personally I love the concept of the baby camera and nanny-cam. I could never leave my child in the care of a sitter without some sort of peace-of-mind. Luckily technology has given me this.
The first years of life lay the neurological foundation for intellectual growth into adolescence and adulthood. This time represents a unique window of opportunity for learning. From the moment of conception, the neurons (nerve cells) of the brain multiply faster than any other cells in a baby’s body. The rapid pace of brain development continues into early childhood: at birth, the brain weighs 25 percent of its adult weight; by age one, 50 percent; by age two, 75 percent; and by age three, 90 percent.
The brain has approximately 200 billion neurons. A long-held theory that no new neurons can be created in adulthood was recently overturned – although some scientists dispute the new findings. In any case, the prenatal period is when the vast majority of the brain’s neurons are created.
Each of the brain’s neurons is connected to roughly 5,000 others. In general, the more dendrites (branches between neurons) and synapses (connections between neurons) the brain has, the greater its processing power. More pathways mean information can travel in a number of ways, opening the door to faster and more complex thinking.
This is true in the adult, but not in the infant. Your baby’s brain actually has more neurons and synapses than yours – but only because it hasn’t passed an important developmental stage, known as pruning, in which the brain deletes unneeded neural connections in the interests of organization and efficiency.
What can I do during pregnancy?
Your baby’s sense of hearing finishes developing 20 weeks into pregnancy. So this is the time to begin providing auditory stimulation. At around 28 weeks, you and your partner should be able to feel your baby’s movements through Mom’s tummy. This is the time to begin tactile stimulation. You can also try visual stimulation starting from around 28 weeks.
Auditory Stimulation
*Use Baby Plus if you can afford it.
*Play relaxing music – classical, jazz, chill-out and songs designed for meditation or yoga are all suitable. Avoid hard rock and music with a lot of dissonant chords.
*Read, talk and sing to your baby as often as possible (Dad as well as Mom).
Tactile Stimulation
*Massage your baby through Mom’s belly.
*Respond to your baby’s kicks by pressing back gently.
Visual Stimulation
*Try shining a flashlight at your belly, once in a while, to see if it gets a reaction.
Optimize Your Mood
*Mom, try to be as calm and happy as possible. Your mood has a direct effect on the chemicals secreted into your bloodstream. Too much cortisol (the stress hormone) is bad for your baby’s developing nervous system.
*Plan some fun, relaxing couple time – a gentle hike or trip to the beach; a meal at your favorite restaurant or a hotel stay. If you can, go on a babymoon during the second trimester, when moms tend to have the most energy.
Optimize Your Diet
*Eat a healthy, balanced and varied diet.
*Don’t take over-the-counter or prescription drugs without your obstetrician’s approval.
*Don’t drink alcohol, or keep it to one small measure of wine or beer on very special occasions.
*Don’t smoke or take recreational drugs.
*Take folic acid (starting from one month before conception) and DHA supplements.
Madeleine is the Managing Editor @ Brillbaby.com
Got a question or concern? Email the Editor, who is currently teaching her own baby and blogging about it.
What do you get someone who is new to parenthood or expecting? There are many different baby products and baby stuff you can get for gifts. Don’t feel obligated to get expensive cribs and diaper changing tables. Instead, you can get other baby essentials to help out the new parents without breaking the bank.
Baby Odds & Ends
Every new parent needs baby knick knacks to make their lives easier. Burp cloths are great for catching that extra gunk. (You can never have too many burp cloths.) Pacifiers are perfect for when the baby is teething or crying. For the parent on the go, you can give them baby carriers, which are great for multitasking. They can take care of the baby and doing household work at the same time. Look for these odds and ends that in fun colors to brighten up the babies and parents’ lives.
Baby Safety
Some parents may overlook purchasing baby safety equipment, which is very important to have. Monitors are crucial for those late night feedings and checking on the baby. Gates and outlet covers should be placed all over the parent’s home, so they can prevent wondering toddlers from getting into trouble. When a baby travels to his/her grandparents or other relatives’ homes, the parents should bring extra gates and outlet covers with them. It’s okay to get a few extra safety supplies. There are many cases of toddlers falling down the steps, getting into toxic household supplies, or electrocuting themselves. Don’t underestimate how many safety items the parents need.
Baby Toys
When there is a baby around, toys are necessities to keep the little one occupied. Swings and bouncers help babies’ legs become stronger for walking. An activity center or playmats are great for babies to learn coordination skills. You can even give stuff animals because babies love them, and can’t have too many. Look for toys are age appropriate for the baby, so you wouldn’t buy him/her something too young or too old.
Baby Entertainment
CDs, DVDs, and books are great tools for baby’s to learn their languages. Look for items that are colorful with catchy tunes or stories, so babies could listen and watch them repeatedly.
Baby Clothing
Babies are always outgrowing their clothes. New parents are constantly buying new clothes to keep up with their every growing baby. When shopping for baby clothes, look for masculine colors such as blue, green, or yellow for boys and feminine colors such as soft pinks and purples. You want to consider the season before choosing the size for the baby. For example if the baby is 6 months and it’s the beginning of winter, you don’t want to buy an outfit for the summer that will fit a 6 month old. Otherwise, the baby will already have outgrown it. Instead, you would buy an outfit that will fit a 10-13 month old.
Baby Center has a variety of gifts for your baby or for someone else’s such as baby clothing, baby entertainment, baby toys, baby safety, and baby odds & ends. If you are looking for products to help you or someone get through their pregnancy or products for a toddler or school age kids, Baby Center has those too. Baby Center has a variety of stuff from conception to school age kids. Save money with Baby Center coupons and Baby Center coupon codes by visiting the link below.
Baby center has the products that you need from conception to school age kids. Don’t forget to save money with Baby Center coupons and Baby Center coupon codes.
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Here are six key concepts which can make a substantial impact on how you interact with your child from the earliest moments of life.
Concept #1. Start Early
The infant brain develops rapidly from the earliest moments of life. Learning can and does begin as early as prenatal-while the child is still in the womb.
- If you are pregnant, then start talking to your baby and play classical music and foreign languages for him.
Concept #2. Make Connections
Brain circuitry develops and grows through connecting cells with information links. The more information links, the more learning capacity.
During the first three years, the creative, highly photographic, sensitive brain is wide open to impressions of all kinds. The brain quickly scans, catalogs and links all new information to the stored images where an association can be found. Connections (synapses) are formed at supersonic speed supplying and further fortifying wonder and curiosity in the mind of a child.
- Teach your child through as many senses as possible using flashcards, classical music, world languages, sensorial toys and games.
Concept #3. Use Quality Stimulation Now (Flashcards, Music and Languages)
The rate of brain regeneration and growth decreases after an infant has reached about 12 months of age. Any cells that are not used will gradually, naturally die off. Overall neurological capacity is determined at a very early stage in life.
University of Chicago neurobiologist Peter Huttenlocher discovered critical information about brain growth. His research showed just how fast the early brain grows. A 28-week-old fetal brain tissue sample showed 124 million brain connections. A newborn brain tissue had 253 million connections, and an eight-month-old infant had 572 million.
”But the growth of the number of connections, Huttenlocher soon learned, slowed down by the end of the first year and stabilized at about 354 million per tissue sample. He says, ‘It was strange… The number of connections kept going up and up and then they started to go down.’
”His research proved that the fetal brain overproduces cells and that unless they find a connection or a ‘job’ to do in the body, they die off. He says that under stimulation and lack of interaction with the outside world causes the cell death. The future number of brain cells could vary by as much as 25% depending on the quality and quantity of enrichment offered to the learner.”
- Maximize the precious first three to six years of your child’s life with a high-quality educational program and loving bonding time.
Concept #4. Teach Both Brains
The brain is divided laterally into two hemispheres-and although they are designed to work together, each has a vastly unique personality and abilities.
Drs. Robert Ornstein and Roger Sperry’s “split-brain” research revealed that we have two distinctly different brains: the right and the left. The left side of the brain processes linear, concrete factual information and is key in language and logic. The right side of the brain processes random, creative, intuitive, multi-sensorial images.
Each side of the brain exhibits certain characteristics:
Left Brain Characteristics Right Brain Characteristics
Conscious awareness Subconscious awareness
Logical thought Abstract thought
Short term memory Long term memory
Slow input Fast input
Linear, sequential, reason Creative, imaginative
Relies on physical senses Relies on intuition
sight, sound, taste, touch, smell resonance with frequencies
Subsequent studies have revealed that each hemisphere contains some of the abilities of the “other side.” Modern education addresses left-brain development. Now we know that when the right hemisphere is developed, the entire brain is activated and all areas of mental performance improve.
-Your child needs to effectively utilize and involve both hemispheres in learning with fast, playful input (right brain) and logic (left brain).
Concept #5. : Maximize the Right Brain Window
The outer cortex of the brain develops from right to left, providing a window of time where an infant is primarily functioning with the right hemisphere.
The brain, like every other organ in the human body, develops and grows at an astounding rate from the moment of conception. The brain develops up from the stem to midbrain to the outer cortex, or cerebrum. As the neocortex develops, the midbrain links to the right hemisphere first and does not begin to link to left brain conscious thought until the child is about age two. This period of development is what we refer to as the “Right Brain Window”-there is no left brain interference or filter of incoming information. This means that the right brain is WIDE OPEN for learning input.
After age three, children begin to actively shift to the logical left hemisphere of the brain. At this point, if the right hemisphere is left unchallenged or unused-or if a child is in a predominately left-brain learning environment-then the left hemisphere will dominate.
- Give your child as many flashcards and other types of high-quality input as possible during the 0-3 year period. Afterwards, keep the right brain open with playful right brain games.
Concept #6. : Be Happy!
The brain is sensitive to subtle frequencies: light waves, sound, thought and emotion.
The left brain works with tangible facts taken in through the outer senses-sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. The right brain recognizes the subtle wave frequencies of light, sound, thought, emotion and magnetism that is not always apparent to the outer senses. The abilities of the right brain are fully explainable when understood within the context of frequency. Light, sound, emotion and thought all travel in waves. These frequencies are utilized in right brain education.
- Teach to all of your child’s senses, including through emotion and thought. Learn how to center your emotional states to reflect peace, calm and love toward the children in your care.
Right Brain education potentially unlock your child potential to have photographic memory, speed reading, multiple language acquisition, computer like math calculation, perfect pitch music, intuition, creativity, invention and advance 3D visualization. Every child born with genius
