SMILE AT YOUR BABY!!  
A parent’s smile triggers the release of hormones that stimulate connections and
the growth of new tissue in a baby’s brain.  Positive expressions foster feelings of
joy, calm, warmth and well-being.  Smiles also help children feel loveable and
recognize their ability to bring joy to others.  Warm, emotionally sensitive
interactions have been shown to foster confidence, curiosity, self-control,
relatedness and cooperation.  These characteristics are recognized as being more
important to school readiness than knowledge of numbers and letters.

SAY YES!!
Hearing “yes” and other positive expressions activate circuits in your child’s brain
that lead to greater curiosity, empathy, compassion and resilience. Encouraging
comments stimulate cognitive functions including problem solving, planning and
memory.  Affirmative words also engage the part of the brain that encourages
children to connect with others and to explore.  Positive comments increase
children’s ability to handle challenges and feelings of having a sense of control
over their lives.  

HOLD YOUR BABY!
Close physical contact is one of the most effective ways to help babies feel calm
and secure and to experience the world as warm and welcoming.  Being held
releases hormones that help babies feel good about themselves and develop a
positive outlook throughout life. 

PLAY WITH YOUR BABY!
Active play stimulates your baby’s higher brain development impacting cognitive
functions including concentration and attention, as well as social intelligence.
Physical interactive play also helps babies better manage their emotions and
stress.  When we follow children’s leads in play, the benefits are far reaching.

ANSWERING THE CRY
One of our biggest myths and one that is dominated by most of our parenting is
that we will spoil babies if we pick them up or soothe them while they are crying.
Science explains that warm, soothing interactions wire a baby’s brain and triggers
the release of happy hormones such as serotonin and oxytocin as well as opioids
all of which give babies feelings of well-being and wire them for positive emotions
throughout their lives. When we don’t soothe babies, cortisol and other stress
hormones continue to be released into their system making it difficult for them to
manage stress as they grow. 

SPECIAL NOTE: CALLING DR. SPOCK:

For years, Dr Spock told us not to pick up babies…. How we respond to babies’ cries matters!!
There has been a great deal of controversy through the years about whether or
not we should comfort or pick up babies when they are crying. 
If we look at soothing babies from the lens of neuroscience, the guidance would
be that it is important to soothe babies when they are in distress. If we leave
babies to cry and do not comfort them, cortisol and other stress hormones can be
released into their system.

APOLOGIZE!!
Arguing can be stressful for both parents and children. Research shows that
arguments can result in an increase in a child’s cortisol level which can be
damaging to his or her brain cells. When we apologize, we can curb this negative
effect and teach children that it is okay to make mistakes and that we can amend them.

MAKE EYE CONTACT!!
Eye-to-eye contact triggers neural pathways that prepare babies for
communication, helps them to read others’ cues and respond sensitively, and
begin to better understand the world. Looking into your baby’s eyes connects the
right and left sides of her brain. When the two hemispheres are connected,
babies can better understand, manage and express their feelings.  

RETHINKING BABY BOYS!!
Baby boys have been found to be more sensitive than baby girls. The emotional
side of boys’ brains mature at a slower rate than girls’.  Newborn boys have less
stress-regulating hormones which leaves them more vulnerable to emotional,
environmental and physical stressors than girls. Baby boys also experience greater
frustration and stronger reactions to stress between the period from 6 months to
1 year of age. Baby boys can benefit from extra nurturing and soothing.