Have you ever wondered what is going on in your baby’s brain? The answer is a lot! Babies are born with billions of neurons and all those neurons are bumping around in their brain looking for connections.1 And as these neurons form connections, or synapses, your baby is learning new skills like smiling, reaching, cooing, babbling, chewing, and talking (to name a few).
Use It or Lose It
Between birth and three years of age, your baby’s brain is developing one million neural connections per second.2 However, after about three years of age, brain connections slowly reduce through a process called synaptic pruning where connections that are used strengthen, and connections that are not used are lost. Synaptic pruning helps your child’s brain connections become more efficient and effective in their environment3 (which in part explains why a child exposed to two languages from birth will find it easier to learn both languages compared to someone who is not exposed to a second language until later in life).
What Does this Mean for My Child ?
For all children, this means that early experiences (along with genetics) play a key role in future outcomes. Baby’s brains are the most flexible and primed to learn during the early years with sensory pathways such as hearing, language and higher cognitive function peaking by the first three years of life.2 As a parent, you play a key role in your child’s early brain development through the experiences that they have with you and their environment.
How Can I Support My Baby’s Feeding and Communication Development?
Early, repeated enjoyable back-and-forth interactions (also known as reciprocal serve and return interactions) are essential to building strong neural connections.3 Serve and return interactions occur when your baby (or you) does something (‘serve’) and the other person does something back (‘return’). It can be as simple as you smiling at your baby when they vocalize or picking them up when they cry. As you baby develops, serve and return interactions may involve rolling a ball back and forth, playing peek-a-boo, or your child holding up their foot so you can put on their sock.
In addition to serve and return interactions, there are many other things you can do with your baby and young child to support their feeding and communication development including:
- Respond to your baby’s feeding cues and keep feeding times relaxed with an emphasis on bonding with your baby in addition to providing nourishment.
- As your baby starts to wean, encourage them to actively explore their foods with their hands. Continue to focus on enjoying time together with food and keeping meal times pressure free.
- Read books together while looking at and talking about the pictures.
- Sing songs with your baby and toddler, including songs with gestures so your child can hear the words and watch your hand movements.
- Talk with your baby and young child throughout the day about what you are doing together.
- Play and interact face-to-face whenever possible so your child can see your eyes and mouth when you are talking to them.
- Provide your baby and toddler with a range of sensory experiences including baby teethers, rattles and toys that make different types of noises, and textured toys to explore.
- Ensure your baby has many opportunities to practice tummy time and moving on the floor (this helps strengthen your baby’s core muscles which are essential for coordinating respiration with eating and speaking).
- Limit screen time to video calls with friends and family (babies and young children learn best from in-person, face-to-face interactions with you and other important people in their life).
If you have concerns for your baby or toddler’s development, seek advice immediately. I frequently am asked by parents how old their child needs to be before starting services with South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy; my answer is always the same, ‘if your child is struggling with communication or feeding, they are ready to start speech, language or feeding therapy’ (usually using a parent coaching model). Early intervention is key and can make a huge difference in the rapidly developing brain of a young child; so, the earlier the better!
If you would like more information about baby and young children’s communication development or feeding, please get in touch. Follow us on Facebook for speech, language and feeding tips, and sign up for South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy’s newsletter if you would like new posts sent directly to your inbox.