Playing correctly with your baby, in the first three years of life,  can have a profound influence on the kind of child and adult he or she becomes.

   When a baby is born, the brain cells begin making trillions of connections with each other as it starts to experience its environment.  Human brains have a set number of neurons, or brain cells, but nobody really knows how many connections, called synapses, a brain can make, given the proper environment.  Science does know, however, that the synapses are where a baby' brain stores information.  the more connections that are made and retained at critical times in the first three years of life, the greater opportunity for an emotionally, socially and intellectually successful baby.

   Of course, genetics play a part in how babies turn out.  But more and more evidence suggests it's the balance between genetics and environment: nature and nurture that determines what kind of people we become.

   What can parents and others do to help a baby's brain make those all-important connections at critical times? 

Excerpts from A Primer for Developing Baby's Brain by Barbara Burch -      Scripps Howard News Service

   The Basics of Baby Interaction:

• Touch is extremely important

• A baby has a unique personality

• Babies cry when they are hungry, in pain or lonely

• Teach by playing

• Babies like routines and repetitions

• Spend time talking and reading to your baby

  Being a Playful Parent:

      Remember these tips.

•  Share floor time playing games he/she wants at his/her level.

•  Play dress-up, but let your child be the director.

•  Take time in the morning to play.  Just 10 minutes will provide an outlet for energy.

•  Set aside time each week to play enthusiastically, even the games you do not like to play.

Source: www.iamyourchild.org.: The Kentucky Guide for Families: U.S. Department of Education

Arachidonic Acid

 Arachidonic acid is a type of fatty acid that is necessary
 for the development of the human brain; it's normally
 supplied to a baby through its mother's milk. Once an
 infant develops the proper enzymes, the baby can
 manufacture arachidonic acid from linoleic acid, which is
 found in many food sources, including animal fats, peanuts,
 and sunflower oil. Premature infants, however, must have
 direct supplementation of arachidonic acid, and there is as
 increasing body of research that suggests adding it to
 regular infant formula would be a good idea as well.

 Michael Natkin

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