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What Can I Do To Make My Baby More Intelligent?
All you need is love!!! Although the Beatles expressed this notion in one of their songs, the matter is slightly more complicated. Let me explain. Often parents believe that there is little to be done in the way of increasing their baby's intelligence. Parents believe that as the baby grows and matures on the outside, so does the brain and with it, their intelligence. Unfortunately for the child, this notion is incorrect. We will shortly discuss that much nurturing is necessary for the brain to develop properly. To explain this further, we must first look at how the brain develops and the impact we as parents and caregivers can have on stimulating brain development.
HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Most mammals have a fairly developed brain even at birth. Most can walk, feed, jump and play - all within a few hours of being born. Human babies do not have this capacity because the brain needs to develop much more once the baby is born. In fact, it takes up to 10 years for the brain to develop and mature in humans. This process begins in the first 3 years of life where the neurons of the brain begin to grow and form connections (synapses) with each other. These connections allow the brain to communicate and control all body functions. By 3 years of age, the number of connections in babies has doubled to that of adults. Around this time, the brain begins to "shut down" the synapses, which haven't been used. By the age of 10, the level of synapses in a baby equals that of an adult.
BRAIN REMODELLING
The process of activating the neurological pathways these synapses form so that they do not shut down is the key to developing your baby's brain. In order for a synapse to remain functional, it must be used repeatedly. The way to stimulate the brain is by stimulating the baby within the first 3-5 years of life. In most cases, the responsibility falls on parents and caregivers. In particular, the parts of the brain that are growing and developing are responsible for regulating touch, sight, smell - all of which help aid in the proper expression of emotions. Proper development of these phases strengthen a baby's attachment to its caregivers, which in turn allows the baby to learn to deal with the stresses of life. These milestones early in brain development, give the baby confidence to deal with life situations. For example, picture children going off to school for the first time. Some children are better capable of dealing with the stress of strange people, lots of activity and finally leaving mom to get on the school bus. Those children who are not as prepared are overwhelmed and cry, become frightful or even reclusive. The first 5 years of your baby's life are so critical because what the child learns then enables it to not just survive but thrive for the rest of its life.
WHAT CAN I DO?
One of the best ways to form these early bonds is through touch. Babies perceive touch as early as the embryonic stage while inside their mothers uterus. This sense develops well before sight or hearing. Studies performed on monkeys have shown that baby monkeys who are deprived of touch become violent in nature and develop autistic like characteristics. The study of the orphans in Romania also suggests that touch is critical to human development. These orphans were fed and changed but for the most part not touched simply due to overwhelming number of children and lack of adult caregivers. Their cognitive and social skills were poorly developed as compared to other children of the same age and sex. Some studies have shown that there may be a connection between baby's forming a poor attachment to parents within the first 5 years and violent or aggressive behavior of these same children as adolescents. Some authors hypothesize that poor attachment may be a large reason why children today are more violent and aggressive as exemplified by how many young children are being arrested for similar crimes. Not only is the rate of minor offences in adolescents increasing but for the rate of violent crimes is also increasing. Listening to the stories of inmates in jail and how they lacked the love of a father or mother as a child may lend credibility to the above hypothesize.
DEVELOPING TOUCH
All too often, we opt for convenience because of our hectic and busy schedule. Microwave dinners and fast foods become a substitute for a home cooked meal. For babies, we substitute breast milk for formula milk, even though we know that formula fed babies have a better chance of developing allergies. Formula rarely provides the complete nutritional requirements baby's need. We have opted for swings, jolly jumpers, and cradles instead of the soft human touch - all for the sake of convenience. In countries where the mother carries the baby all day in a sling, babies have a much lower rate of crying. Increasing your touch can be accomplished by wearing a sling to carry the baby, touching it and playing with it, singing to the baby while stroking it and infant massage. As they get older, 3-4 years old, substitute the TV for playtime outside.
CHIROPRACTIC AND KIDS
Although a healthy home environment has an invaluable role in brain development and maturation, life is always full of little bumps along the way. As children grow and begin to walk, they certainly do not perfect this task the very first time. Many falls, bumps and bruises eventually pay off and soon the parents begin to wish their babies didn't walk because of all the mischief they are getting into. All of these bumps and bruises cause misalignments of the spine called subluxations, which cause nervous interference.
The whole purpose of chiropractic care is to ensure that patients both big and small have a well functioning nervous system. In doing so, patients are better able to cope with the stress of everyday life and live to their maximum potential. See your chiropractor soon.
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