Daycare For The Brainy Baby

It might seem like your baby is doing nothing except sleeping, eating, crying and soiling diapers, but there is a lot going on in that tiny body. The Mayo Clinic states that a baby's brain develops rapidly from the time the baby is born. Doesn't it make sense to choose a daycare that understands how to stimulate a baby's developing brain? Here are some signs that your baby's daycare is encouraging healthy brain development.

Visual Stimulation

Do the babies at your child's daycare stay in the same place all day, or are they moved around to different areas with new things to look at?

Tiny babies only see things clearly up close, but they do notice shadows and lights. Your baby's vision will become sharper as your baby grows. A daycare center can encourage this by giving your baby plenty of new things to look at. Cribs should have interesting mobiles or toys, and babies should be carried or worn for at least some part of the day. Baby seats should be utilized so the babies can see what is going on around them.

Listening and Language

Does the staff at your baby's daycare constantly talk to the infants? Do they provide interesting sounds throughout the day?

Babies need to hear language in order for their brains to develop. Educated early child care professionals know that talking to babies is essential to healthy growth.

A daycare center should also play music for the babies each day.

Limiting Screen Time

Does your daycare have computers on all the time or the television constantly on and tuned to children's programming? This is a sign that your daycare is not fully engaged in your child's brain development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies are exposed to as little screen time as possible. Choose a daycare with no television, computers or electronic games in the baby room.

Human Interaction

Babies need face to face interaction with adult caregivers. Daycare workers should play with infants as much as possible, offering stimulating toys while talking to the babies. They should be singing songs to the baby and making silly faces. Babies need interaction from adults in order for their brains to grow properly. Choose a daycare center with enough staff to play with babies individually throughout the day.

Baby brain development is a big deal, and it does matter to even the youngest infants. Be sure you choose a daycare with staff that is motivated to give your child all the tools to have a strong and healthy brain.

To learn more, contact a daycare facility like Mendon Child Care Ctr.