Bright from the Start

Bright from the Start, by Jill Stamm, Ph.D.

i borrowed this book from the library, wished i read this earlier. wished there's a parenting class and this book should be in the required list of reading! here are the highlights and notes:

should i really read to my baby? is all tv bad or only some tv? can teaching a baby sign language really boost iq? how should be caregiver be stimulating my baby? does classical music help?

- beware of the product that promise to stimulate development, brainy toys with lights and sounds. from the researchers - what babies and toddlers really need is simple and doesn't cost that much money
- consistent loving care
- how often child hears stories
- face to face time, singing and talking to your baby instead of laptop, cell phone or tv

- who cares for a child and how knowledgeable that person is create groundwork for later classroom learning abilities (the child care taker should know the info in this book)
- what happens before preschool is critical - a ready brain is healthy, active, nurtured and capable of learning

- what your baby needs are easy as ABC: Attention, Bonding, and Communication
- ATTENTION - use the brain's energy to pay attention. face to face interactions or certain kinds of play. certain technologies limit valuable live interactions.
- BONDING - touch, develop security
- COMMUNICATION - talk and read

- increase social opportunities, personality noticeably emerges
- opportunities to play and interact with other people influence a child's cognitive growth in both receptive and expressive language development

- never, never, never give up on a child. malleable brain development can be in response to repeated effort and experience

you can help wire a healthy brain with ABC: Attention, Bonding, and Communication
- spending one-on-one time loving your child
- playing with your child
- responding quickly and predictably to your child
- touching and cuddling with your child
- providing routines that establishes patterns of caring response
- talking to your child
- reading and singing to your child

- brain synapese are connecting most rapidly the first 2 years of life (language, colors, sounds, smells, textures, temperature, cause & effect, face, etc). by 6 years old (1st grade), there's explosion of neuronal activities. in late childhood and adolescence (14 years old), pruning takes place on rarely used and not formed circuits to focus on the niche. the more frequent connections are used, the further strengthened and more efficient. go from different routes of small roads to major highway. which connections are formed and which connections are retained shaped by one's early experiences. As a parent, influence the "roads" that are laid down and taken place in your child's brain.

Bottomline: before 6 years old and early childhood education are so important to lay down the synapes. teach them all different things, and reinforce the thoughts you want them to become. the foundation is so critical to brain's organization.

- early brain synapes are resistant to change: if a child has a strong emotional start, she's likely to be resilient and able to cope with stress later in life. the very best kind for learning flourish in a predictable environment with * interesting experiences * assure a strong sense of security * lovingly hold and touch child frequently * interesting things to look at and hear. on the other hand, if the child is in a chaotic, non-supportive environment, effects is resistant to change as well...

- let go of the regrets and focus on the future. it's never too late regardless of the age. "i did what i knew. and when i knew better, i did better." it's the overall pattern of love, security, and stimulation that you provide determine whether your child will thrive. "your choices... shape their chances" the most important thing a parent can provide is a loving, stable relationship that leads to frequent, meaningful and responsive interactions with their baby.

toddler are visual, hearing sounds of new languages. the part of brain in charge of planning, abstract reasoning, prioritize and understand consequences of a behavior are not formed, therefore toddler don't understand why they shouldn't touch a hot stove and some teenagers maynot make good decisions. you do grow older and wiser.

- when a child has been neglected, they'll constantly monitor their environment for things that might harm them. they sacrifice the ability to learn new information, and focus on satisfy basic human needs for food, comfort, and companionship.

- Attention - paying attention -> Alert, Shift (change what you're doing), maintain (focus on one things while ignore other stimuli, thoughts, and emotions. children who were able to refrain from eating a marshmallow while examiner was out of the room (some kids developed strategies to distract themselves, like singing, walking around, or closing their eyes) are more likely to be self-confident, popular with peers, able to cope with frustration, and successful in school. the ability to control impulses at a young age (waiting) tends to predict a pattern of future behavior.

- set a non-tech face to face time with baby. playing, eating, reading.

- a child see you spend time in front of the computer and want to do the same and imitate. pretend toys are okay, just provide a wide variety of play experiences - indoor, outdoor, natural material as well as toys with lights and sounds. naturally stimulating environment is essential. learn to match pairs of socks requires child to keep the sock she's searching for in mind while ignoring the other similar socks and other things going on is better than spend in front of a flashing child product.

- attention tricks: - use variety range of voice volume. sometimes whisper is effective. contrast in intensity also work for colors. - different sizes - new items - things that doesn't go there (ie socks on dad's head is funny) - emotion drives attention and attention drives memory. when you're nervous, worried, depressed, afraid, agitated, or upset, it's difficult to focus on learning. * our emotional state affects our ability to pay attention. * learning are optimal when you're able to relax and yet alert. playful baby has been fed, changed, and napped. - personalize, kids love to see or hear their own name. child is interested in the story if you change the main character to her name.

- change the focus from what my child cannot do, to what i can do to influence my child's ability to reach the developmental milestone.

- infant: when awake, face to face time singing and talking. eye contact and eye movement. baby imitate you. point and label objects. high contrast colors (red, yellow, black and white). use mobile.

- baby: face to face time when talking. change/rotate toys. say "watch" to observe an action to start cue her to pay attention, then use quiet voice to encourage baby's attention. 1 variable at one time (ie group by color - different colors, same size and shape).

- toddler: eye level eye contact, roll a ball to encourage visual tracking and eye-hand coordination, point objects, ask about items in the book, enunciate new word clearly, when toddler is alert use those time for deliberate interactions (i.e. read), rotate toys for novelty, say "watch" to observe action, use quiet voice to gain attention, 2 variable at one time (i.e. group by color, different size or shapes), use massage to refocus, use red/green light to foster inhibitory control.

- if you bottle feed, switch side like you're breastfeeding. a well formed corpus callosum allows for better integration of the information processed in both the left and right hemispheres. and lock eyes with baby, eye gaze. softly talk or whisper to the baby. stroke baby's hand, arm, body, etc. for that connection and bonding.

- monkey see, monkey do. baby naturally mirror you. i.e. you wave good bye, the baby learns to imitate. ie. you point a board book and read, the child may imitate.

- eye contact is important - social skills, communication, and behavior.

- better language scores: label objects, point as you read, notice sounds you hear.

- play is a child's work. play is the way the children learn.

i'll continue later...