Your newborn will begin to associate you with their needs. Your baby will associate the touch of your fingers, your voice and the sight of you face with nourishment, warmth and comfort.

Babies are eager to learn from their parents even at a young age. Your newborn will love to look at you. A parent’s voice or other sounds can be recognized by newborns. They may respond by becoming more alert or less active to the sound. Babies might look around to see where the sound is coming.

When Is My Baby Ready to Learn and Play?

Your newborn will spend most of his first month asleep or appearing drowsy. Your baby will become more alert and awake over the following weeks or months. Your baby will begin to be able to tell when it is ready to learn or play.

• Baby who is calm and alert will be more attentive, responsive, and interested in their environment. Encourage learning through smiles, gentle touch, and soothing sounds.

• Baby who is awake, but not active (squirming or flapping arms or kicking legs), is less likely to be able focus on you. If you try to get your attention, the baby might become upset or cry. These signs could indicate that your baby is tired, hungry, or overstimulated.

How can I help my newborn learn

Talk, smile, and interact as you take care of your newborn. Listen to and respond to your baby’s cues. Pay attention to your baby’s movements and sounds when you speak. Talk to your baby by taking turns. This is how your baby will learn to communicate.

You might introduce toys suitable for children as young as age-appropriate to appeal to their senses sight, hearing, touch and smell in the first few weeks.

• rattles

• Textured toys

• Musical toys

• unbreakable crib mirrors

Mobiles and toys with contrast colors and patterns are best. For infants’ developing vision, strong contrasts (such a red, white, black, and curves) stimulate their development. As their vision improves, babies will be able to control their movements better and interact with their environment more.

Simple ways to make your baby smarter

Experts agree that the first year of a child’s life is a crucial time to learn, but it can be difficult to find new ways to stimulate their learning. Let these fun–and scientific–activities inspire you.

Stimulate baby’s vision

1. Eye contact is important. Make sure you look into your baby’s eyes when they are open. Infants learn to recognize faces quickly, and yours is the most important. They are building their memory every time they look at you.

2. Stick your tongue out. This is a sign that babies as young as six months can mimic simple facial movements.

3. Reflection is a great way to get your baby to look in the mirror. They may initially think they are just looking at another child, but they will soon love to wave and smile at the “other” baby.

4. Encourage comparisons. Place two photos 8-12 inches from your baby’s eyes. Both should look similar, but one must be different (e.g. one has a tree and the other doesn’t). Young infants will often look back and forth in order to identify distinguishing features. This helps them prepare for reading and letter recognition later.

Talk to them, make them laugh

5. Talk to your baby. They will soon fall in tune with your chat and start filling in the gaps.

6. Babies love to be entertained.

7. Sing songs. Create your own lyrics for kid-friendly tunes. You can play Britney Spears, Bach, and the Beatles. Research links understanding musical rhythm with a facility to do math.

8. You can clue them in by saying “I’m about to turn on the light” before you flip the switch. Or “I’m about to run the bath” before you turn on the faucet. This teaches children cause and effect.

9. Tickle their toes. Learning to laugh is the first step towards developing humor . Telling your child that you’re gonna get them is a way to teach them how to anticipate what might happen.

10. Make a silly face and let your toddler touch your nose. Poof! Ask them to pull your ear and then stick your tongue out. When they pat you on the head, make a funny sound. You can repeat each step three to four times and then you can change the rules to keep them guessing.

11. Joke about it. Point to Uncle Frank’s photo and call him “Mommy”. Tell your child you were being silly, and then laugh at your “joke”. This will help develop their sense of humor.

Did you know that as much as 75% of every meal goes towards building your baby’s brain. Did you know that more than 80% of your baby’s brain is formed before the age of three? Every hug, every kiss, every meal, every game, every snack, every play is helping build your baby’s brain.

These are some tips that will give your child the best start possible in life.