Responsive parenting builds babies’ brains
By Kathryn Stagg, IBCLC Lactation Consultant
Did you know that when you are cuddling, feeding, responding and playing with your baby, you are actually growing their brains?
Babies are born with an immature brain and the majority of brain structure and function develops outside of the womb.
Every interaction a baby has will help make those brain connections. And repeated interactions will strengthen those connections further. The baby's attachment to their primary carer is fundamental in making positive brain connections.
A sensitive or attuned parent has been proven to be the single most important factor in a child's future development. An attuned parent is one that is considering baby's needs, thinking about them, responding quickly to their distress, feeding at the earliest cues.
Stress has been found to have a negative impact on the baby's ability to learn and build relationships. Babies will learn to deal with mild levels of stress with parental support (nappy is wet, feeling cold, hungry, alone etc) with no impact on their development. Some will find this easier to manage than others! But a prolonged stressful environment where nobody is helping or responding to them is detrimental to their development.
This is not to say that you have to be the perfect parent. There is no such thing. You cannot be totally attuned to somebody else's needs 100% of the time. It is impossible. "Good enough" parenting is just fine! But the more you can respond to your baby, the better. The baby will have a firm secure base from which to explore the world and will learn to make loving and trusting relationships with others.
So if you feel like you are not achieving anything when cuddling, feeding and playing with your baby, you are actually growing another human's brain! And you are increasing the likelihood that they will be able to make positive relationships with others as they grow up. This is an incredibly important job and the fundamental role of being a parent! Get cuddling, the dishwasher can wait!