From the moment children are born, they absorb stimuli from their environment. Even babies can have meaningful early learning experiences. If you are looking to ensure that your baby is getting exposed to stimulating experiences, then here are some activities that can help. 

Talk or sing to your baby

From a young age, babies can hear voices, and they start to learn the natural rhythms and tones of their native language. It is important to expose your baby to a wide range of natural voices, rather than television or radio dialogue, to allow them to get a stimulating start to picking up language. If this doesn't come naturally to you without a response, it can be a great idea to get into baby story time at the local library. The librarians read and sing to the babies, and you get a chance to meet other parents in the area. This can even be a good time to pick up some story books to read to your baby each week. 

Expose them to different textures

Another way to stimulate your baby is to expose them to different textures. This can include letting them touch soft fabrics, your face and even smooth surfaces such as a mirror where they can see their reflection. This helps the baby to respond to different stimuli. You can match this with descriptive language such as 'ooh, this is soft' and 'what a smooth and shiny surface.' While it will be a while before they will learn the words, this helps to build vocabulary and stimulate the senses. 

Make eye contact and silly faces

From a young age, babies pick up facial movements and recognise familiar faces. This is an important evolutionary trait which helps them to recognise their caregivers. You can talk and do funny faces at your baby at any time, but nappy time is often an especially good time to tickle their toes and make some silly faces to give them some emotional stimulation. 

Cuddle them and hold them

Studies have shown that touch—especially cuddling and holding—is vital for brain development. Babies are calmed by this action and it allows their brains to develop and take in additional stimulus, knowing that they are safe and loved. 

As you can see, there are simple and easy things that any carer can do with their baby to improve their baby's brain development, even from the earliest days.