Five to Thrive
Has your child had their five a day?
In the first three years of life the brain is growing and changing faster than ever will again. At times during the first year of life a million connections are forming every single second in your baby brain. So what happens to your baby shapes their brain. And the most important thing that happens to your baby is YOU! Everything you do when you are with your baby sparks connections in their brain, turning connections into pathways that the child can use again.
Your child's body grows better when you give the child good food. Your child's brain grows better when you do five simple things that feed the growing brain:
Respond - Cuddle - Relax - Play - Talk
These are your child's daily "five to thrive" - the building blocks for a healthy brain.
Respond
"I feel very scared if I get no response from you. When you look at me with love in your eyes I feel safe. Your voice helps me to feel safe. Being close to you helps me to feel safe"
Cuddle
"When I am close to you my body begins to work in tune with yours. Connections are building in my brain that will make it possible for me to control my body one day"
Relax
"I know that having a baby is stressful. But if you can find ways to relax when you are with me, you can make a big difference to the way my brain works"
Play
"I need you to soothe me when /I'm upset, but I also need you to make life interesting for me. Toys are great, but the best toy in the world for me is... you!"
Talk
"I love the sound of your voice. I love it when you talk, when you make nonsense noises, and when you sing. I get frightened if there is so much shouting or arguing"
Check out our Five to Thrive leaflet where you can find a lot of useful information on Five to Thrive.