We all love and adore our children – they are our world without a doubt. But did you know all the love that you shower on your child is actually helping him or her become smarter?
That’s right! Children who are given love and affection from their mothers early in life are smarter, with a better ability to learn.
This was what the study by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, had revealed.
They found that school-aged children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus – a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress.
Brain images had revealed that a mother’s love physically affects the volume of her child’s hippocampus – by almost 10 per cent. The research team will follow these children as they grew older, and hope to see how other brain regions are affected by parental nurturing during preschool years.
For years, studies have underscored the importance of an early, nurturing environment for good, healthy outcomes for children. Parents focus on investing in the best childcare environment or resource materials to promote positive outcomes for their child.
Never would we imagine that loving and nurturing our child is not only good for his development, but it actually physically changes the brain.
The study findings validate a large body of early childhood development literature that highlights the importance of early parenting and nurturing.
So how can we apply the findings of this study to really help our children develop?
Nurture and support your child
Meet regularly with your child’s preschool educator and discuss how to support your child. The nurturing and loving that happens at home should continue at preschool. And after spending a long day in preschool, your child should continue to enjoy love and attention from you at home.
Your love is key
A warm, attached relationship with mum is important in preventing behavioural problems in children. Parents’ relationships with their children are extremely important and that’s how we develop our ability to have successful relationships as adults. Our parents are our role models. If kids do not feel close to their parents, then they’re probably not going to model the positive aspects of that relationship when they reach adulthood.
Mirror positive traits
According to research, it shows that you can pass on your temperament to your children — not necessarily through your genes, but through your own behaviour and child-rearing style. For better or worse, children pick up on their parents’ moods. In other words, when you smile, your child smiles and his brain becomes “wired” for smiling.
Spend quality time
Quality time can be very simply defined as meaningful time spent nurturing a child and communicating freely with him or her. This is the time when parents can bond most meaningfully with their children, while also creating happy childhood memories. Both working and stay-at-home parents need to make the effort to create some quality time with kids and help them grow into happy, confident and responsible adults. No matter how busy you may be, there is always time for a few hugs. Hugging your children makes them feel special and cared for and can lift their spirits if they are anxious or upset.
Your love goes a long way in preparing your child to be smarter. So start building on those loving feelings right now. Go give your child a giant hug, smother him or her with kisses and tell him or her that you love them to the moon and back…and know while you do this you are helping your child’s brain development. It’s a win-win situation really!
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