How to Boost Your Child’s Brain Development

From birth to age three, children’s brains develop rapidly. You’ve probably heard these early years referred to as the formative years, and it’s true that brain development affects all areas of a child’s growth. What’s also true, though, is that much of the interaction you’ll naturally have with your child will help this brain development.

• Brain development starts before birth. When you do your best to have a healthy pregnancy, eating well and avoiding drugs, smoking, and alcohol, you’ll be helping your baby to develop properly. You can also talk to your baby before he or she is born, in order to begin to build both your bond and your child’s vocabulary before birth.
• Connecting with your baby is sometimes as simple as a smile. Smile at your baby, stick out your tongue, and react to the child’s facial expressions and vocalizations. Interact with your baby in an attentive and focused way, to help build a strong emotional bond. Respond to your baby promptly and consistently.
• Narrating the world to your baby builds language skills. Talk to your baby as you go about your day, telling him what you’re doing, or pointing out things of interest. Talk back when your baby babbles and coos, fostering communication. Research indicates that the size of a child’s vocabulary at age three is directly related to how many words are spoken in the home.
• Read to your little one, to foster a love of books. Begin before the baby is even born, and make reading part of your daily routine. Even before your child can recognize letters or words, reading boosts language and communication skills. In fact, reading is one of the best things you can do to promote healthy brain development. As your child grows, ask questions about what’s happening in a book’s pictures, engaging the child while increasing his or her understanding of the story.
• Children learn through play. Simple games like peek-a-boo, pretend play, and playing with toys are all great ways to help a baby’s brain develop. It’s been said that play is the work of childhood, and when you play with children, you help them build important social skills as well as fostering creativity and imagination. Perhaps even more importantly, you’re building your relationship with your child.
• Sing to your baby. You don’t have to need a great voice, or even to be able to carry a tune! Songs help your baby learn rhythm, rhymes and language patterns. Sing all the nursy rhymes you can remember, do all the body and hand motions, and dance or bounce along to the rhythm.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.

Why you Should Interact with Your Unborn Child

Before a baby is born, there’s a lot of preparation and excitement. If you’re expecting a baby, you probably can’t wait until your child is born, so you can begin to interact and bond with each other. The good news is that you don’t have to wait! You can start forming a bond with your baby before he or she is even born.

It may feel silly to have a one-sided conversation with a person inside your body, but research indicates that babies begin to react to sound as early as 24 weeks. Even before that, though, you can interact with your baby by massaging your bump. You can also gently push back against your baby’s kicks, and you may be surprised when you get a nudge or a kick in response!

Interacting with your soon-to-be-born child can help you feel more connected to your baby, and it benefits the baby as well. Research shows that your voice can be calming to your baby, and that babies remember their mothers’ voices after they’re born. What’s more, there’s evidence to suggest that language development begins before birth. Once your baby can hear, there are some great ways to begin to communicate with this new little person.

• Talk to your baby. The conversations you have with your unborn baby are paving the way for his or her social and emotional development, as well as language skills and memory. The sounds babies hear before birth begin to shape their understanding of the world.
• Sing songs and play music. Skip the earphones on the belly, as this can lead to music that’s too loud for your baby. There’s evidence, though, that music can have a big impact on a child’s development, and even babies as young as one day old can detect differences between rhythms. Sometimes, babies are soothed by the lullabies they heard their mothers sing before they were born.
• Read to your little one. Reading to your unborn baby can help stimulate his or her senses and promote brain development. Books that have a clear rhythm and rhyming patterns can be soothing and almost melodic. Reading aloud to your baby before and after he or she is born can be a calming experience for both of you.
• Encourage other family members to bond with the baby, too. Reading to the baby or feeling the kicks can help the baby’s dad feel more connected, and the baby will be able to hear and remember his voice. This goes for older siblings, too, and it’s a great way to give them some “ownership” of the pregnancy.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.

Items to Have Before Your Baby is Born

When you’re expecting a baby, it’s natural to feel unprepared. The very idea of welcoming a whole new person into the world can feel overwhelming, and you may wonder how you can possibly anticipate everything you’ll need when the baby arrives. Sometimes, though, knowing what you need means identifying what you don’t need. It’s not necessary to buy every available baby item:  newborns need far fewer things than you might think. We recommend sticking to the basics.

• Your baby will need clothes. You won’t believe how many changes of clothing a baby can go through in one day. Stick to sleepwear and onesies for those first few weeks, with only a couple of “photo ready” outfits. Be aware that babies outgrow newborn clothes in a flash, so you’ll need some larger sizes. Socks and hats are a must, newborn mittens can prevent face scratches, and you’ll need some baby laundry detergent.
• You’ll need to feed the baby. If you’re breastfeeding, you may not need much gear. A breast pump, some bottles and milk storage containers will allow someone else to handle a feeding sometimes. You may want a nursing pillow, nursing bra, and some nursing pads. If you’re formula feeding, stock up on bottles and formula, being careful to check the expiration dates, and purchase a bottle and nipple brush. No matter how you plan to feed the baby, buy tons of bibs and burp cloths. Get more than you think you could possibly need. Trust us on this.
• Diapers are a necessity. Whether you plan to use disposable or cloth, you’ll want to lay in a good supply of diapers and wipes. Just as you did with baby clothes, anticipate that your baby will quickly outgrow newborn diapers.
• Bath items are important. You’ll need a baby bathtub, several hooded towels, soft baby washcloths, baby soap, and a soft-bristled baby hairbrush. Baby nail scissors and a bulb syringe are also nice to have.
• The baby needs somewhere to sleep. This can be a crib, a co-sleeper, or a bassinet, as long it meets safety regulations. Excessive baby bedding is not considered safe, but you’ll need crib sheets, mattress pads, and a good supply of receiving blankets in which to swaddle the baby. Swaddlers and sleep sacks are useful.
• You’ll need something for outings with baby. Some people like strollers, while others prefer slings or baby carriers: it’s a personal choice.
• A car seat is a must. You won’t even be allowed to take the baby out of the hospital without it.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr.  Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.

Why it’s Important to Teach Your Children about Responsibility Early

As parents, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks of childrearing. There’s an old saying, “The days are long but the years are short”, but when you’re in the midst of those long days of childhood, it’s hard to remember that eventually, children become adults. It will happen more quickly than you think, so it’s important to remember that teaching your kids about responsibility is a major part of your job. Ultimately, we’re all raising adults, who need to be able to manage their own lives.

There are plenty of different ways to teach kids responsibility. Beginning when kids are very young, offer them choices throughout the day, to help teach them to make decisions. Make a chore chart, even when they’re little, to show them that they are contributing members of the family. Give consequences for failure to follow through on things you ask them to do, and rewards when they live up to their responsibilities. When they’re little, include them in your everyday chores like cooking and laundry, and as they get older, teach them how to do these things themselves.

Why is all of this so important? Because raising kids to be responsible will help them to more successfully navigate adulthood.

• Responsible kids tend to lead healthier lifestyles. When your kids are doing important things, they won’t have time for less meaningful pursuits. Instead of flopping in front of the TV or playing video games, they’ll be exercising, playing an instrument, cooking, doing chores, or gardening. All of these things are good for their bodies and brains, and help them learn the value of healthy habits.
• When your children know how to be responsible, they’ll be better prepared to hold a job. Teaching kids to follow through and make deadlines, and talk to them about getting a job when they’re old enough. Teach them how to manage money, and help them set goals for their future.
• Kids who learn responsibility early are more confident and resilient. They’ll have a thicker skin when criticized, believe in themselves and their abilities, and learn how to be problem solvers. Learning how to take responsibility for themselves and fix their own problems enables them to resolve difficult situations in the future.
• When they learn responsibility, they learn independent thinking. You don’t want your kids to follow the crowd, and teaching them to think on their own will help them make decisions for themselves instead of just going along with what others say.

Teaching kids responsibility is an important part of building a successful family, and at the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.