Bonding with your child | How to build healthy relationships with your child

Parenting Habits
Everything you need to know, from tips and tricks, to good habits to ensure healthy parenting for your little one
The early years in a child’s life build the foundation for their growth and development. This early brain development determines how your baby thinks, learns and behaves and in the long run, determines their ability to succeed in life.
Did you know that during the first 1,000 days of life, a child’s brain develops at a never-again-repeated speed of more than one million new neural connections every second.
This period offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape a child’s ability to learn, grow and contribute fully to society. However, these connections only come together when a child receives proper health, adequate nutrition, protection, responsive care giving and early learning opportunities.
Neuroscience now offers compelling evidence that while genes provide the blueprint for the brain, it is a child’s environment that shapes brain development. Parents have a critical role in shaping the right environment for their children in the first five years of life that establish their capacity to learn, adapt to change and develop psychological resilience.
Key facts on why early moments matter
The brain develops most rapidly from conception to three years.
One hundred billion neurons are formed in the human brain by 40 weeks of gestation.
1000 neural connections formed every second through stimulation.
Responsive relationships and healthy, stimulating environments build a sturdy brain.
Children start understanding gender at age three but begin to experience gender socialization from birth (in India, before birth).
Providing a nurturing environment at home
Parents are the most important people in the life of every child - they provide nutrition, protection, care, and love.
UNICEF underscores that being a parent is the most important job in the world. Parents and other caregivers are the primary providers of the nutrition, stimulation and protection that every baby needs for healthy brain development.
Lack of positive relationships, inadequate supervision and the absence of involvement of parents are strongly associated with a child’s increased risk of behavioural and emotional problems. They also affect brain development, with a long-term impact on children.
It is critical that parents, including fathers, spend quality time with children and give their child the best start in life.
With every hug and every kiss, every meal and every game, you can help your baby develop in so many ways!