All the parenting books state how important play is to babies. We all want our babies to learn and to have fun.

Your baby is born with about 100 billion brain cells. Just think about that for a minute. That's 100 billion cells just waiting to be stimulated. Some of these cells are already connected at birth, however, most are not. To become connected, these brain cells need to be stimulated. How do you get these brain cells to connect? Through play of course! Babies are born with 5 senses: hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and touching. When you play with your baby, repeating experiences such as playing pat-a-cake, you are in fact stimulating the senses which in turn help the brain form the connections between all these cells. And it's these connections which lay the foundations for how your baby learns, acts, thinks and feels. This all sounds rather technical but really all it takes is simple play activities to stimulate and help to grow your baby's brain! Here are a few simple ways you can do this in your day to day life with your baby:

• Talk frequently to your baby throughout the day. Look directly into your baby's eyes as you speak. This tells your baby that he or she is loved and important. You can talk about anything really. Describe what you are cooking for dinner, talk about what you are going to do today. Talk about your favorite things to do. Your baby finds your voice fascinating, and through this talk will learn all about the "sounds" of speech as you go about your day. Sing simple songs as you feed, diaper or bathe your baby. The sound and rhythm of your voice will stimulate a lot of growth in your baby's brain
• Provide age appropriate and interesting toys in the car seat or crib for your baby to handle and learn through self-discovery. Babies learn a lot from trial and error. By providing them with the time and space to explore toys you will create many learning opportunities for your baby. Toys that squeak and rattle teach concepts such as cause and effect, which is usually learned through trial and error
• Encourage and praise your baby. For instance, if your baby has just learned how to grasp a toy and rattle it - respond with a smile and a few words of encouragement. It's through these little discoveries that babies begin to build a solid foundation upon which to learn even more complicated concepts
• Begin reading to your baby from birth. They'll enjoy the sound of your voice and the rhythm found in the sound of reading out aloud

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