Help your baby learn Your baby is born ready to learn. From the moment he opens his eyes, his senses are finely tuned to discover everything around him. Find out how you can help.

Learn, baby, learn

Your baby's brain grows faster in his first two years than at any other time, and all the encouragement you give will help him make the most of this.

You'll be helping millions of nerve endings, called synapses, to link up, increasing his learning power and enjoyment of life. But your baby doesn't need anything complicated from you - just lots of love and attention.

How to help his development:

Talk and communicate. By far the most important things you can do to help your baby learn are to make lots of eye contact and talk to him. Even tiny babies can pick up the tone of your voice, and store information about speech patterns to use later as they learn to speak. Leave little pauses when you chat, so he learns the idea of give and take in conversation. Before long, he answer you with gurgles. Your baby will also love listening to any songs you can sing - in or out of tune! As well as the stimulation of hearing you talk, your baby absorbs the fact that you have time for him and enjoy his company, which is great for his emotional development.

A settled, secure baby learns faster

Pick him up. Yes, it's normal for babies to cry, but they don't enjoy it and neither do you, so pick up your baby for a cuddle if he seems miserable. He'll quickly learn that you respond to his distress and that, in turn, will make him less likely to cry. A settled, secure baby learns faster.

Choose appropriate toys. Check the age range on the packaging of any toys you buy for your baby. It's important to choose things that are right for his developmental stage - for safety reasons and because he'll get more out of a toy that he's physically ready to play with. For example, a toy that needs to be squeezed to make a noise will be too difficult for a five-month-old baby as he can't grip hard enough, but he'll love ones with different textures. See Play and do for ideas.

Look at books. Even very young babies enjoy the experience of sitting with you and looking at bright pictures of everyday things he'll recognise, such as animals or toys. Books made of board and cloth are best as they're designed to be chewed and touched.

Experience new things. Go out every day, to the shops, the park, your local parent and baby group, to visit friends or just for a walk. The change of scene is stimulating for you and your baby.

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