You’ve spent a fortune on educational toys and gadgets, you’re playing Mozart in the background to boost those good vibrations, because you want your little one to be smart, really smart. You’re doing everything you can, to help your little one learn.

Everything ?

You might be overlooking something very simple. Posture.

The learning baby

Colourful educational toys and gadgets, give baby something to look at, but babies need to also “feel” objects, to truly assimilate them.

If you can’t grip it, feel it, eat it…………..you cannot learn it.

And to successfully grasp an item, you need to have your hands free. To free up your hands for complex investigations, you need to be sitting up.

Going hands free

Researchers from North Dakota State University recently demonstrated, going hands free was the key to infant learning.

The team tested the ability of several babies, to differentiate objects in view, from objects seen earlier. The team confirmed, that this ability develops around the six-and-a-half month mark, the team noted, that the infants able to do it, were all sitting up, unsupported.

The fact that they could look, touch and mouth the item, without toppling over, helped the brain develop this ability.

Interestingly, the brain could already do it….

Mom get me hands free

In the course of the experiments, the team discovered the brain already had the capability to differentiate objects, at the five-and-a-half month mark. This capacity was absent in younger brains, when four-and-a-half month old brain’s were tested, they did not have a clue. .

The team discovered, the reason most five-and-a-half month old brains, were not actively learning the nature of the objects surrounding them, was because they were otherwise occupied.

They were totally focused on, staying upright.

Balancing is hard work and it is a milestone that must be reached to be able to fully explore your surroundings using your hands. When children received help performing the balancing act, through additional support – they readily engaged in object learning.

Sitting up

Being able to sit up, alone or supported is the key, to kick starting this development milestone.

It follows, that if a baby is a late sitter, this may leave the brain at a slight disadvantage. At the same time, a brain which is sitting up, taking notice a little earlier, could end up with a slight advantage.

And who doesn’t want a slight advantage ?

Posture support

Fortunately, when it comes to sitting up – you can cheat.

All it takes is a little external support, to get baby sitting up and taking notice. So if you want to jump start your baby’s brain chemistry……… help your baby go hands free, by propping them up.

PS. You may want to consider going spoon free too – this can help protect your little one from the scourge of obesity.

 Further reading

A spoonful of sugar REALLY does make the injection go down	Too much iron can turn your child into a dunce	A hairy hound in the house help little lungs relax

Being a Mom is a huge responsibility and knowing how to protect and optimize your family’s health is challenging. Get tips and strategies from the world of science and help your little ones have Better Body Chemistry so they grow up healthy and avoid the lifestyle diseases.

I have put together a series of TIPS to help Moms create Better Body Chemistry…