Page 66 - Mother & Baby - UK (March 2020)

I
LOVE S ALL AROUND US

with a smile and your own voice. When
he pulls a face, you respond with your own
gesture. And researchers from the Center
on the Developing Child at Harvard
University have shown that these ‘serve
and return’ interactions create new
neural connections in your baby’s
brain, linking the areas responsible
for memory, language, motor skills
and more. ‘Babbling, pulling faces
and making gestures are almost like
proto-conversations,’ explains Pasco.
One fascinating study involved showing
a video to newborn babies who ranged
in age from one hour to three days old.
In the film, a stranger pulled faces –
opening his mouth, for example, and
sticking out his tongue. The results
showed that, in the 20 seconds following
the presentation, the babies were more
likely to make the expressions they had
witnessed. They were copying!
So there’s a really strong, practical
reason why your baby wants to bond
with you, other than the basic fact
that he needs you to care
for him. It’s from you
and the relationship
you share that he
gathers the life
skills he needs. And
there’s lots you can do
to help him. Research
shows that your baby
will develop faster
if you are quick to
imitate the gestures
and sounds he himself
makes. Babies have
also been proven to
prefer eye contact, as
well as faces that are
animated and responsive
over those that are blank.
And that’s because it’s
through this eye contact and
imitation that they learn:
children who have healthy and
responsive relationships with
their primary caregivers are more
likely to develop insights into other
people’s feelings and needs. ‘Parents
who are alert to these early interactions
can help lay the building blocks of social
interaction,’ explains Pasco. So don’t feel
guilty if you’ve done nothing more than
gaze into your baby’s eyes for the last hour
– you’re doing a really important job!
As your baby grows, the mechanisms
through which he can bond with you and

64 | Mar ch 2020 | mothe ra ndbaby.co.uk