What sort of an environment do I provide for my baby?

You don’t need to redo your entire apartment to suit the baby. A few simple steps and a little care go a long way.

1. Food: Healthy food is vital. Stay away from readily available formula food as far as possible. Just as you took care of yourself during the pregnancy, ensure the baby has healthy food. The food needs to be climate specific. Food that suits the climate of the place is easily digested. Avoid trying things because your sister in the UK is doing the same. The climatic requirements of each place are different.

2. Sleep: The brain organizes and reorganizes stuff when the baby sleeps. Sleep and sleep cycles are very essential to develop the sensory skills of a child. Research has shown that the following sensory systems need adequate sleep beginning at as early as the foetal stage.

A word of caution: Most adults with sleep difficulties have usually been trained into being able to sleep only if the ideal conditions for sleep are available. I always advise that children get used to sleeping on a variety of soft and hard surfaces, with a mixture of light and sound in the environment. I know adults who cannot sleep unless they have the correct mattress or pillow density and touch and others who cannot do so in the presence of even a sliver of light or sound as they have been trained to sleep ‘just so’. We, in our anxiety for the child, may be doing them a disservice by providing ‘ideal’ conditions.

3. Water: A thirsty brain doesn’t think. Eighty percent of the child’s brain is made of water. Water is highly essential for the child’s brain. Every thought that comes in the brain of the child is a chemical or electrical reaction! These reactions need water. If children don’t have enough water, their brains

become sluggish.

4. Safety: Humans instinctively try to keep themselves safe. If the baby feels that its priority is to be safe, then its brain will concentrate only on that, leaving little time for learning. So let your baby feel that she doesn’t have to worry about fending for herself.

5. Space: Kids need space. Give them as much of it as you can. If your house is small, ensure that they get to play outside. Take them to gardens, beaches, parks, etc.

6. Plants: Include plants in their space. Plants give oxygen, which is fuel for the brain