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Dr.K.G.MoniGandhi

Nine things your baby needs to thrive
DR.MONIGANDHI .MBBS

​​​You don't have to be a child development expert to give your baby a great start in life. To help your baby reach his full potential, follow these simple steps.

Show your love
​​​Giving your baby lots of love, attention, and affectionwill help him to grow physically and emotionally. So cuddle, touch, smile, encourage, listen to, and play with your baby whenever you can. Going to your baby when he's upset (as well as when he's happy) helps build trust and a strong emotional bond
.Tend your baby's basic needs
​​​You and your baby are a team, and one of your jobs is to take care of the basics so she can get on with her challenging tasks! Help her by teaching her to become a good sleeper, breastfeeding if you can, taking her to her check-ups and keeping her immunisations up to date.Talk to your baby
​​​Talking to your baby shows him you care about him and helps him learn to communicate.

 Hold his gaze and chat to him as you change his nappy and feed him. Just describe what you're doing and what your baby is doing. For example, "Mummy is putting warm water in the bath so she can get you nice and clean."

Stimulate your baby's senses
​​​Playing with toys that have different shapes, textures, colours, sounds, and weights is a good way to help stimulate your baby's senses. You can also sing lullabies and play games together, such as peekaboo and pat-a-cake.

Read to your baby
​​​Reading out loud is one of the most important things you can do to help build your child's vocabulary, and boost her imagination and language skills. By showing her books are fun, you'll also be encouraging what will hopefully become a lifetime habit. Reading gives you a chance to cuddle and spend time together, too.

Encourage your baby to explore
​​​To develop strong muscles, good balance, and coordination, your baby needs plenty of space to crawl, cruise, and eventually walk. Childproof your home so that she is free to explore!Challenge your baby 
​​​Avoid frustrating your child with toys and activities that are way beyond her abilities. However, a little struggling can go a long way towards self-improvement. When an activity doesn't come easily to your baby, she has to work out a new way to do it. That type of problem-solving is the stuff sharper brains are made of.

Take care of yourself
​​​Your baby needs you to be full of energy - and to have endless patience! So find time for yourself once in a while. If you are feeling tired, anxious or depressed, you may find it hard to respond to your baby's needs. 

Find good childcare
​​​If you work and aren't able to care for your baby during the day, good childcare is essential to your baby's healthy development. Whether your childcare provider is a nanny, a relative, or a nursery worker, she should be experienced and caring.

You might also like:
Check out these seven signs that your child loves you.Can you predict what kind of personality your baby will have? Find out!Discover how playing with your baby helps her physical and emotional development.Laugh and learn: read new mums' and dads' embarrassing parenting mistakes.

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