ENHANCE YOUR BABY’S POTENTIAL! Winner of thirteen national awards, the Baby Prodigy Company’s DVDs and CDs have opened up an exciting new world for babies to explore. Now the creator of this landmark series presents a simple, straightforward guide no parent should be without. This fascinating book shows how stimulation affects the intelligence and happiness of your baby. It provides a program of activities that will enrich your infant’s sensory awareness–hearing, seeing, touching, feeling, and tasting–in order to jumpstart amazing brain growth during the critical first three years of life. Discover: • sanity-saving tips for sleepless nights, fussy days, colic, and more • bonding and soothing techniques to use during your baby’s first three weeks of life • easy, pleasurable activities to promote development in very young infants • milestones to look for as your child grows–from birth through toddlerhood • creative ways to stimulate curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system advancement • the ideal books and toys that will inspire learning and retention • baby talk: what your baby is trying to say, and how to talk to your baby at every stage of development Praise for the Baby Prodigy DVDs “Using recent advancements in child development research . . . [the Baby Prodigy program], unlike any other on the market, is specially designed to educate, entrance, and delight your child.” –iParenting “Stimulating, fun, and worthwhile.” –DR. TOY ENHANCE YOUR BABY'S POTENTIAL! Winner of thirteen national awards, the Baby Prodigy Company's DVDs and CDs have opened up an exciting new world for babies to explore. Now the creator of this landmark series presents a simple, straightforward guide no parent should be without. This fascinating book shows how stimulation affects the intelligence and happiness of your baby. It provides a program of activities that will enrich your infant's sensory awareness-hearing, seeing, touching, feeling, and tasting-in order to jumpstart amazing brain growth during the critical first three years of life. Discover: - sanity-saving tips for sleepless nights, fussy days, colic, and more - bonding and soothing techniques to use during your baby's first three weeks of life - easy, pleasurable activities to promote development in very young infants - milestones to look for as your child grows-from birth through toddlerhood - creative ways to stimulate curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system advancement - the ideal books and toys that will inspire learning and retention - baby talk: what your baby is trying to say, and how to talk to your baby at every stage of development Barbara Candiano-Marcus is the author of Baby Prodigy: A Guide to Raising a Smarter, Happier Baby . Before having her first child in 1999, she worked in the entertainment business, helping to produce television programs. Prior to that, Barbara graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1989 with a degree in sociology. In 2001 she founded The Baby Prodigy Company with her husband, Richard, who graduated from SUNY Albany with a degree in business. They live in Southern California with their two daughters, Samantha and Lara. Happier, Smarter Babies As I began to research childhood brain development in order to develop the Baby Prodigy DVDs, CDs, and videos, I had to educate myself on how the brain worked. This chapter is by no means an effort to provide you with a full education in neuroanatomy; it is a simple overview of the biology and development of the brain, with an emphasis on the areas that are developing most rapidly during your child’s first years of life. It’s my goal to make this chapter on the science of the brain as basic and nonintimi- dating as possible. If, after reading this introductory material, you are as fascinated by the workings of the brain as I am, you may want to read more deeply in this subject. In the appendix, Recommended Reading and Resources, I suggest some works that explore in detail the subject of your child’s developing brain. When reading this chapter you may be surprised—as I was when I began my research in this area—by the discovery that many of the stimulating activities that promote brain growth and development in your baby are activities that we, as parents and caregivers, practice naturally and instinctively. In 1996, the Families and Work Institute held a conference at the University of Chicago entitled “Brain Developments in Young Children: New Frontiers for Research, Policy, and Practice.” Experts from the fields of neuroscience, medicine, education, human services, media, business, and public policy came together to discuss what was known about the developing brain and how that knowledge should inform efforts to improve results for children and their families. Their top recommendations have been distilled into a list of ten important guidelines for promoting healthy brain development in children: 1.Be warm, loving, and responsive. 2.