Grandma Can Teach

Stimulate Baby at home with these effective and simple activities.

Adele Wong’s maternity leave was up, but she still couldn’t find a place in an infant care centre. So she went back to work as a clinic assistant, while her mother took care of little Kieran Lee for four months, until she finally secured a slot.

“Even though Grandma can give one-on-one attention to my child, I like how the centres have a structured programme to stimulate him,” says the 30-year-old.

With many infant care centres now running at full capacity and having long waiting lists, parents are forced to settle for what some see as second best: leaving Baby with a relative or helper. But they can give your baby a smarter start, too.

“When we play with baby – touch, rock, talk, smile and sing to her – we provide experiences that stimulate her nervous systems which, in turn, help her brain cells or neurons to connect with other neurons,” says veteran educator and Young Parents adviser Carmee Lim. She is also the author of Bright Brains, an activity book on how parents and caregivers can stimulate a child’s learning process. This “wiring” is important because it contributes to your baby’s brain growth and intelligence level, she adds.

Here, Young Parents suggests activities that Grandma or your domestic helper can help with while you’re away at work.

3 MONTHS
Ball play is an all-time favourite. Roll it back and forth. “Watching the ball roll develops his eye-tracking skills. This eventually leads to smooth reading skills,” says Carmee. As he grows, Junior will also learn body awareness, build strength and gain motor skills when he kicks and throws the ball.

YP likes Playskool Play Favorites Busy Ball, $12.90 for a set of five, from leading department and toy stores.

6 MONTHS
Flash cards of objects and words are great for building your munchkin’s vocabulary. Worried about your maid’s enunciation and accent? Get a set of high-tech flash cards, or multimedia options like DVD- and computer-based programmes. Just choose a lesson and press “play”.

YP likes Wink to Learn’s Speak & Read English, $88 for a complete set comprising four DVDs. It has a Chinese version at $129 for six DVDs. Visit www.winktolearn.com for its list of retailers.

Try the Brillkids Little Reader Learning System, too. The Deluxe Kit software comes with a structured 12-month curriculum and costs $499.90. Visit www.babysingapore.com to buy.

9 MONTHS
Spoons – yes, your little one will be eager to feed himself with it. It’s messy fun, but he’ll learn independence and self-reliance skills. He will also develop fine motor skills to get the food from the spoon to his mouth.

YP likes Babybjorn plate and spoon set, $39, from Mothercare.

12 MONTHS
Bubbles never fail to captivate your little one. Show him how to blow bubbles and encourage him to give it a shot (hold the wand for him). You can also blow through a straw. These activities help him learn to control his lips, mouth and tongue – oral skills need to make words.

YP likes Bubble Mix, $9.90 for six 120ml bottles, from ELC.

Read the May 2010 issue of Young Parents for more tips on how you can stimulate Baby at home. Also, check out our recommended list of parent-baby classes that can give your child’s brain a boost.