Meaningful moments build healthy brains in kids

Posted on 16 September, 2019

When it comes to kids, it’s quality time, not quantity, that’s important in developing young brains, from reading a book to blowing raspberries on their tummies.

That’s the message behind a new early childhood awareness campaign called ‘Bright Tomorrows Start Today‘, being launched in Canberra today across TV, social media and print.

The aim of the eight-week campaign from CoLab – Collaborate for Kids is to get parents to think about how to create more meaningful (brain-building) moments with their kids.

CoLab is a partnership between world-leading researchers at Telethon Kids Institute and the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation, both in Western Australia.

Parents and caregivers can watch short videos of a cute blue, furry critter named Bobbie, who represents a baby’s active, receptive brain, showing how engaging moments with the people in their lives makes little brains respond and grow.

Bobbie lights up with excitement when stimulated by meaningful interactions and experiences such as smiles, attentions, and playful interactions with parents and caregivers.

CoLab director Professor Donna Cross—and 2012 West Australian of the Year—says Bobbie is a useful tool to show the way a child’s brain lights up with positive activity which repeated, forms pathways that shape their thinking and emotional patterns for life and enhance their future learning and development.

“When you look at a child, you can’t see if the brain’s working or not, so we were trying to be very literal and let this blue creature model what the brain is doing as the child’s being stimulated, or otherwise,” she says.

“The campaign demonstrates that when parents are talking, singing, or narrating what they’re doing with their children, the dramatic impact that that can have on the neural development of children from birth to age three.

“A child’s brain development from birth to age three is just extraordinary with a million neural connections being formed every second, so it’s just such a rich time to deeply invest in the positive ways that we interact with children.”

The campaign changes thinking about early childhood development, including the prevalent notion that children’s brains are like sponges that passively soak up their surroundings.

“There’s a perception in the wider community that childhood is an idealised time, where, if we just create a beautiful environment for children, and smile and interact with them, that that is enough to maximise their neural development,” Donna says.

“But what we’re saying is, in that great environment and loving home and that busy lifestyle that we have, we need to create meaningful moments, early and often.

“It’s about quality and really maximising the two minutes that you have in that moment to make sure that you’re getting the best out of it for your child.

“And rather than seeing child development as passive, to see it as something that everybody can actively contribute to—grandparents, aunts, uncles and community members.”

To help busy parents and caregivers make the most out of time spent with kids, CoLab has developed an app “Bright Tomorrows” that will be available to download at the end of October.

The app will give tips or “gentle nudges”— easy, simple ideas tailored to parents’ and other carers’ needs about how to create special moments with the kids in our lives.

“For example, when you’re doing the washing, have your child help with simple sock matching as you fold and put them away,” Donna says.

“Talk about who has big feet and little feet in your family, and which socks go together and why—are they the same colour, pattern or size.”

Donna says meaningful moments happen “in the daily activities” of life, like standing in line, waiting at a doctor’s surgery, or cooking dinner. Even the frantic drive to day-care drop off can be a chance to chat or sing together and connect.

“If you’re travelling in the car with your children, singing songs as you travel, is a wonderful way to build your children’s language skills,” she says.

“Or narrating what you’re seeing, or watching where your children are looking, and rather than directing them to look at things, talk with them about what they’re looking at.

“Similarly, when children are playing, parents often think, ‘Well, I’m on the floor with my children and I don’t really know what to do. I’m sitting there and holding things and showing them things.’

“Again, watch where children are focused. If they’ve picked up a toy, you pick up a similar toy. Mimic what your children are doing so you get that reciprocal interaction which helps to build their brains.”

Research shows that building young brains in the first three years of life improves children’s health, social and emotional wellbeing, even reducing their risk of chronic illnesses like cancer and heart disease later in life.

But Donna stresses the campaign and app are not designed to make busy mums and dads feel even guiltier.

“You don’t have to have buckets of time,” she says. “In effect, the team that has developed these tips are working parents who know how busy life gets.

“We know everyone wants to do the very best for their children, so we’ve tried to create ideas to help parents interact with their children during the times we would have been with our children anyway. It’s just: how do we make them all the more fun?”

Website: brighttomorrows.org.au

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