Hey Brain-Builder! you’ve already got what it takes to turn everyday moments with infants and young children into nurturing brain-building moments. Our project teaches families the brain-building basics through over 100 awesome partnerships across Utah.
Brain-Building 101
Around 90% of brain development happens before kindergarten, and how the brain grows can have lifelong implications for thinking, learning, and even self-control and empathy. And YOU play a critical role in this brain growth.
When parents and caregivers talk to and interact with their children, they stimulate brain development and help create a strong foundation for learning and other life skills.
Every parent and caregiver has the capacity to engage with their children in ways that will support healthy brain development. When folks understand the science—and have a little coaching—they can be confident in turning their every-day moments into brain-building moments.
The science is clear—early experiences have a profound, life-long effect on:
Social and emotional well-being
Life-long learning
Long-term health outcomes
Resiliency
Vocabulary
As an added bonus, children exposed to language-rich environments are more likely to have success later in life like with language processing speed, focus, and grit.
What does brain-building actually look like?
Think about your answers to these questions…
How often do you:
Pay attention to what your child is interested in?
Talk about the things you see, hear, and do together?
Make interactions last longer by building on what your child does and says?
Are you confident in your ability to help your child’s brain develop?
Do you have specific tools and strategies to support your child’s early learning?
Can you teach another parent specific activities and strategies they could use to help their child’s brain grow?
But brain-building goes beyond just “talking more” to your baby (although that’s the best place to start!).
What kind of words do we use? Every parent has the ability to stretch their child’s exposure to vocabulary with simple approaches that our team teaches.
The Brain-building approach teaches parents and caregivers how to turn every-day moments into brain-building moments with your babies and kids.
What about?
What about “Baby-talk”?
Experts, such as Pat Kuhl, PhD, have shared advice on the best practices for the type of langugage parents should use when speaking to babies. “Baby-talk” uses infantile sounds and made-up words. Instead, parents should try using Parentese” which uses real words and correct grammar. The exaggerated tones and vowels of parentese help babies learn language while you speak with them.What about Native Languages? Yes! The research is resoundingly clear—speak the language you’re most comfortable using to your baby—even if it’s not English.
What about screen time? Screens won’t help your baby acquire language (Dr. Kuhl’s research again) but can be beneficial in some cases when you participate together, because babies learn most from human interaction and need human faces to do it best!
What about “educational” toys? We say basic is better. It’s the toy that fosters interaction between you and your kids toy that’s got our vote!
We want more and more brain building to be in conversations to happen all over Utah.
When you model healthy brain building, people notice. We need YOU, all of you to help us share the message that brain-building is important for babies and young kids! You are a brain-builder! We want you to incoporate more brain science principles into your every-day life and share what you know with others.
Partnerships drive our work
We help out groups that guide parents like healthcare or childcare providers, religious organizations, and other nonprofits. These folks teach parents brain science and help them have more brain-building moments with their children. We also encourage parents to use a free and noncommercialized platform called Vroom that provides parents brain-building tips.
Check out our Resources Page to learn more about our how our partnerships impact our community efforts.
Some of Our Amazing Partners
Intermountain Health
Granite School District Preschool
Neighborhood House
Sammy Center
YMCAs of Utah
Salt Lake City Libraries
Children’s Service Society
Help me Grow Utah
Holy Cross Ministries
KSL
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Little Lambs of Logan
Mexican Consulate
Peruvian Consulate
Promise Partnership Regional Council
Salt Lake County - Parents as Teachers
STEM Action Center Utah
Suazo Business Center
The Family Support Center, Midvale
The Winner School
Utah State Board of Education
Salt Lake County Library System
The Hive Family Collective
Thanksgiving Point
UEN Preschool Path
United Ways of Utah
Raising a Reader
United Way of North Utah - Welcome Baby
Utah Foster Care
Early Learning Essentials
Association for Utah Community Health
Friends of the Children
Washington County School District Preschool