Fun Brain Boosting Games that Nurture Your Baby's Learning Abilities

Every parent wants to raise a little Einstein. You can help your baby's intellectual growth and brain development and encourage them to explore the happenings around them. Something as simple as reading or playing music to an unborn child can help to stimulate a developing brain. Research indicates that classic baby games can benefit a child later on in reading and math skills. The following exercises also help to bond baby and mother.

Comparing sizes and shapes

Start with bringing your baby to your level. Peak-a-boo and Sooo Big are appropriate for beginners. Sing a song and indicate directions such as "up" and "down" and soon your baby will be imitating you. You can teach sizes by using various objects as "big" and "little". Find different objects such as "round and square". Enhance your teaching by making up songs to get your child's full attention. Since food seems to stimulate babies, use different finger foods of different shapes and show the baby how to sort them into two different piles. Soon you will see your toddler doing this on its own, possibly before he/ she turns one!

Try to make these activities fun. Add singing and clapping and laugh often. These activities promote skills such as language, co-ordination and prediction. This also teaches concepts that will be utilized later on in Math. Do not forget to nurture any musical talent with dancing, and toys that make rhythms, such as a rattle. Music from the radio or CD when the baby is alone also helps to encourage musical talent.

Counting exercises

Remember This Little Piggy"? This helps stimulate the senses of hearing, touching and sight. You pretty much have a captive audience because babies seem to love this game and show it by fits of laughter. You can go to babytalk.com for other child classic counting songs.

And don't forget:

• Make eye contact. From the time baby first opens their eyes, look right into them.

Infants usually recognize faces quite early, and yours is the most important. Each time your baby identifies you, it is memory building.

• Let your child reflect. Each time your baby sees her/his image in a mirror they may think it is someone else, but as time goes on, your tot will make "the other" baby laugh, clap, wave their arms, etc. Soon they will recognize the baby is them.

• Stick out your tongue. Make different faces to the child. Studies have shown that even days old infants can imitate different muscle movement and will begin to imitate. This indicates an early ability to problem solve.

• Tickling. Playing games such as: "This Little Piggy" or "Gonna Get You" helps your child to predict events.