5 baby steps

My wife just caught me lost in my phone while our baby son was lying a few feet away. She was not happy.

“If you’re going to do anything on your phone, watch the video I sent you last night”.

Sheepishly, I obeyed. I’m glad I did.

7-year-old Molly’s TED talk on brain development in babies and toddlers is a delight.

But it’s not just for distracted Dads.

Molly lists out 5 things babies need for good brain development:
1. Connecting
2. Talking
3. Playing
4. A healthy home
5. Community

She continues: “Each time you talk to us, play with us, make us laugh, it not only builds and strengthens our relationships and mental health, it actually teaches us some of the most important life skills…”

Molly is talking about young kids, of course. But if the last 18 months have taught us anything, it’s that all this is vital to us adults too.

I'm no scientist, but perhaps it’s worth asking yourself which of these 5 you could improve today - even if it's just a tiny, tiny bit?

As you may have guessed, today I'm focused on number 4. I'm off to serenade the baby with my unique renditions of hits by Jimi Hendrix, Prince, and Celine Dion. We'll see if my wife needs to intervene again.

PS. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a 7 year old doing a TED talk.