How to Set your Child Up For Success in the Future

If you have a very young baby then there are a few things you can do to try and set them up for future success. By taking steps now, you can help them gain the key foundational skills they need to become more confident and more sociable people.

Stimulate Talking Where You Can 

One of the first things you need to do is try and stimulate talking. You need to treat it as if it is a real conversation. The sounds or gestures babies make might not seem like much at all but at the end of the day, it’s their only form of communication. Early development is so important, and as a parent, you should be trying to respond to your baby’s sounds and actions where possible. The total words that you expose your babies to will help to determine their total vocabulary when they are older, so take it seriously and do what you can to encourage it. If you can do this then you will soon find that it is easier for you to give them the foundation they need to build on it at a later date.

Read to your Baby

Look into SEL activities, and read to your child to try and exercise their language skills. Even at 3 months of age, your child should be able to use different forms of language, so try and keep that in mind. Make sure that you take the time to point out different things in books and ask them questions too. If you can do this while asking them what they are wearing and how many there are, then this will engage your child and their language skills. Reading to your baby helps to expose them to new things and you would be surprised at what a positive impact it can have on them.

Take Play Seriously

Young children are forever learning. When they play, they are building life skills. If you can engage them in play that is make-believe then this will help them to experience different things and it also helps them to understand the feelings of others too. When they do play with others, they will also be learning how to compromise and even how to take turns. This can have a huge impact on them in the future and it can also set them up for success in the future. When your child imagines new worlds, they can then take steps to expand their problem-solving skills which will work in their favor overall. Make a point of not being on your device too often either because if you are then this can show your child that they aren’t important enough to sustain your attention.

Lead by Example

Babies are great at impersonating. They will pick up on everything that they see, and they will soon become an expert at reading faces. They can also pick up on things that you might not even realize, so try and keep that in mind if you can. If you want your children to do things, then it helps to do it as well. An example of this would be if you are trying to encourage your child to eat their greens, then you should be eating your greens as well. If you don’t then they might not see the benefit of trying them, or they might not understand why it is so important. If you can give thought to things like this or if you can try and encourage them to follow you then you can give them a good example of how they should be behaving. Little things like this can help them with their development and you’d be surprised at how much of an impact it could have on them, so keep that in mind when the time comes for you to give them a bit of a boost.

Of course, if you want to help then one thing you can do is get your child involved with other people too. If you can do this then you will soon be able to help them to socialize which is so important when trying to build the foundation for your child moving forward. If you are struggling to help your child then remember that support is always out there and that you are never alone. Consider talking to other parents if you feel as though it would help, and always remember that if you are doing everything you can, then that is enough.