Waterloo Region Taking Part in Campaign to Promote Early Brain Development

When it comes to brain development, parents of young children sometimes have questions. How can I help my three-year old cope with emotions? How can I help my baby’s brain to develop well? Should my baby watch the so-called “brain development” videos?

The Region of Waterloo Public Health and Ontario Early Years Centres of Waterloo Region are part of a provincial campaign to help parents support their young child’s brain development.

The central element of the campaign is a new website: www.HealthyBabyHealthyBrain.ca. The website gives future parents and parents of children aged zero to three answers to their questions on brain development. It offers inexpensive, practical suggestions through short videos on topics such as nutrition, sleep, play, physical activity, attachment, self-regulation, discipline and stress. The videos show real-life situations that were filmed with families from Ontario. Experts offer simple advice for parents, based on proven practices. The website also contains links to useful resources.

The videos’ key messages remind parents that all of the little things they do every day with their baby impacts their development. Helping a baby develop a secure attachment is one of the most important things a parent can do. When babies feel secure, they are more able to learn from their environment.

The Region of Waterloo Public Health and the Ontario Early Years Centres of Waterloo Region are sharing these messages in services and programs across the region. Healthy brain development in the first three years has life-long implications for success in academics, employment, health, and relationships www.earlyyearsstudy.ca.

To find out more about this campaign in our region, please contact Debbie Wang at DWang@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-883-2002 ext. 7009 or Kim Krueger-Kischak at oeycliteracy@ckwymca.ca or 519-741-8585 ext 227. To find out about early brain development, visit: www.HealthyBabyHealthyBrain.ca

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For further information on the provincial campaign contact:
Louise Choquette
Bilingual Health Promotion Consultant
Best Start Resource Centre Health Nexus Santé
1-800-397-9567, ext. 2276
l.choquette@healthnexus.ca