Babies Learn Gratitude Too
According to Stacey Segal MSc,RD, a Pediatric Dietitian who specializes in Neurosciences, the first 1000 days of life are a crucial period of time for brain development(5). During the first year of life, different regions of the brain are rapidly growing in form and function, although not all at the same time. This means not only is your baby’s brain gradually getting bigger, remarkably it’s also creating pathways for brain cells to communicate with one another. This is HARD work; AND it makes the brain ‘hungry! In fact, each region of your infant’s brain, as it develops, needs (craves, even!) specific nutrients for support.
Although your baby will likely not be thanking you for their diaper changes or meals, they are developing the key areas of the brain that will be responsible for feeling and expressing gratitude later on. Your baby will also be watching you carefully as they learn about the world around them. This is an important time to be modeling and practicing gratitude, and sharing gratitude with your baby. Here are some simple tips to help your baby build a foundation that will help them experience gratitude later on.
Parenting Tip: Tell your baby you are grateful for them.
Expressing gratitude regularly at home, with your baby can help model the feeling and language around the emotion. Receiving gratitude is a great first step to later on being able to express it. You can try reading books about gratitude, or even start a regular routine around sharing gratitude daily that your baby can observe. Making this a regular part of family culture has been shown to increase the chances that a child will be able to practice gratitude themselves later on(4).
Nutrition Tip 1: Offer iron-rich foods and a variety of vegetables & legumes.
As you venture into offering solid food to your baby, try to focus on foods that are rich in iron and the other key nutrients that are important for supporting development of brain regions responsible for social, emotional and visual learning. Veggies and legumes are jam packed with so many of these important nutrients. Some of these key nutrients are vitamin A, lutein, copper, zinc and protein. When it comes to offering food to babies, it’s easy to get stuck on a few singular foods they seem to like. But try to focus on ‘variety’ because this is how they will receive adequate balanced nutrition.
Nutrition Tip 2: Don’t be afraid to let feeding get messy and FUN.
Mealtimes, for babies and adults alike, should be a relaxed and enjoyable experience. Think of your own feelings of gratitude when presented with a gorgeous meal or a delicious slice of warm apple pie. Our feelings of gratitude are absolutely connected to our food. Babies can begin to experience this same feeling, IF we facilitate this atmosphere. It’s okay to let them get a little messy, this is one way they learn. Back to the ‘nutrition tip’, try spoon feeding a nutrient dense food, like Cerebelly purees, during the meal they are ‘exploring’. A ‘nutrient dense’ food describes a food that has a meaningful amount of nutrients per spoonful.