6 Ways Of Bonding With Your Newborn That Helps Their Social Development

Being a mother to a newborn baby comes with sleepless nights, early mornings and probably a lot of running around – but it’s all rewarding. However we don’t blame you if you’re a little stressed, so if you’re a new mother who is looking for ways to emotionally connect with her baby in a way that aids in their social development, scroll down. Our follower, Mariam Javed, outlines 6 ways that you can create a bond with your baby which will allow them healthy social development:

1. Have Conversations With Your Baby

2. Sing To Your Baby

Singing to your baby is meant to be great for their brain development and stimulates their abilities of realisation and perception. According to a recent study by the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) in California, lullabies don’t just soothe and comfort the baby, but also have a healthy effect on their cognitive development. It leads them to pay more attention to their mothers or caretakers and display more positive emotions towards them. Music therapy in general is known for boosting a baby’s memory and mental capabilities.

3. Maintaining Eye Contact

Try to make eye contact with your baby while feeding, playing and even simply cradling her. It helps to establish an emotional connection and she’ll enjoy looking at your face and maintaining that eye contact. When a baby looks at her parents’ eyes and face, she starts making associations – those between food and feeder, voices and persons, a smile and what it means to be happy or loved, etc. Thus, it helps to develop their emotional intelligence, as well as their attachment to you.

4. Give Your Baby A Soothing Bath

5. Skin To Skin Contact

6. Respond To Their Crying

You can’t always know why your newborn is crying, but reacting to it can help them in feeling safe and secure. Penelope Leach, in her book Essential First Year – What Babies Need Parents to Know says that in the first year, crying is the only way the babies know how to emote or express their need for something. Ignoring that or denying a response can lead to long term emotional consequences.