FIVE TO THRIVE
Just as our child’s body grows better when you give them good food, your child’s brain grows better when you do five simple things that feed the growing brain:
Respond ● Cuddle ● Relax ● Play ● Talk
These are your child’s daily ‘Five to Thrive’ building blocks for a healthy brain.
I’m a baby, did you know my brain grows better when you………
Talk
- Read to me regularly, even when I’m very young, and use as many rhymes, poems or songs as you can. Simple rhymes and rhythms hold my attention.
- Provide me with a running commentary on your own life. Tell me about colours, count the steps you climb or the socks and towels as you do the washing.
PLAY
- Being outside is great and I love to watch the world go by, especially when you talk to me about what I can see
- Pass me objects I’m interested in (if they are safe).
RELAX
- After games I need to wind-down and enjoy a few moments of calm with you.
- Try to have some time when you are just focused on the experience of being with me not on things you need to get done, or on people or events that have made you upset or angry.
- Relax into being a parent – it’s hard being a parent and the experience can be unfamiliar, scary or leave you feeling guilty or stressed, but all parents feel the same way.
CUDDLE
- Cuddle me as often as you like – babies can’t have too much contact and I love our time together.
RESPOND
- Work out what my crying means and meet my needs – warmth and comfort, food, a clean nappy, sleep.
- As I get older I like to play games like peek-a-boo and to drop toys out of my vision. I love it when you pick them up and we can play it all over again.
Parenting and Family Relationships
There are a variety of courses and one-off sessions for parents in Luton to promote positive, nurturing and responsive parenting
Child Safety
Safe at Home Luton is a child accident prevention programme aimed at families from pregnancy through to the child’s 5th birthday.
