During the first few years of life, a child's brain develops at a more rapid rate than it ever will.
A local agency is taking part in a national project to help parents understand how their daily interactions with their child enhance their baby's learning experience.
The Child Care Council in Rochester is one of ten sites around the country participating in the initiative.
CEO Barbara-Ann Mattle said the agency will distribute materials that offer simple tips to parents. One example: mimicking your baby's babbling helps with language development.
"By following your child's lead and responding, you're sparking the connections he or she needs to make for larger language and communication later on. It's not that we're trying to say that you have to learn to be a professor or something”, Mattle said. “You're really doing it all the time. But to let them know that when you do that, this is what happens; this is the effect that it will have on your child's life, that's the cool part."
The project, called Vroom, is an initiative of the Bezos Family Foundation.
Parents can request the interactive materials used in the program by calling Renee Scholz at the Child Care Council at (585) 654-4720.
