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 We are proud to announce the birth of our very first Happy Baby. Zane Amirali Visram Kulak was born on January 31st to proud parents Shazi Visram, our founder and CEO, and her husband Joe Kulak. This “gracious gift of God” weighed in at 6 lbs. 4oz and was 21” long. Mother, Dad and baby are healthy and doing well. Best of all, Zane is already sleeping five hours straight at night … most of the time!
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— SHAZI & JESSICA
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Food plays a vital role in how children’s brains function, how they feel, and how they behave. Understanding how hunger affects the brain can provide a wealth of insights for you.
Hunger is stress. Lack of food causes stress in the brain due to the lack of nutrients it needs. This causes stress hormones to be released resulting in lack of attention, behavior problems, and the brain not functioning at optimal levels.
However, good nutrition can lead to increased serotonin (feel good chemical) levels in the brain and happier children spending more time playing and learning. Throughout everyday life it is important to realize the impact nutrition has on the brain. With a very busy schedule or a disrupted routine it is easy for the behavior of children (and adults) to be easily affected by hunger.
Providing sugary foods to combat hunger will result in a child feeling (and behaving) even worse. Sugary foods or beverages eaten on an empty stomach instead of healthy foods (including enough protein) will result in a crabby and possibly hyperactive child. This occurs due to the brain still not getting the nutrients it needs. Young children’s brains are not developed enough to handle all they are feeling. Adults are better able to control and manage the effects of hunger.
Making sure your child has enough time for a good breakfast can make a remarkable difference. A relaxed and healthy breakfast can reduce cravings for "junk food" throughout the day.
Additional Hungers
It is also helpful to realize that the brain also hungers for structure, recognition, and stimulation.
STRUCTURE
Children prefer the structure and routine that feels comforting and calming when they can anticipate what is going to be happening in their lives. When the brain feels the security of predictability this leads to increased cooperation. A familiar routine decreases anxiety and stress for both adults and children.
RECOGNITION
A child wants your attention and recognition. Attention helps a child know they are valued and important. Children ideally want recognition for positive behaviors. However, if good behavior doesn't get attention, a child will resort to negative behaviors to get the need met. It is easy to have your attention on many other things throughout a busy day. But, if you take the time to recognize your child's need for some of your attention, things are likely to go much smoother.
STIMULATION
The brain likes stimulation. It is curious and likes novelty. Lack of stimulation feels like stress to the brain. When adults have to wait for an appointment or are standing in line, etc. we find something to read or something to do. Children's brains do the same thing. A child will create an incident to stimulate their brain. This may also include the need to have physical activity. Some adult focused activities during the day may not be stimulating to a child's brain. Keeping this in mind and providing child focused activities will keep a child stimulated in positive ways.
Using this information will lead to strengthening the higher functioning areas of the brain. Feeding the brain's hungers will contribute to more loving, caring, sharing, fun, laughter, hugs and smiles.
The brain remembers best when feeling positive emotions. Enjoy your time together creating wonderful memories and positive brain connections!
For additional brain stimulating activity ideas go to www.braininsightsonline.com and Early Childhood Brain Insights Blog
Deborah McNelis, author of The Brain Development Series, has taught kindergarten, pre-school and in the early childhood associate degree program for several years. Most recently she was the early childhood specialist for the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.
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FICTION! Though it's true that a baby under 12 months old should not drink a glass of liquid milk, dairy products like yogurt and cheese are appropriate for babies starting solids. Yogurt, for example, is easily digested by babies and full of important nutrients that promote strong growth like protein, calcium and vitamin D as well as health-promoting ingredients like probiotics to enhance digestion and support baby's immune system. Pediatricians recommend whole milk yogurt for healthy brain development. All this goodness plus organic fruit is in our HAPPYMELTS freeze-dried yogurt snacks and yogurt cups, meals and drinkables from our marketing partner YoBaby.
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