ou gaze lovingly into your newborn’s eyes as you feed him. You speak gently to your daughter as you change her diaper. You sing to your child at bedtime.

These caring acts help your child build a healthy brain. “We now understand that the development of a baby’s brain is a dynamic complex process. The “wiring” of the brain depends on the experiences the baby has, especially in the first three years of life,” says Dr. Janet Squires, director of the clinical service of general pediatrics at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.

A baby is born with 100 billion brain cells, called neurons. In childhood, these neurons grow and connect with other neurons in the systems that control our lives. Although heredity provides a blueprint for development, the connections between brain cells are dependent on what the baby sees, smells, hears and feels.

Since most brain development takes place after birth, parents have many opportunities to contribute to the brain’s healthy growth.

“Babies learn from the moment of birth. Experiencing human interaction and emotional security in the early years provides the foundation for the more complex learning and problem solving of later childhood,” Dr. Squires says.