How to raise a winning child

Parents naturally seek from their child that first spark of potential that could indicate intelligence, skill and other qualities that will guarantee his or her success later in life.

Raising winning children though involves more than just developing learning abilities; it also involves nourishing a parent-child bond that will ultimately influence the kind of adults they will become.

Breakthroughs in research have revealed that the first three years of children’s lives are more important for emotional and intellectual growth than previously believed.

Experiences that fill the babies’ first days, months and years have a decisive impact on the structure of a child’s brain and in turn, on every aspect of a child’s life throughout adulthood.

The first step in developing a special bond with children is to be warm, loving and responsive. This helps them feel safe and secure with the adults who take care of them.

Responding to their sounds, movements and expressions, as well as encouraging different expressions from children, will also help you build secure attachments. These interactions help your child’s brain make the connections it needs for growth and later learning.

Next, encourage safe exploration and learning. This way, you can identify the areas of knowledge toward which your child may be learning, whether it is math (as he learns to collect and count his matchbox collection, for example), or words and letters (as he begins to make up stories based on the books he is provided with).

While many of us think of learning as simply acquiring facts, children actually learn through playing. Singing lullabies, reading books together, supervising television viewing and Internet browsing and many other "bonding" sessions with children create that warm, loving atmosphere so conducive to developing a healthy outlook in life.

This relationship is further reinforced whenever you provide your child with proper nutrition – especially one that helps in the overall development of his brain as well as his body. That’s why it’s important for parents to specify and favor sources of brain-building components called docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, and arachidonic acid or ARA.

These ingredients are long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids that are building blocks of the human brain and retinal tissue, promoting the growth of neuro-connections so essential to learning.

Although DHA and ARA are contained in many natural sources, children can easily get their fill of these vital health ingredients through the formulated milk supplement, Enfakid A+, which was developed by Mead Johnson for the physical and intellectual needs of kids aged three and beyond.