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Infant Aerobics

Can Exercise Make Your
Baby Smarter?

By Teri Brown

"The more he crawls the better his breathing becomes," Doman says. "Newborn babies have immature and irregular breathing. Babies who are moving all the time develop more mature breathing much more rapidly. This improved respiration has many wonderful neurological consequences for the baby. The lungs are the reservoir for oxygen, and oxygen is the primary food of the brain. The baby's brain requires much more oxygen than the adult brain does. A moving baby is a better oxygenated baby. Better oxygen to the brain improves all areas of function to some degree."

There is a direct relationship between respiratory maturation and the ability to make sounds. Doman says that "floor babies" develop a wider range of sounds more rapidly and they learn to use those sounds to communicate better.

"When babies can communicate better they are less likely to be frustrated with us and more likely to get what they want and be happy," Doman says. "It is of the greatest importance to establish effective and consistent communication with the baby at the earliest moment. This improves the quality of the baby's life and the lives of everyone in the family."

So does exercise or movement make your baby's brain develop faster? Further research is needed before that statement can be made absolutely. But it only makes sense that improved movement allows your baby to develop at the rate he was created to. And allowing your baby to develop to his or her fullest potential is the noblest goala parent can have.

Want to see more?

• Tummy Time: On the Back to Sleep, on the Stomach for Play
• Baby's Gotta Move! How Movement Affects Baby's Brain Development
• Let's Get Physical: The Importance of Getting Your Toddler up and Active
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