Intellectual Development means being able to communicate, to think both creatively and abstractly, to pay attention, solve problems, and develop keen judgment and a lifelong readiness to learn.

Comfort Through the comfort and responsiveness of an adult, babies will learn how to handle their emotions and how to seek help when needed. Parents Can: Name and acknowledge feelings and help their baby calm down when he is upset Child Will: Respond to the soothing effect of your voice Parents Can: Use encouraging words such as "good for you" to provide security and help develop confidence and independence Child Will: Develop feelings of self-confidence, power and satisfaction Parents Can: Encourage and support new experiences and respond to their baby's excitement Child Will: Begin to recognize what activities, objects or experiences are of interest

Play Through opportunities for play, babies will experience joyful, free, spontaneous moments of fun while learning about themselves and others. Parents Can: Play action songs, finger plays and games naming body parts (for example, songs such as "Head and Shoulders") Child Will: Begin to match words with objects Try to mimic many of the sounds she has heard Begin to understand motions you have named and used frequently Parents Can: Offer and describe different textures that their baby can touch, taste and smell Child Will: Expand his experiential knowledge base and the language that goes along with it

Teach Through routines and emotionally and physically safe and secure environments, babies can learn how to think, solve problems and communicate. Parents Can: Respond to their baby's babbling sounds and make similar noises Child Will: Know that you are listening and interested in what she says Feel encouraged to babble on Parents Can: Imitate their baby's sounds and expand on them with new words and sounds Child Will: Understand more about what is happening in her surroundings Parents Can: Look at picture books containing common objects that can be labelled Child Will: Imitate the sounds she has heard and expand her repertoire of sounds Learn the names of objects both in books and around her