If we want to retire early and live the good life while Emily takes care of us, she’s gonna have to get a decent job. And to do that, she’s gonna have to be smart. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to stimulate the development of Emily’s brain as early as possible.

In the first years of a baby’s life, the brain is busy building its wiring system. Activity in the brain creates tiny electrical connections called synapses. The amount of stimulation a baby receives has a direct affect on how many synapses are formed. Repetitive stimulation strengthens these connections and makes them permanent.

At almost one month old, Emily’s vision is so poor that she still can’t make out any definite shapes. If she were to take an eye exam, she wouldn’t even be able to make out that giant E at the top of the chart. Not that it would make any difference if she could because she wouldn’t know what to call that letter anyway when the old guy at the DMV asked her. She won’t be reciting the alphabet for another few months. But I digress.

So how does one stimulate a baby without using expensive alternatives like electro-shock transistors? (maybe they’re cheaper in the US, I don’t know) Black and white pictures meticulously held 12 inches from their face, that’s how. Researchers have discovered that infants not only prefer to look at high contrast graphics, but that such images can help increase concentration skills, stimulate the creation of synapses (brain cell connections), increase an infant’s attention span, calm a baby (when she is bored), and enhance curiosity. We noticed this first hand when we realized that Emily would hypnotize herself with the shadows cast on the wall next to her crib at night. Hence the “infant stimulation graphics”:

I’ve printed these bad boys each on their own piece of paper and strategically placed them around the house. The top-left one is in her Moses basket. The top-right one is in her crib. The bottom-left one is hung on the wall just beside her changing table. And the bottom-right one is floating around the house for general all-purpose use. And Emily loves them! She could be in the crankiest mood from putting up with five hours of stinky neglect in her little diapers, but once she catches a glimpse of that checker board next to her changing station, she settles down and stares intently at the design for upwards of two whole minutes (we’re still working on that attention span). I’ve got a bunch of other high-contrast designs I’m planning on printing out and testing. I’ll report back as to which ones Emily prefers in case you want to try it out at home with some other baby you may have access to.