4 Ways To Turn Diaper Changes Into Brain-Building & Bonding Time

How many diapers have you changed today? (Don’t worry if you’ve lost count!) On average, baby goes through 6-10 diapers daily—and newborns can be diaper dirtying overachievers. 

Each diaper change is an opportunity to support baby’s brain development. Why? Because baby is a captive audience, looking up and learning from you, the most important and interesting person they know. 

Neurodevelopmental research has also found that baby’s nervous system is most calm and open to novel experiences during familiar routines. This makes diaper changes an ideal time for brain-building and bonding. 

HealthyBaby partnered with developmental pediatrician Dr. Stephen Cowan to create Grow with the Flow, a month-by-month guide to your child’s development from birth to 36 months. Each monthly guide shares developmental highlights and playful activities that encourage baby’s new skills.

Learn more about your baby through the Grow with the Flow Guide and keep reading for simple, but impactful, ways to make the most of baby’s many diaper changes.

1. Have a conversation

Babies learn how language works by listening to you and watching your mouth move. Even before they can talk, babies engage in nonverbal conversation. Talk to baby, watch how they respond, and answer back. Make this a two-way conversation, with and without words.

2. Make faces

Babies need to see different facial expressions to learn how to decode them. Since newborns only see short distances, diaper changes are a great opportunity to try this. Make different faces and let baby observe you. Wait for baby to respond to each face before moving on to the next one. You can also voice over the emotion that fits each face.

3. Narrate the steps

Babies learn speech patterns by listening to you and noticing patterns. Narrate each step of the diaper change, pausing between steps to give baby time to respond to what you’ve said.

4. Stimulate baby’s senses

Babies need sensory stimulation to make synaptic connections. Use diaper changes as an opportunity to engage multiple senses at once. For example, count baby’s toes while tickling them or label baby’s body parts while giving a gentle massage.