Supporting Lifelong Learning: Why Your Baby’s Earliest Experiences Matter Most

Since before they were born, very real learning is occurring in the mind and body of your infant as they seek to understand how this complex and fascinating world works. Processes of development are being embedded through every learning opportunity. Their expectations and perceptions of the world are being informed, underpinning the stability of their mental health and well-being.

Begin Supporting Lifelong Learning from the Very Beginning

Long before your baby could reach out to touch your face…
Before they opened their eyes to the light…
Even before their first breath — real, meaningful learning was already underway.

From the moment life begins, your child is absorbing the world around them. Their developing brain and body are constantly collecting information, laying down the foundations for how they will learn, relate, and respond throughout their life.

And this early learning doesn’t wait for the “right age” or a structured lesson.
It starts now.
In every moment of connection, movement, and calm.

The roots of learning run deep

Before a child learns to count or to read, they are learning something even more important:

• Am I safe here?
• Does someone respond when I cry?
• Can I trust the world around me?

These earliest experiences don’t just shape how your child feels — they shape how they learn.

Because when a baby feels secure, valued and calm, their brain is in the best place to take in new information. To process. To explore. To build the essential architecture for all future learning.

In fact, every interaction with you — your voice, your touch, your attention — is teaching them something about how the world works and who they are within it.

Learning is physical, emotional, and sensory

It’s easy to think of learning as something that happens in the brain.
But in the early years, learning happens through the body.

Each stretch, wriggle, and grasp builds new connections.
Each sound, scent and touch helps to shape the nervous system.
Each cuddle and moment of calm reinforces emotional resilience.

These aren’t small things.
They are the very beginning of your child’s ability to focus, to self-regulate, to relate to others and to manage stress.

So when you offer your baby gentle, loving touch…
When you speak softly, hold them close, and respond with patience…
You are supporting their mental health, their learning ability, and their future wellbeing — all at once.

The power of expectations

Here’s something remarkable: your baby is already forming expectations about how the world works.

Is the world a safe place?
Are people kind and responsive?
Is it okay to explore, make noise, get things wrong?

These perceptions become part of your child’s internal map — shaping not only how they behave, but how they feel about learning itself.

If a child learns early on that the world is calm, responsive and joyful, they’re far more likely to approach future learning with confidence and curiosity.

So the way we respond now matters deeply.

How can you support lifelong learning?

You don’t need special tools or programmes.
You don’t need to “teach” in the traditional sense.

What your child needs most is you — present, calm, attuned to their needs.
Here are three powerful ways you can support learning from the very beginning:

1. Connect through presence
   Be with them fully — not perfectly, but consistently. Your warm presence is a signal of safety.
2. Offer rich sensory experiences
   Let them feel the breeze, hear your laughter, touch different textures, and watch the world around them.
3. Respond with love
   When they cry, coo, babble or reach — answer them. You’re showing them that communication matters.

These simple acts aren’t just loving — they are teaching your child how to be in the world.

In the end…

The most powerful learning doesn’t begin in the classroom.
It begins in your arms.
In the tiny, repeated moments that make up a day.
In the soft gaze, the gentle touch, the predictable rhythm of care.

You are not just meeting their needs.
You are laying the foundation for how your child will grow, relate, and learn for the rest of their life.

And that? That’s the start of something extraordinary.

Dr Kathryn Peckham is an Early Childhood Consultant, author and researcher and the founder of Nurturing Childhoods and the Nurturing Childhoods Academy.  Providing all the knowledge, understanding and support you need to nurture the children in your life.