In the blink of an eye, Megan is now 18 months old and transitioning quickly from an infant to a toddler (although she'll always be a baby in my eyes). The past 1 and a half years, Megan has developed so rapidly that sometimes, her understanding of what's happening around her takes me by surprise.

My elder child, Kylie, who's 6 this year, also developed and progressed really quickly – well ahead of her peers. I initially thought it was by some stroke of luck that we were blessed with such a bright kid. But then came Megan, and her developmental progress has been equally amazing! This made me stop to think that there must be something that I'm doing right!


Now, if you know me, you'll know I'm not the tiger mom sort who's aggressive on pressing my child to hit her milestones, nor do I stress my child in academics at this young age. I literally don't do anything out of the ordinary, yet both my kids have hit their key milestones at a surprisingly early age. Megan, for example, started walking at 10 months (just like her sister). She also uttered her first word before the age of 1 and her development just keeps getting significantly astonishing - even her infant care teachers are amazed by her growth and progress!

A couple of months ago, I thought I'd just teach her to count to ten for the fun of it but to my surprise, when I said "one, two…" Megan continued on with "three!" and then, "four!" I thought I was mistaken but I kept counting on "five, six…" and when we reached "seven", she responded "eight!" It was so clear that even I was shocked! At the end of "ten" she even clapped her hands and celebrated with a "yay!!!"

I could go on about how much she's grown and how her development never ceases to amaze me, but my point here is that the first five years are more crucial to a child's brain development than we realise. In fact, it's important to set the right foundation for them and not underestimate their potential.




Did you know that 90% of the brain develops from the first five years?

Child development is developed in 4 key areas - cognitive, motor, communication and social, with different parts of the body that are responsible for different abilities developing at different rates. A balanced diet is crucial for well-rounded development and your child needs vital fatty acids like DHA, which is an important block for brain and eye development.

Considering that I don't do anything out of the ordinary to stimulate my child's development, I believe it might have something to do with their diet that acts as a catalyst for their development. Just like a tree needs nutrients to grow, a child’s brain needs the right nutrition and stimulation to reach its full potential. Nutrition lays the groundwork for overall development.