Each one, teach one. 

That African proverb simply and powerfully focuses on the need for each of us to learn — and to share what we have learned.  You could say it is our responsibility, as parents, as citizens, as human beings, to pass on the knowledge we have to someone else.

In a sense, that is the underlying philosophy behind the Brain Bag project that Studer Community Institute began to undertake in late 2016. The project is built on the belief that if you share information parents need, you should give it to them. 

The idea is, most of us parent the way we were parented. And if we don’t know another way, if no one shares the knowledge they have earned — if no one teaches us — why we do differently than what we knew from our circle of friends and family. 

There are other concepts woven into the Brain Bag project, launched with support from the women of IMPACT 100 in the spring of 2017. The researched-backed concepts from our partners at the University of Chicago that encourage parents to “Tune In, Take Turns, Talk More” are there.

The developmental guidelines from pediatricians and child development specialists are there. 

Tools that moms and dads and grandpas and grandmas can use to put those “Three T’s” into practice are there — a beautiful storybook, a developmental guide, a toy and other resources.

But each one, teach one is the foundation under them all.

The first babies who received Brain Bags are turning 1. It is a joy to see the moms and kiddos who have been in touch with us as this milestone nears.

Traci Duncan’s son Jack is about to turn 15 months old. She works Community Health Partners of Northwest Florida in the dental clinic located at the Escambia County Health Department office on Fairfield.

“He loves books, period, and he loved the (“P is for Pelican”) book. He looks at it all the time. I did (use Baby Steps) anytime I had a question, I would ask the doctor, or look it up. It was a real help.”

Megan Porter’s daughter Olivia was born in June 2017 at Sacred Heart. “We enjoyed the Brain Bag we received - what a great idea!” she said. “I’m glad we have something like this in our community. The rattle was one of our favorites early on :)”

Some moms have been gracious enough to share with us before the one-year milestone.

Ashlynn Kate Griffin shared an adorable photo of her little guy via Facebook: 

“Thank you for providing us with this cute book! Baby Ollie was born at Sacred Heart and we were so excited to find this book in our little going home haul,” she wrote. “He was doing some light reading in preparation for his first Blue Angels air show (July 6-7, 2018). Just wanted to say thank you for the book, we love it!”

Thank you, to all of the moms and dads and grandparents who are sharing what they know about how important it is for children to have positive, meaningful interaction that is rich in words from the very beginning.

Those first 1,000 days of life are a critical window for healthy early brain development. 

Sharing what we know about how to make the best of those days is important for the nearly 6,000 babies who’ve received a Brain Bag already.

One baby, one family, one life at a time.

To see more Brain Bag parents share what they learned from the program, check out our Light Up Learning video, linked here.