Image

The ideas hub.

A child's brain is a remarkable little creature forming more than a million neural connections every second when activated. Babies learn through spending time with their parents and other special people in their life. Here are some ideas to help create meaningful moments with your child. These meaningful moments, especially if they occur early in a child’s life and often, build strong brains, providing a strong foundation for their life.

Download the Bright Tomorrows app today to receive access to over 1,000 meaningful moments and tips to help build young brains.

Share this content

FILTER THESE IDEAS:

Clear filter

CATEGORY

Icon Attention and focus

Icon Responding to emotions

Icon Relationships and communication

Icon Planning and routines

Icon Taking on challenges

AGE GROUP

4-5

Love Connections

Taking on challenges

Take turns talking to your child about love connections. “I love you as much as a bee loves flowers.” “I love you as much as ants love sugar.” “I love you as much as a car loves gas.” Ask them to come up with one. Keep going back and forth.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

4-5

Love Connections

Taking on challenges

Take turns talking to your child about love connections. “I love you as much as a bee loves flowers.” “I love you as much as ants love sugar.” “I love you as much as a car loves gas.” Ask them to come up with one. Keep going back and forth.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When your child is challenged to find connections and make comparisons, they're learning new ways to sort and categorise information. These skills are important in math, reading, and science. You're also promoting creativity and a sense of humour.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Practice Positivity

Relationships and communication

Practice saying things in new ways with your child. You can take turns saying something negative then try to talk about the same thing in a positive way: “I don’t like loud noises” can become “I like quiet sounds.”

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

4-5

Practice Positivity

Relationships and communication

Practice saying things in new ways with your child. You can take turns saying something negative then try to talk about the same thing in a positive way: “I don’t like loud noises” can become “I like quiet sounds.”

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When your child learns how to describe things and people in different ways, they're learning communication skills and how to understand others’ perspectives. These skills are helpful in having good relationships now and in the future.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Winks and Smiles

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them, and encourage them to copy you. When your child can do this, then ask them to do the opposite—if you smile, then they should wink and if you wink, they should smile. See how long you can have fun playing this game.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

4-5

Winks and Smiles

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them, and encourage them to copy you. When your child can do this, then ask them to do the opposite—if you smile, then they should wink and if you wink, they should smile. See how long you can have fun playing this game.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Playing Winks and Smiles helps your child learn to pay attention to what you're doing, remember the rules, and copy you. When you ask them to do the opposite, they have to resist the temptation to go on autopilot and not copy you. These are important skills for school and life.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-4

Smile and Wink Game

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them and encourage your child to try to copy you. When they can do this, change the order—wink first and then smile. You can make it even more complicated by smiling and winking two times. It’s a fun game that will make you laugh.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

3-4

Smile and Wink Game

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them and encourage your child to try to copy you. When they can do this, change the order—wink first and then smile. You can make it even more complicated by smiling and winking two times. It’s a fun game that will make you laugh.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Playing this game helps your child learn to pay attention to what you're doing, remember the rules, and copy what you're doing. These are important skills for school and life.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-5

Fill in the Blank

Taking on challenges

Fill in the blanks to make up a story: “We're going to ___. When we get there we'll see ___.” As your child gets in the rhythm, take turns going back and forth. Is your story realistic? Make believe? There is no right or wrong, just have fun!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

3-5

Fill in the Blank

Taking on challenges

Fill in the blanks to make up a story: “We're going to ___. When we get there we'll see ___.” As your child gets in the rhythm, take turns going back and forth. Is your story realistic? Make believe? There is no right or wrong, just have fun!

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Creating a fill-in-the-blanks story means your child is thinking and cannot go on automatic pilot. They have to shift their thinking to respond to an unpredictable and changing story line. Thinking in flexible ways encourages problem solving skills.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Tomorrow Talk

Planning and routines

Today’s the perfect time to talk to your child about tomorrow. Find out what they hope tomorrow has in store for them: “If you could do anything tomorrow, what would you most want to do? What next?" It’s a good way to learn about their hopes for the future.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

4-5

Tomorrow Talk

Planning and routines

Today’s the perfect time to talk to your child about tomorrow. Find out what they hope tomorrow has in store for them: “If you could do anything tomorrow, what would you most want to do? What next?" It’s a good way to learn about their hopes for the future.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Asking your child to think about the future helps them make predictions and think flexibly. These types of questions also allow them to make up their own answers, encouraging them to be creative.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Super Secret Handshake

Planning and routines

Invent a super secret handshake for you and your child. Take turns adding a step (like shaking twice). Repeat it until you both have it down. Now change one of the steps. How do they respond? Go back and forth between the new and old way.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

4-5

Super Secret Handshake

Planning and routines

Invent a super secret handshake for you and your child. Take turns adding a step (like shaking twice). Repeat it until you both have it down. Now change one of the steps. How do they respond? Go back and forth between the new and old way.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Creating and learning a super secret handshake helps your child remember and do what is needed to achieve a goal. This is a big step in learning self-control.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

0-5

Sing Talk

Taking on challenges

Instead of talking as usual, try singing in a different voice. For example, it's very funny to sing about getting dressed. Sing, “I'm sliding on my shirt, jumping in my pants,” in a low voice. You and your child can use familiar tunes and make up your own words.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

0-5

Sing Talk

Taking on challenges

Instead of talking as usual, try singing in a different voice. For example, it's very funny to sing about getting dressed. Sing, “I'm sliding on my shirt, jumping in my pants,” in a low voice. You and your child can use familiar tunes and make up your own words.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you're having fun, it's likely your child will be having fun too. When you put new words into tunes and describe what you're doing, you're helping them make new and unusual connections. These types of connections promote creativity.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-5

Name That Tune

Attention and focus

Start humming a song that your child knows and have them guess what it is. If they guess wrong, start over and hum the tune again. After a few guesses, you can add in some words to the song as hints. After a few tries, let them try a tune while you guess.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Learn more

3-5

Name That Tune

Attention and focus

Start humming a song that your child knows and have them guess what it is. If they guess wrong, start over and hum the tune again. After a few guesses, you can add in some words to the song as hints. After a few tries, let them try a tune while you guess.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

This game helps your child focus and pay attention to sounds—which is important in communicating, reading, and writing—and it’s fun too!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

Every time we connect with young children, it’s not just their eyes that light up—it’s their brains, too. A global program of the Bezos Family Foundation, Vroom(R) helps parents boost their child’s learning during the time they already spend together. Vroom believes all parents want what’s best for their children. So we joined with scientists, researchers, and parents to take the science out of the lab and put it in the hands of caregivers. Vroom provides science-based tips and tools to inspire families to turn shared, everyday moments into Brain Building Moments(TM). Since 2015, Vroom has grown to impact nearly 1,500,000 families in 37 US states and 6 countries around the world. Learn more at Vroom.org.

Download the Bright Tomorrows App

WANT MORE GREAT IDEAS?
DOWNLOAD THE BRIGHT TOMORROWS APP

These ideas are just a few useful tips. To see over 1,000 tailored tips download the free app today.

  • Minderoo Foundation | Thrive by Five

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, work and live, and recognise their continuing connection and care to land, water and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

© 2026. View our Privacy Policy