There's one thing all parents want for their babies... a bright future. And most will do almost anything to ensure it happens.

But unfortunately this is not within our complete control.

To make matters worse, most parents are completely unaware of those things they can do to give their baby the best.

The first and easiest is obviously to ensure their baby develops completely.

Proper baby head support and control is one of the very first signs that your baby's development is on track.

It's also a very important milestone that influences the progress of all further development. And it's a "self-correcting" milestone, meaning that you will immediately know when everything isn't right.

Without proper head control your baby isn't likely to roll, sit, crawl, stand or walk properly.

But most parents are totally ignorant of this milestone and its importance. Nor do they take extra effort to make sure their child properly masters it.

They simply assume their baby automatically develops proper head support. And is heading for a bright future.

But here's something even more important...

Mastering good baby head support is only part of the solution.

It must also happen at a specific age. And it must be done correctly.

Your baby needs to master the ability to hold her head upright and move it from side to side to look at nearby things at a very specific age. So, it's not as if she can take her time to reach this milestone.

By 8 weeks about 50% of all babies can lift their heads to look ahead when lying on the floor. And 70% of them can do so by 10 weeks. And by 14 weeks 90% of them can easily do so.

That's why 10 weeks is a great time to judge how well your child is doing.

If your baby doesn't have good head support and control at around 10 weeks it's still not something to get overly worried about. But it's definitely a sign that development is a bit slow.

Ten weeks is a great time to seriously encourage your baby to finally master head control.

But how do you do that?

Easiest and most effective is to encourage the tummy lying position. Place your baby on her tummy on a mat or on the floor. Encourage her by getting down and talking to her, making sounds and even placing colorful toys in the near vicinity.

This is a very simple, yet one of the best ways to encourage and stimulate good head control.

Another great way is not to support her head all the time when holding her. But take care when doing so. Obviously the idea is also to encourage and stimulate her to master head control - not to injure.

In short, a simple 4-Step plan you can follow to encourage good head control is:

1. Always encourage your baby to spend lots of time on her tummy

2. Look and judge head control at around 10 weeks

3. Seriously encourage head control if s/he hasn't mastered it by 10 weeks

4. Get professional assistance if s/he still hasn't mastered it at 12 weeks

Once parents appreciate just how important good head control and support is, they'll realize the importance of constantly judging their baby's progress... and encouraging proper development.