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You could understand if Jackie and Mike Bezos wanted to rest on their child-rearing laurels. As the parents of three children, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, they could just take pride in raising a son who’s now the wealthiest person in the United States and leave it at that.
But they haven’t. Through their Bezos Family Foundation, Jackie, 72, and Mike, 73, have spent millions of dollars on projects intended to nurture the skills and opportunities of children.
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One of their babies, so to speak, is Vroom, a program intended to boost children’s early brain development. Available in various free formats, including a smartphone app and regular text messages, Vroom shows adults (parents, teachers, paid caregivers and, yes, grandparents) how to use simple everyday activities to stimulate a child’s learning from birth through age 5 — a crucial time of development. Recent research indicates that certain brain skills — including paying attention, thinking flexibly and remembering things — are predictors of lifelong success. So, Vroom includes tips, based on academic research, for fostering these skills. For example, if your 2-year-old grandchild has a favorite song, one Vroom tip is to sing a line from the song, then pause to let her try to sing the next few words. That, according to Vroom, will help teach her to listen carefully and exercise her memory.
Here’s what Jackie and Mike had to say about their work, parenting and grandparenting.
AARP: How did you come up with Vroom?
Jackie Bezos: We have been funding research into the infant and toddler brain for quite a while. It became very evident that the science was out there, but it never really got into the hands of parents and caregivers, including grandparents.
Mike Bezos: We went to those neuroscientists who have conducted research and we asked them, “If you had three minutes to talk to a busy parent who is going to her second job and share what is important that they do to strengthen their relationship with their babies and toddlers, what would you tell them?” All of them started coming up with all sorts of terrific ideas and thoughts: “This is what they have to do.” “They have to look at the baby in the eyes when they talk to them.” “If the baby points at something, you follow that lead.”
They also shared why it was important that parents and caregivers do this. What’s happening in those babies’ brains? What is that strengthening?
Jackie: There was this opportunity to actually translate the science into actionable moments that parents and caregivers could use with their children. That was our starting point.
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