While there are general guidelines for infant development, all babies are different and develop at varying rates, report doctors at the National Network for Child Care. Understanding and recognizing the different levels of an individual baby can help parents and caregivers develop specific activities to promote healthy development.
Talking
Talking and singing to infants can help to develop their hearing and their vocal abilities. Mimicking baby's noises promotes social development as the infant learns that his noises garner a response. Begin to point to objects and say their names with infants to begin the process of recognition and naming. "No" is one of the first words that infants learn and they can begin to understand how you communicate boundaries at a very early age if you begin to verbalize what is permitted behavior. Reserve baby DVDs that are designed to teach infants for times you can watch the shows together and interact with the child. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that by 8 months, babies who spent time in front of a screen actually learned fewer words than those who learned most of their communication skills from parents and caregivers.
Moving
Hold rattles and other objects away from the baby so she can move her head to find the source of the sound. Move it around and let her exercise her neck. Place the infant on the floor or a play mat in different positions and let her roll over or try to move on her own to let her develop her muscles. Roll a ball around and keep it just out of reach to encourage the baby to reach for it. Give infants containers and objects to fill and dump out of the container to develop hand/eye coordination.
Holding
Babies need to develop trust, so pick a baby up when he fusses so that he can learn that his needs will be met and he can trust you to deliver them. Feed an infant when he's hungry and soothe him when he's upset to develop a sense of safety. Don't force him to go to strangers if he is leery or shy. Infants respond differently to various people and they need to know that it is all right to take their time to get to know someone before they go to them. Start leaving the infant for short periods of time and make a game of saying goodbye and letting her know when you return. Practicing leaving can prepare the infant to deal with separation anxiety that often occurs around 8 months.
