Your new baby has a lot to learn. His brain needs stimulation. He starts with a host of reflexes that help him suck, root, grasp your finger and startle at loud noises. He can hear, see, smell, taste and touch. In his first year, he develops motor skills, fine hand control, language abilities and social and emotional skills. He needs you to help him develop by providing a safe, caring environment with plenty of the right kind of stimulation.
Newborn
Music: Gentle music encourages your baby to listen. Hold her in your arms and sway gently. The sound of your voice may soothe her when she is awake but fussing.
Eye contact: She can see your face, so make eye contact with her. Even before she is three weeks old, she copies your facial movements, such as poking out her tongue, according to Andrew N. Meltzoff and M. Keith Moore, writing in Science magazine.
Tummy time: Let your baby lie on her tummy sometimes while she is awake, to encourage her to turn and raise her head.
Eye focus: Let your baby see brightly colored rattles and safe crib mirrors to help her learn to focus her eyes.
One to Three Months
Face to face: Now your infant smiles and enjoys social play with you. He starts to laugh aloud. Talk to him, sing nursery songs and make faces for him to copy, to develop his language and social skills.
Motor activity: as his arms and legs grow stronger, gently move them around for him. Clap his hands together and pump his legs carefully, preparing him to creep and crawl.
Eye focus: move objects slowly within his field of vision to encourage him to follow objects with his eyes.
Six to Seven Months
Getting mobile: Halfway through her first year, your baby is ready to get moving. Play with her as she rolls on the floor and sits up. She soon learns to balance herself, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hand control: Offer toys with different shapes and textures to encourage fine motor control as she learns to transfers toys from one hand to the other.
Object permanence: Play peek-a-boo games and hide toys under cushions, letting your baby find them. This helps her learn to understand where they went. even when she can't see them: an important milestone in her intellectual development, suggests Kidshealth.org.
One Year
Creeping and crawling: During the second half of his first year, your baby starts to get around on his tummy. Roll large balls toward, then away from him to encourage him to twist around and crawl, strengthening core muscles and promoting mobility.
Hand eye coordination: He gains fine control over his hands, picking toys up in a pincer grasp and banging two objects together. Offer him blocks and stacking toys, and encourage him to help with dressing.
Language skills: He babbles noisily now, copying the sound of an adult voice using nonsense words. He understands single words, so talk to him often in short phrases, naming objects and actions around the house.
Standing up: Encourage him to pull himself up and balance using sturdy furniture, and offer him push-along toys to encourage his first steps.
References
- "Science"; Imitation of Facial and Manual Gestures by Human Neonates; A. Meltzoff; 1977
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Learn the Signs. Act Early
- KidsHealth: Learning, Play and Your 4 to 7 month Old
