During the first year of a baby’s life, they are little sponges learning new skills and inputting newly acquired information into their brain on a daily basis. Babies are born with instinctive reflexes that allow them to breathe, cry, spit up and swallow, but beyond reflexes, everything is new and a baby will hit several developmental milestones before his or her first birthday. Offering stimulation will help a baby’s cognitive and physical abilities.
Sensations
At birth, all sensations are actively ready. Senses are activated when the eyes, ears, skin, tongue or nose come in contact with a stimulus in the outside environment that can be seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled. According to Developing Person, a newborn is considered legally blind since they can only see objects 4 to 30 inches away. At approximately three months, a baby will begin using binocular vision which enables a person to use two eyes to view one image
According to the Developing Person, a baby’s brain development depends on the sensory stimulations they encounter and movements they make with their own body. Offering opportunities to test the senses will give a baby the chance to learn about their new world.
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills are large movements that babies makes with their body, such as sitting, standing, crawling and walking. Not all babies will learn gross motor skills at the same time as other babies. According to What to Expect the First Year, if you are concerned with the rate your baby meets new developmental milestones, such as your baby starting later with crawling, then talk with your doctor. However, in most cases, there is nothing wrong with the baby’s development.
According to Developing Person, around 5 months a baby can usually use arms, then legs to inch forward and by 12 months many babies are able to walk unassisted. Allowing your baby “tummy time” helps stimulate the development of a baby’s gross motor skills because it encourages rolling over, inching forward to grasp objects and it gives newborns the opportunity to practice pulling their head off the ground.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills are skills acquired by using hands, fingers and the mouth. According to Developing Person, newborns have a strong grasp reflex, but lack the ability to control their hand and fingers, so the baby appears to only be waving arms towards objects. As these skills become more precise, a baby will be able to grasp toys and bottles, begin self-feeding and also find small objects while crawling. Houses are full of choking hazards once fine motor skills are developed, so ensure there are no coins, buttons, candy or other small objects within a baby’s reach.
According to What to Expect the First Year, caregivers can help with fine motor skill development by leaving hands free to explore, not swaddled or under scratch-protective mittens. Toys with buttons to push, spin and dial will also help develop these skills.
Explore
According to Developing Person, between 12 to 18 months, infants progress into toddlers and begin actively exploring the world around them. Consider a toddler who shoves food into a DVD player or drops the remote control in the toilet. They begin using a science-like method in their trial and error approach to trying new things.
While baby is exploring, the environment can be a dangerous place if not properly supervised and baby-proofed. Many department stores offer baby-proofing supplies that will keep cupboards closed, door handles off limits, stove dials covered, and electrical outlets concealed.
Language
According to Developing Person, babbling begins around 6 to 9 months old with the use of syllables, such as "ma-ma" and "da-da." The first word usually goes unheard until approximately 12 months; however, between 6 to 15 months, babies know about 10 times more words than they can speak. Developing Person continues by saying once vocabulary reaches 50 expressed words, it builds at 50 to 100 new words per month.
Talking to a toddler and labeling everything in the toddler’s world can help with language development. Similar to an English speaker learning Spanish, you learn what the object is and then learn how to say it.
References
- "The Developing Person: Through the Life Span"; Berger, K.S.; 2008
- "What to Expect the First Year"; Eisenberg, Murkoff, & Hathaway; 1989
