How to Stimulate Baby Development
As soon as babies enter the world, they are like information sponges, exploring each of their senses and adjusting to the world around them. While it may seem that babies aren't doing much but sitting around, their minds are constantly active, soaking in the world around them and trying to get used to moving their hands and feet. Stimulating your child in the right way can help with the baby's motor skills, brain development and intellect. You can follow a few steps to stimulate your baby's development in many areas.
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Instructions
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Let the baby move about. Babies love to explore their world, and letting them move around will help encourage their physical development and help them learn to crawl. Put a small toy slightly out of reach to encourage the child to crawl. Keep the playtime unstructured to allow the child to exercise his motor skills.
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Buy your baby toys that require her to use her hands a lot for pushing, pulling and spinning. This stimulates the development of your child's sight, hearing and touch, as well as boosting motor skills development.
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Take your baby different places to help him experience things beyond his room or a television. Put him in a stroller and go for a walk around the neighborhood, visit a local park or even stop by the pet store. This will allow your child to absorb all sorts of new sights, sounds and smells.
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Let her rest if she looks bored or overwhelmed. Don't overstimulate; make sure your child gets plenty of rest and leave future activities to another day.
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Limit television, which is not recommended for infants under a year old. TV causes eyestrain, passivity and potential desensitization to violence.
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Stimulate your baby's vision by making eye contact, helping him to recognize faces and improve memory. Make faces: Even very young newborns can learn to imitate facial movements. Show the child two pictures that are similar but slightly different about a foot away from the child's face. The baby will try to figure out how they're different, which helps develop letter recognition and reading at later stages.
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Consider breastfeeding. Breastfeed provides the baby with the nutrition it needs, which helps in brain development.
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Talk to your baby and sing him nursery rhymes to help with language and communication skills. Read often to your baby and play soft, soothing music.
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References
- Photo Credit baby image by Diane Stamatelatos from Fotolia.com
