Tactile Activities for Infants
An infant spends the majority of his first year of life learning through tactile experiences. You can increase your baby's exposure to these experiences by providing tactile activities. Your baby will love learning new things and you will enjoy spending extra time with your little one and watching him learn about the world.
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Texture
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Give babies a variety of surfaces and materials to touch. This helps them develop their senses and basic motor skills. If an item is clean, larger than a half dollar and does not have sharp edges, allow the baby to put the object in his mouth. Give babies objects with textures, such as smooth wood, cloth, plastic and rubber. Allow a baby to feel natural materials, such as bark, snow, leaves, dirt and plants. Talk to the child as she touches each item.
Exploring
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Babies love to explore. Exploring is an important part of any child's tactile development. Through exploring, a child learns about her environment and the types of materials and items that make up her world. Babies should have supervised exploration time every day. Allow the child to explore her indoor and outdoor environment. However, you'll need to monitor the child closely so she doesn't put anything unsuitable into her mouth.
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Toys
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Provide your baby with a variety of toys to play with and touch. A large cardboard box can serve as an ideal environment for tactile play. Nesting blocks and objects in various shapes are good examples of tactile toys. Nontraditional toys could include a spoon, pots and pans or plastic food storage containers. Introduce your baby to books by giving her a cloth book. Some books for babies also come with different textures for babies to touch.
Messy Activities
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One way to have fun with your baby while giving her tactile experiences is to allow her to engage in messy activities. With proper preparation, you can minimize the mess. Place a plastic sheet around the baby and dress her in old clothes. Allow the baby to play with a bowl full of cooked noodles, jello, pudding, sand, water, whipped cream or mashed potatoes.
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References
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