Babies need stimulation in the right direction and not unnecessary overstimulation. I have a fear of unknown and as a new mum I was so freaked out as I did not know what to expect and what to do with the newborn. This encouraged me to pursue an online Diploma in Developmental Psychology from the Queens University. I am so glad that I did as it equipped me with knowledge of how to stimulate my baby in right direction and how to understand babies better in general.
Facts:
- Babies can only see very vague image of you like the outline of your body and hazy face features. Therefore, your nipples get darker and bigger so that babies can see it better. – (I know it blew my mind)
- Babies can only see black and white up to first few weeks and then their favourite colour is yellow and then red. So, when your baby is few weeks old you should show them contrasting patterns in black and white and yellow patterns. See below link for inspiration: brillbaby – infant stimulation cards.
For baby entertainment & engagement purpose you can download and print these cards:
- Baby gym is great fun but have black, white, yellow, and red colours for sure. Babies won’t use it straight away, but they will grow into it as they become more aware.
- Music is great fun and just dance around with them.
- Teletubbies toys are good fun for babies as that’s how they see humans in their early weeks.
- Talk a lot to them as much as you can. The more you talk the more the babies learn. They would learn lots of different words and this early communication teaches babies to start using their words sooner in their toddler life or even start communicating quickly.
Talk to them about anything and everything like you would talk to another adult in a high pitched musical voice explaining the thing that you are doing like folding clothes or cooking as if they had no idea. Also do wait for the babies to respond too. It will not be polite to not let the other person talk.
You can find more info on these in the following links:
- Raisingchildren.net.au regarding talking with babies and toddlers
- BBC article on how the word gap that affects how your baby’s brain grows
- Scholastic.com article on importance of talking to babies
- Bilingual or multilingual babies: Babies can pick up on 7 different languages. They start picking up on languages from as soon as 6 to 10 months. So talk to them as much as possible. I know it is silly but trust me it is going to help them to develop. If they kid has bilingual or multilingual, then it is great. So, if one parent speaks in language A and the other in language B then stick to that language no matter what. Multilingual kids can understand you and they may start speaking a bit late it is okay as they are learning multiple languages. Kids can learn different languages from as young as 6 months but they slow down in learning languages after the age of 7. You can read further on bilingualism on Raisingchildren.net.au.
- Teething rings and teethers: When your baby starts to teeth which can be as young as 3 months old they would like to put things in their mouth and bite on it. You should have teething rings suitable for their age to bite or chew on. It should not be anything hard but soft enough like silicone rings or wooden rings and with different textures. After 6 months you can give the rings that you can keep in fridge so that it can soothe their sore gums. You can use bonjela and teetha and similar teething gel. You can also give them cool watermelon pieces, cucumber to chew on after when they start on solids.
- Massage Time: Babies love massage, and it is good for their skin and bones development. You can enroll in an online baby massage class or join a class locally. It is a great bonding exercise too. You can use virgin raw coconut oil or any other baby non processed oil. But apply only coconut oil to hair or head as they are good for the growth of hair. Also move their limbs along with tummy massage as it is great to relieve wind.
- Parents.com – how to massage baby
- Below video shows the baby massage technique.
- Baby Sensory classes: When your baby becomes more aware of the surroundings and participates in music or gym or any stimulation activities at home with you, you can think of bring your baby to a sensory class. It can be over stimulating for very little babies so make sure that your baby is not very newborn and also the timing shouldn’t be affecting your baby’s sleep time.
I brought my kid to a baby sensory activity class when he was 8-9 months old so he was very aware and enjoyed the classes a lot. Check out some of the classes:
