It is impressive how your baby can have a completely different perception than an adult, the way their five senses act is unique, their way of seeing, hearing and tasting are a reaction to the information that their environment captures, allowing them to eat, sleep and bond.
Even so, when we are born, some senses are developed such as touch and hearing, however, senses such as sight take a little longer to mature, it is for this reason that we will tell you what you should do for your baby to successfully stimulate all his senses.
Sight
In the first years of life, a baby’s vision is 8 to 12 inches away and can still be blurry, only picking up shapes and shadows that cross the radar; something small, large, bright or dark.
Vision development starts to become noticeable at four months when your baby will have a more detailed range of the area, as well as being able to track moving objects. Between 4 and 6 months, he will already be able to see and distinguish colours, but without a doubt, he will begin to explore and see depth in his environment, it is between 8 and 12 months.
What can you do?
You can add colour to his bottle, something bright and cheerful, also, constantly change the position of his crib, this will help him to see at different angles. Use your face to help him adapt to the movements by moving closer to him while smiling or talking.
The most recommended games are “Peekaboo” and “Pat-a-cake”, and take him to the park, the zoo or some other place where he can be distracted.
Ear
This sense begins its development process while the baby is in the womb, making it familiar with the voices it hears while in it, even so, they are sensitive to sound changes when they are newborns, loud sounds can easily stun them while they are awake, but they also have the ability to fall fast asleep in noisy places.
Once they are 2 months old, they will start to imitate sounds, we will call this “babbling”, they will continue in this way until they are 4 months old, where they will become a little more agile in their hearing so that by 6 months they will be able to imitate specific sounds.
What can you do?
To sharpen this sense, the idea is to talk to your baby, read him a book, sing to him or tell him an anecdote, little by little you will make him create his personality, promote the link and start his training with language.
Another tip is to let him analyze the sounds of his environment, whether they are birds in the morning or crickets at night, then describe them in detail. If your baby has trouble sleeping, it’s a good idea to turn on a noise machine so he feels familiar with the womb and finds it easier to sleep.
Touch
If we talk about the best-developed sense at birth, it is touch. Your baby can distinguish from then on textures, shapes, temperatures and even the weight of some objects, it is also relevant to create bonds, that’s why hugging your baby will give him warmth and security.
Their way of exploring is through touch. It will be easier to have clean toys and objects around them because the preferred tool for them is their mouth. Once he can have control of his arms and hands, he will be able to remember and recognize more objects in his environment.
What can you do?
If you hold your baby frequently, you are doing a fascinating therapeutic act with skin-to-skin contact.
Furthermore, you should expose your baby to textures that are hypoallergenic all the time, such as the changing pads available Little Toes, or the Hippo Plush toy, which has different textures on its legs, back, and body for the baby to be stimulated.
Smell
Newborn babies have an excellent sense of smell as they can determine odours from day 1 and are sensitive to smells such as breast milk. They can also use this sense as a tool to help them identify comfort or danger.
What can you do?
It is good for your baby to become familiar with smells, so one tip is to always apply the same products, preferably with mild smells, avoid strong smells.
Taste
When a baby is born, its taste buds are already formed, this is why it has a brilliant ability to recognize what foods you ingested through breast milk, with a preference for sweetness.
What can you do?
While breastfeeding, have a healthy diet, as your child absorbs all the vitamins and proteins through breast milk. When your baby is 6 months old, start giving him/her a variety of flavours, this will give him/her the advantage of recognizing healthy food and adapting to it.
Author’s Bio: Dr. Sharon Fried Buchalter Ph.D., is a distinguished clinical psychologist, life coach, and public speaker who has worked as a Marriage and Family Therapist and clinical social worker. She received the highest accreditation as a board-certified diplomate-fellow in advanced child and adolescent psychology. She has spent her lifetime educating, enlightening and empowering parents and children of all ages.
She has developed revolutionary tools to help couples, parents, and families achieve happiness and success. Her first book Children Are People Too, provides eight essential steps designed to strengthen families and empower parents to be their own child’s life coach and mentor. Her second book New Parents Are People Too, provides relationship advice for couples entering parenthood for the first time.
She is also the founder and owner of Products On The Go. And Little Toes.
