Your child’s early experiences are extremely important for cognitive development. This is why doctors recommend parents engage their children from a very early age.
No time is too early to interact with your baby. In fact, some medical professionals ask mothers to read to or speak to the fetus before birth. Engaging with a newborn is perfectly acceptable and completely safe.
Here are the 5 best ways to interact with your baby, if he/she is between 0 and 3 months old:
A baby that’s under the age of 6 months is still taking in the world. He/she is still fragile and any roughhousing or energetic play can be dangerous. Instead, laid-back activities can be used to stimulate your child’s cognitive development:
- Introduce him/her to new shapes and colors
Hang large, colorful, fluffy toys atop your baby’s crib and watch as they look at them in wonder. Remember that babies are born near-blind and they take a few weeks to get their complete vision. So, when displaying the objects to your baby, make sure you keep the items close to their face.
They may not make out the shape for a few months, but they'll certainly be able to see the color.
Studies have shown that babies who were read to when in the womb, recognize their mother faster than other babies. They also are easier to keep happy when read-to post-birth.
Use picture books with large, colorful pictures. Read aloud and linger on pages which have 3D images and paintings. When you read to your child, they will pick up the inflections in tone and pitch and this will help in language development.
- Expose him/her to new textures
From hypoallergenic feathers to soft napkins, you can slowly move the material across your baby’s skin, to get them used to the new texture. If the item you’re using is something your baby has never experienced before, you’ll actually see them trying to make sense of what it is.
These new textures will make the baby more aware of their own body.
Music has been found to have similar benefits for babies as reading, both before birth and after. You can start out with child-friendly songs, but there’s no need to restrict yourself to only nursery rhymes.
It’s been found that children who listen to classical music and rock have a faster cognitive development than children who aren’t exposed to music.
Spend some quality time with your baby and just talk to him/her. The more he/she listens to you speak, the sooner will he/she learn to recognize your voice and place you in memory.
Using all the above techniques will ensure that you engage your baby and help with their brain
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