As we talked about at three months, babies appear to be born with essentially no sense of balance, but it develops significantly over the first year. Balance is not just necessary for standing and walking. Crawling, rolling over, sitting, reaching for toys require balance; the simple task of holding our head at midline requires balance. […]
Babies are born with a well-developed sense of hearing. Did you know that the mechanisms for balance are housed in the inner ear, so the two senses are very closely related? Anyone who has ever held or observed a baby knows that babies appear to be born with essentially no sense of balance. It […]
Talk to her while you run errands, shop, drive, ride the bus, go for a walk. Narrate what you are doing and explain what you see. Ask her questions and engage her. Point out colors, shapes, animals, objects, and people. Don’t worry about what people think about you talking to a tiny baby. Know that […]
In a few short months, your baby will be pulling to stand and walk! Help her develop that strong core necessary for keeping her body vertical by doing baby sit-ups with her. You help her do baby sit-ups once or twice a day, or you can have her do a sit up every time you […]
Exersaucers and jumpers are not meant to be used until your baby is naturally pulling himself into standing. Some parents think that they can use these items as soon as baby has some trunk support and can hold his head up, but this could do your baby a disservice. Her tiny muscles and ligaments of […]
Get those hands dirty! The benefits of play are numerous, but unstructured, exploratory “messy play” allows your baby to make discoveries by using all her senses. The sensory experience of messy play enables your baby to understand how things feel, smell, and taste and gives her control over the experience. Playing with actual toys is […]
The grasp reflex was so sweet! She would hold your finger for hours, but did you notice she could not let go at will? She only broke out of that reflex when another reflex took over and changed her movement pattern. Now that the grasp reflex is gone and he can grasp and release […]
A very important stage of development that occurs right around three months is the development of depth perception. Newborn babies actually have no depth perception at all, but it develops very suddenly right around three months within a two week period. This is really important to be aware of because depth perception requires good […]
She is very alert and aware of her surroundings. Let’s use her growing acute sense of vision to teach her about her world and engage her. As her distance vision comes into clearer focus, try these activities: Blow bubbles-encourage her to watch the bubbles as they float away. Can she keep her eyes on […]
Anything that can fit into a cardboard toilet paper roll is a choking hazard. It is important to understand the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging is a safety reflex that prevents choking. If your baby is gagging, they are likely making noises and still able to breathe. Gagging is a normal part of learning […]
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