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...
Some very informative studies have recently been published and the findings might surprise you. Studies were conducted comparing electronic toys to more conventional toys such as blocks, puzzles, and wooden tools and they found that adults were less responsive to children when the children were playing with electronic toys than other toys. The studies...
We applaud the first roll over, video the first step, and record the first words in baby books, but what about the first time your baby creeps across the floor? This is perhaps the most important developmental milestone, but definitely the most unappreciated. It is sometimes regarded as a nuisance milestone because the baby...
A great way to build those neuron connections in the brain is to allow your baby to feel different textures against her skin. Our skin is our largest organ and it has a large representation in the brain, so by stimulating your baby’s sense of touch with lots of different textures, you are stimulating...
Play is great fun, but structured play teaches your baby about the world and it is a great way for your baby to learn some early STEM skills. Object Permanence Games: Play peek a boo Hide toys under blanket or scarves and help your baby find them Play with toys that hide such as...
The baby sign trend has been picking up steam over the past 20 years and is used in a lot of childcare centers and by parents alike. It makes great sense as their fine motor skills are developing ahead of their oral motor skills and they can use their hands to express themselves before they...
Tips for reading to your baby: Engage him in the book by singing the words. Get on his level so you are face to face while reading. Use expression and different voices and make faces while you read. You don’t have to read the words. You can describe the pictures. Ask him questions while you...
