Stimulating A Baby’s Senses
Discover how to stimulate your baby’s senses in an easy and fun way.
You can stimulate a baby’s senses in a wide variety of situations. In fact, it encourages development and makes the interaction fun and enjoyable. In addition, stimulating the baby’s senses strengthens the bond between the baby and its parents.
Recall that both a baby’s and an adult’s brain work with the information provided. Our senses as well as the vestibular and proprioceptive systems provide these. This way children get to know the world and can develop.
Stimulating a baby’s senses
sense of touch
To stimulate your baby’s sense of touch, you should choose some of these exercises, depending on your child’s age. You have probably already tried a few and more come to mind:
- With a soft brush that you usually use for combing, you tickle your baby by gently stroking his skin.
- Offer items made of different materials. You can buy a medium-sized rubber ball and cover it with different fabrics: cotton, aluminum foil, cellophane. Make sure that the materials cannot come off the ball and that your baby cannot put them in their mouth.
- Fill a few buckets with grains (such as rice and chickpeas) of different sizes. Hide some toys in it so your baby can look for them with their hands. Just be careful not to put anything in your mouth.
- Have your baby examine his food, play with it, and make a mess. Children love to spread porridge all over their face and arms. It is important that you let it eat on its own.
- Let it play with sticky substances like jello or modeling clay. Take your little one to the beach and let them feel and discover the sand there.
Sense of taste
- As soon as the pediatrician allows, you can introduce solid foods that invite your child to learn new textures, tastes, and smells. At first you will be a bit surprised. But that’s quite normal when discovering new things.
- Also offer him food at different temperatures.
Sense of smell
- Give your baby fruit to help him smell certain foods.
- When it’s a little older, you can blindfold and guess smells.
- Teach your child to be curious about smells. For example, allow them to smell their creams or shampoo.
Sense of hearing
- Talk to your baby There is nothing to be more pleased about than to hear the voice of its mother. Play with him and sometimes make funny grimaces.
- Sing something to him! Trust yourself, because all children think that their mother sings great.
- Allow him to play with paper that makes noise. You can use newsprint for this, for example.
- Offer your child toys that make sounds or musical instruments.
- Talk to him in short and simple sentences. It is not necessary that you gesticulate too much or say the words extra slowly.
- Let it play with its voice. You will see that there is a phase when it likes to scream and is absolutely happy at the same time.
Sense of sight
- Provide your baby with a mobile.
- Goes to a park or garden together. Observe the plants, the birds and the clouds in the sky. The sense of sight is stimulated in a positive way.
- Offer him toys of different colors.
- Teach him to follow toys with his eyes. Move it slowly from side to side and from top to bottom.
- Show him picture books with large and colorful pictures.
Beyond the five senses
Vestibular system
- Lay your baby on his stomach for a moment and then on his back.
- Sit or lay it on a large ball and balance it back and forth.
- Rock it in your arms, a rocking chair, or a baby hammock.
- Dance together and move to the rhythm of the music.
Proprioceptive System
- Baby massages are extremely suitable for stimulating the senses at an early stage.
- Gently massage your baby’s arms and legs, so that it becomes aware of where they are.
- Wrap his body in a blanket for a few minutes and then unpack it again.
Build these little exercises into your daily routine to stimulate the senses. Be careful not to overdo it as this can also lead to hyperactivity.
