Wondering how to stimulate your baby from the moment he or she arrives in the world? Stimulation plays a crucial role in your baby’s early development. Basic senses such as touch, hearing and talking are especially important at this age. Although over-stimulation is never a good idea, you can gently stimulate your baby in ways that help stimulate vision, hearing, touch, and motions with a few simple activities. These can be done during feeding, changing, bathing, playtime or bonding time.
Stimulating Your Baby – 0-3 Months
Some of the ways that you can stimulate your baby during his or her first three months include the following:
- Touch is extremely important at this age, helping to increase awareness of your baby’s body and their sense of movement. Massage is highly effective, not just for sensory awareness but also to help calm your baby.
- Floor play is essential for movement skills. Gently cycle your baby’s legs in a kicking motion, encourage reaching towards objects and let your baby make natural movements to gain strength.
- You can slowly introduce your baby to textures by gently placing your baby’s hands over a variety of textiles. It helps the tactile sensory system develop as well while using hands and fingers at this help will help with fine motor development later down the line.
- Babies response to sound right from birth and recognise their parents’ voices very quickly. Talking to your baby is one of the easiest ways to encourage hearing development from the start. It will also help your baby develop vocal skills as they grow.
- Singing to your baby, playing familiar music often and reading to your baby will all help your baby start to process rhythm and sound. Reading is especially good for introducing language to your baby. It’s a great bonding activity, too and soothes your baby with the sound of your voice.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to stimulating your newborn, our 0 to 3 Months Stimulate Your Baby Full Movie is sure to be an invaluable resource that will help you bond with your baby as he or she learns new skills.