Helping Babies Learn

Babies use their senses as building blocks of learning. Key term: Perception-ability to learn from senses.

Babies develop four abilities that show growing thinking power: 1-Remembering- ex. Stop crying when caretaker enters the room. 2- Making associations- ex. Same as above 3- Understanding cause & effect(tied with this is repetition) ex. Sucking milk, dropping spoon on the floor. 4- Paying attention

Providing Care: Care must be consistent. The pattern must be established. If not established, the baby senses no relationship between his/her expression of discomfort and the comfort provided by the parent or caregiver.

Inconsistency- no predictable pattern to learn. Learning depends on: attention, knowledge, & time with caregiver (it does not require money!)

Encourage Learning by: Learning about child development- helps you learn age appropriate toys, about stages, expectations. Giving time & attention- play simple games, sing songs. Providing positive feedback- show praise by verbal & non-verbal communication. Expressing you love- use your own personal style. Talk, talk, talk-the faster the brain develops.

Give child as much freedom as possible… Let the child explore in a child safe environment! (Child proofing) Play is essential for intellectual development. Children learn to strengthen muscles and refine their motor skills. ( Ex: teething- toys, rattles, blocks.)

Different Toys for Different Ages: Birth to 3 Months- A baby at this age can do little except look and listen. Bright colors and interesting sounds stimulate development of the babies senses. Examples: Mobiles, pictures, wallpaper, crib liners…..

Four to 6 Months: The sense of touch is important during this period. Babies need things to touch, handle, bang, shake, suck and chew. All items must be at least 1 ½ inches across to prevent choking. Examples: washable books, teething rings, cups, stuffed animals and plastic toys. ***Infants can not sit up until about 7-8 months.

Seven to 9 months: Babies still need things to handle, throw, pound, bang and shake. Anything that makes noise facinats babies at this age. Examples: Blocks, balls, roly-poly toys, stacking toys, dumping toys, large plastic beads that fall apart.

Ten to12 months: Babies at this age need things to creep after. Especially like toys to manipulate. (baskets, boxes, containers…will look for objects---object permanence.) Toys that can be pulled.

Toys need to be simple!!! Use household items!!!...bubble wrap, oatmeal boxes…. Choose toys that will be interesting over a number of years. (ex. Blocks, chalk board, dolls…..)

Developing Communication Skills Communication without words: Crying- the first form of communication- (different types- groans, sucking) Gestures- wiggling when getting dressed, pushing things away, turning head away… Making special sounds(ex. Babbling, giggles, grunts & shrieks) Using movements and gestures.

Learning to Speak 1-6 months: coos, gurgles, and squeals 7-12 months: respond to own name, add actions to words (ex. Wave for bye-bye) months: uses words in combination (ex. No nap, Dog woof….) 18mo.- 2years: Learn as many as 12 words a day. By the end of this period, approximately a few thousand words!

2- 2 ½ years: construct three and four word sentences. 2 ½-3 years: speak in sentences with correct grammar. (past and present tense, the order of words and using plurals.) They understand the order of sentences.