Play is the main way that babies learn how to move, communicate, socialize, and understand their environment. And during the first month of life, your baby will learn by interacting with the family including you and their caregivers. One of the first things your baby will learn is to associate the nuances of touch, sound, and look at your face to find comfort in your baby. You can encourage your baby to learn by stimulating your baby’s senses in more positive ways, namely with a smile, a voice pronounced using different stresses, and gentle caresses.
Even at a young age, newborns are ready to learn about the world around them. Newborns love looking at faces, especially mothers. Likewise, in the first days and weeks of your baby’s life, newborns can recognize their mother’s voice well. Your baby will respond to your voice or other attractive sounds by looking alert and becoming less active. The baby may try to find out where the sound is coming from by looking around and turning its head. When you smile and talk with your baby, your face and voice will become a familiar source of calm and comfort for your baby to get warm and pleasant touch. Click here—> Baby born
Babies are born with reflexes or programmed responses to certain stimuli, such as touch. This reflex helps ensure survival. In addition, stimulation also provides opportunities for babies to interact with the world. For example, this rooting reflex is evoked by gently stroking the cheeks of a newborn. The baby’s response is to turn the head and mouth to that side, ready to drink breast milk. By the time they are 3 weeks old, babies will turn towards the breast or bottle not only out of reflex, but because they have learned that it is a source of food.
Here are some other ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- Put on soothing music, and hold your baby, gently rocking to the beat.
- Choose a soothing song or lullaby and gently sing it often to your baby. The familiarity of sounds and words will have a calming effect.
- Smile, stick out your tongue, and make other expressions for your baby to learn to imitate.
- Use a favorite toy for babies to focus on and be able to find it.
It is worth remembering that babies develop at different rates, and there are various normal developments. If you have any concerns about your baby’s ability to see or hear, or your baby doesn’t seem to be developing well by other means, talk to your doctor.
