Saturday, December 21st, 2024
Babies learn by exploring the things around them. Show your baby how to look at, listen to, touch or smell something new or different. Hold your baby so she (or he) can see things. Help her hold objects like her socks or a rattle. As she grows, give her safe objects to feel, shake or put into her mouth.
Be your baby’s teacher. She (or he) will see how you react to things. When you get excited about a toy or object, she’ll get excited as well. As she grows, show her how things work, for instance how doors open and close. Talk about what you are doing, such as, “I am putting the food in the pot to cook it.”
Teaching Your Newborn
• When a baby is learning something new, it helps her to try it over and over. With your help and support this can be fun, and your baby will like trying new things
• Protect your baby from harsh disapproval, teasing or punishment. A baby doesn’t understand right from wrong. She doesn’t know which things are dangerous for her or not. Watch her and keep her safe. Remove her from situations where she can be hurt or injured
• Talk and sing to your baby. Even before she is able to speak, as this helps her develop language skills. Babies learn best when you talk to them. Read to your baby from the earliest months of her life, and continue this habit as she grows.
Babies Have People Skills
From the start, your baby is interested in your face. She notices your expressions and tone of voice. She reacts to your emotions. For example, when you say something in a soft and loving way, she will relax and feel more secure.
Scientists have learned that babies show emotions as early as when they are one month old. What’s also known, is that feeling good helps babies learn better and faster.
The reason for this is that happy babies are more alert, attentive and responsive. Babies remember things better when they are at ease. The way you hold and talk to your baby can help her feel happy.
Babies who are alert and feeling good are more likely to look at things, explore and play. They will pay better attention. For example, they will try to make new things happen with toys or make sounds with people. This helps them learn and remember better.
Periods Of Distress Or Difficulty
These situations will not harm a child. Short periods of negative emotions can be helpful for your baby. You should do something quickly to help her feel better. From this, she will learn that you care about what she tries to tell you. Long periods of negative emotion, like crying, can do harm.
In the first month, the negative emotion that occurs is distress or a response to pain. Later, she will show sadness and anger. Next comes fear. Everyone has these emotions to protect themselves. Help your baby be more at ease by helping expressing emotions. Respond to her emotions in a warm and loving way.
You can tell what your baby is feeling by changes in her facial expression. You can also see what she is feeling by her posture, movements and the sounds she makes.
Learning To Communicate
It will be months before your baby says her first words. Babies however start learning about language much earlier. Even in the first few weeks after birth, your baby is learning about language.
From an extremely young age, babies can tell the difference between speech and other sounds. They can tell the difference between the voices of men and the voices of women.
Babies instantly recognize the voice of their mother. A baby can tell here moms voice, from the voices of other women. Researchers think babies are able to do this, because of how specific parts of their brains work.
Babies can also communicate long before they speak. They use movements and sounds to let you know what they want or don’t want. Some people refer to this as a baby “signals”.
Your baby can tell you if she needs something by fussing or crying. She can also let you know when she likes something or someone, by looking intently. Babies know how to tell parents what they like or don’t like, when they begin to see that parents respond to them in positive ways.
Even before she can speak, you need to talk to your baby. Even though there are differences among individuals, babies whose parents talk to them talk sooner, learn quicker, while having larger vocabularies.
Talking to babies gives them language skills that will help them learn more easily, once they start school. Hearing words on the radio or TV, is not very helpful to babies learning language. Your baby benefits from having you up close smiling, talking and singing.
Babies Cry For Various Reasons
Crying is how newborns communicate. Your new baby cries to let you know she needs or wants something. The first thing to try when she cries, is to feed her.
By noticing when she wants to be fed and when she doesn’t, you will learn that certain tones of cry means she’s hungry, uncomfortable, or wants attention. Sometimes she just wants to be held, or wants a dry diaper. She may also just be tired or bored.
As you and your baby get to know one other, you will sometimes be able to tell the difference between various types of crying. You can then narrow down what she needs. Taking care of your baby when she cries will not spoil her. It will help your baby feel loved and secure.
Smile, touch and talk to your baby as often as possible. Do this when you feed her, change her diaper, or when giving her a bath. Your baby will learn that she can rely on you to take care of her.
Ways to Soothe Your Baby
At times, babies will cry even when they have been fed, have clean diapers and are healthy. If your baby is crying because she needs comfort, there are many things you can do. Every baby is different.
Here are a few things you can try, to find out what calms your baby down
• Rock your baby in your arms or while sitting in a rocking chair
• Stroke your baby’s head gently, pat her back or chest
• Make soft noises to let your baby know you are there and you care
• Talk or softly sing to your baby or play soothing music
• Wrap her up loosely in a warm soft baby blanket.
The Crying Game
If your baby keeps crying after you have tried everything, stay calm. Babies know when you are upset. No matter how stressed you are, never shake your baby. What shaking your baby can cause is blindness, brain damage, or even death.
If you need a break, call a relative, neighbor, sitter, or a friend for help. Crying is the baby’s only way of communicating. You will not be able to comfort your baby every time. That does not mean you are a bad parent. Do the best you can to soothe and comfort her.
What research has found to be best way for your baby to stop crying, is to pick her up and carry her. What’s proven is that babies who are carried more often, won’t cry as much as other babies.