It is absolutely critical that you start to stimulate your baby’s mind as early as possible when you consider that 75% of your baby’s intellectual growth occurs before the age 6. Sights, sounds, smells, and touches - All are extremely influential on a developing mind. These early inputs and influences help them to learn and grow, no matter what age. It is very important for a parent to consider creating a stimulating environment for their infant. A few ways to stimulate your child’s intellect are as follows.
1. Give them tons to look at.
Stimulate your newborn’s visual sense by surrounding them with color. Place them in a play pen such as the Graco Pack n Playard so they’ll be surrounded by different colors and shapes for them to look at. Hang a mobile above their playpen or hang colored shapes on the wall. Teach your infant to recognize themselves by hanging a baby-safe mirror on the wall or next to their playpen. Whatever you can add to spice up the visual excitement of your newborn’s world - the more the better.
2. Provide tons to listen to.
You can begin to play music to infant as soon as possible, babies love music even when in the womb. Play a CD of nature sounds for your child - whistling wind, rainforest sounds, or rain showers - anything to stimulate your baby’s sense of hearing. There is no more beautiful voice on earth to your child than Mommy’s voice - babies love to be sung to. Also, make sure you allow your child to make their own sounds and noises - encourage them to play with rattles or musical toys. Teach them how to clap. The more they explore their own sounds, the more they learn.
3. Provide enough to touch.
Make sure your child has plenty of room to crawl or roll around in - you might want think about a larger size play pen, such as the Graco Playard, which affords them enough space to explore the world around them. Play hand games with your child - paddycake is always a favorite. Involve your child with your motion - bounce and dance with them in your arms. Let them touch and explore different textures. Toys with different kinds of surfaces or different fabrics, for example the toys in the Graco Pack n Playard give your child different textures to touch. The more you allow your newborn to touch and feel the world around them, the greater the intellectual stimulation and the greater the learning.
Your newborn’s intellectual stimulation is one of the most important aspects of their development. Giving your infant an environment to safely learn and explore the world around them is one of your key jobs as a parent. Provide a world full of color for your baby. Play them the soothing and stimulating sounds of music and the world around them. Give your newborn many things to touch - all the different textures and surfaces you can find. All of these things are be very influential on your baby and on their mind.
