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Learning Solutions for the 21st Century |
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“A teacher can only take you to the threshold of your mind." Kahlil Gibran Shakespeare spoke of the ‘seven ages of man’. The young and the old stand on the threshold of the unknown. The old we can only comfort but the young we can guide. In the first three years of that journey we have the privilege of being able to help our children every step of the way towards becoming the unique individual they were created to be. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of each stage of this relatively brief but immensely significant journey: Birth to 3 ½ months · Just like the elderly your baby will sleep most of each day but for short periods of time. Hands will be kept clenched in fists · Your baby will watch and listen to people and things around him/her · He/she will cry as a signal they are uncomfortable maybe because of hunger, boredom, as a release of energy and tension or a diaper change signal. · Being held or cuddled is important to your baby. TIME-TOUCH-TALK are things every relationship will always need. · He/she will need to suck his/her hand or thumb – some babies never stop till late teens! · He/she will utter simple sounds. · Sudden changes like loud sounds or bright lights will startle your baby and often cause him/her to cry · When lying on his/her back your baby will turn his/her head from side to side · He
she is able to see most clearly objects placed 20-38 cm from his/her face. Language Development What You Can Do: Your child
is beginning to notice the difference between voices and other sounds - Get you baby to become familiar with
your voice by talking and singing to him/her. You will
notice him/her turning to the sound of your voice – get close and make eye contact so he/she will associate
your face with the sound of your voice. Pitch your voice higher and speak
slowly using shorter sentences. He/she is
beginning to respond to sounds – create
an environment filled with soft music, gentle conversation etc. Try and
provide times of quiet. Noise from the TV and radio shouldn’t be loud enough to startle
him/her. Try talking and singing in a soothing voice. Different
cries can mean different things - you
will soon be able to differentiate the different sounds your baby make when he/she
cries. Crying is the way he/she will express impatience, lack of attention/affection/
stimulus overload (don’t
pack the cot with gizmos!), tiredeness
etc. There are lots of ways you can
soothe your baby like holding him over your shoulder (when he’s crying) or cuddling,
rocking, singing and letting him suck on a dummy. Intellectual Development What you
can do: Hold, rock and smile at your baby. He now needs continuous feelings
of love and security. Move him
through the air with gentle rocking and sweeping motions. He/she is
beginning to focus on black and white contrasting patterns as his retina and pupils continue to mature. The easiest things for him to see are
black and white patterns like stripes and checks not pastel
shades that we traditionally associate with babies. He/she is
now becoming more aware of his/her environment so put him/her in an infant seat you can move to different locations
around the house. Place the seat in different positions to provide different views. You will
need to keep the room dimly lit as
your baby is now sensitive to bright lights. This will enable
him/her to keep his/her eyes open longer. At
night a darkened room is best. He/she will
now begin to stare at faces. Make sure
he can see your face when you feed or talk to him. This is the
time play the imitation game where you imitate
your baby’s expressions and keep the
game going as long as he/she is interested. If your
baby tries to bring his fist to his/her mouth then help him as this is the first sign of
co-ordination. Emotional Development It is vital
you respond to your baby when he/she
cries as this creates the sense of security he/she
needs as a new baby. You are building
your child’s trust. Too much
stimulation will show if your baby turns her face away from you becomes sleepy,
fails to
respond. Try and recognise these signs
and keep his/her environment as calm and pleasant as possible making sure baby has quiet times. Your baby
will prefer looking at people’s faces to any other kind of stimuli as he/she is
showing the
first signs of socialisation. Make sure
you respond to her/him when she is alert and make
sure you cuddle your baby making frequent eye contact. Your baby
will now smile when she sees you and, occasionally, stop crying when held. Smile and talk gently to him/her and
if she cries pick her up and comfort her. Let your baby grasp your fingers as she/he is now responding to
touch. Your baby
will be sensitive to your moods. Make
your enjoyment obvious when you are with
him/her. Motor Development By placing your baby on his stomach
at least once a day
for a short time you will help him strengthen
his neck and upper body. His head will continue to need support through this
period. He/she will
now begin to follow you with their eyes. Try
moving an object in front of him so he is
encouraged to follow it. Make sure
that after the first few weeks you don’t
wrap his blanket too tight to allow for movement. I remember
when I removed the dummies from my twins because I thought they were becoming
too
dependant. They still haven’t forgiven me! Sucking gives your baby great
comfort so allow him to use his thumb or dummy. Try and avoid sudden noises, bright lights and
change s of position. The best way to calm and comfort
your baby in the first few weeks is do what my grandmother did – wrap him
Welsh fashion (swaddle). Children develop at their own pace.
This never changes. Later in life they will adopt their own particular learning style. If you are worried seek medical
advice, but remember, Einstein didn’t speak until he was three years old and he did ok .
. .
eventually. Next: The Hidden Growth Ads
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