Playing with your baby

Playing with your baby

Playing is a voluntary and recreational activity normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment.  It promote and aids physical development such as hand to eye coordination, cognitive development and help in developing social skills.                                 

 Playing is a way through which a baby learn, is the best way babies learn to move, communicate, socialize and understand their environment. Newborn babies in their first month of birth learn from their mothers. Babies learn the sound of your voice and the feel of your touch for its comfort and to meet its needs. Mothers can influence the their babies learning speed by frequent play, like smiling, smoothing, humming and caressing

 Newborns are quick to learn especially in the first weeks of birth, they tend to recognize the face and voice of their mother, a new born baby love to look at it mom’s face, and are able to recognize her voice within the first week of his/her birth newborn baby responds to stimulus like sound within the environment by turning around and looking for where the sound is coming from.

 Newborn babies are born with reflex response to some stimuli such as touch and sound , when a baby’s cheek is touched it respond by turning it face and opening its mouth, it want to eat. No one tells it that, but these are made to ensure the baby’s survival.

  During the first  month of a baby’s life, it  sleeps a lot but after some few weeks to seems to sleep less and remain awake for a longer period of time, it is advisable for you as a mother to recognize when your baby  want to sleep or ready to play and learn., a baby that is awake  and playing  or fussy may not give its attention when you tend to play and it may begin to cry when you insist, these are some of the signs that your baby are over-stimulated.. A baby that awake but calm and quiet may be responsive and interested when you tend to play to it.

 By always touching and playing with your newborns will encourage it to learn, your baby learns by recognizing your voice, sight of your face and touch. It is recommended to introduce toys to your baby, this will aid its learning, toys like rattles, textured toys, unbreakable mirrors,, musicals toys etc., this toys help to improve the baby’s vision, visual toys with contrasting colors, different curves etc. 

  A new born baby cannot hold toys or play any game but get bored when left alone without any play when it is awake.  Babies need play but when they are alone and contended with themselves; don’t bother yourself, so that they don’t get over stimulated.  Give your newborn baby different things to look at or move its crib from one location to another so that t it see the different kind of environment within it.

 How to encourage your baby to learn:

·         Put a soothing music

·         Smile, stick out your tongue and make other things for your kid to learn

·         Try to  talk to your baby