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Learning, Play, and Your Newborn
Play is the primary way that infants learn how to move, communicate, socialize, and understand their surroundings. And during the first month of life, your baby will primarily learn by interacting with you.
One of the first things your baby will learn is to associate the feel of your touch, the sound of your voice, and the sight of your face with getting his or her needs for comfort and food met.
You can encourage your newborn to learn by stimulating your newborn's senses in positive way - with smiles, smoothing sounds and gentle caresses.
What is my Infant Learning?
Even at this young age, newborns are ready to learn about the world around them. A newborn loves to look at faces, especially mom's. Likewise, in the first days and weeks of life, newborn babies can recognize their own mother's voice. Your infant will respond to your voice (or other interesting 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 his or her head.
When you smile and talk to your infant, your face and the sound of your voice will become a familiar source of calm and comfort, and he or she will learn to associate you with getting nourishment, warmth and soothing touch.
Babies are born with reflexes or programmed responses to certain stimuli, such as touch. These reflexes help ensure survival. But they also provide an opportunity for the infant to interact with the world. For example, the rooting reflex is elicited by gently stroking a newborn's cheek. The infant's response is to turn head and mouth to that side, ready to eat. By the time the infant is 3 weeks old, he or she will turn toward the breast or bottle of food because he or she has learned that it's a source of food, not just out of a reflex.
During the first month of life, your newborn will spend much of the day sleeping, or seeming drowsy. As your baby matures over the next several weeks to months, he or she will be awake or alert for longer periods of time. It's important to recognize when your baby is alert and ready to learn and play and when the baby would rather be left alone.
When your baby is quiet and alert, he or she will be attentive and responsive to you. He or she will not be very active, but will be very aware of and interested in the surroundings.
If your baby is awake, but active (squirming, flapping arms, or kicking legs) or fussing, he or she will be less able to focus on you. During these times your baby may seem agitated or start to cry when you try to get his or her attention. These are signs that your baby may be getting over-stimulated. Over the coming weeks and months, just as you learn when your baby is hungry, tired, or in need of a diaper change, you will recognize when he or she is ready to learn, or overstimulated and has had enough.
How Can I Encourage My Newborn to Learn?
All of the ways that you take care of your newborn are helping him or her learn. As you feed and change your infant, and put him or her to sleep, your infant is learning to recognize your touch, the sound of your voice, and the sight of your face.
In the first few weeks you may want to introduce some simple, age-appropriate toys that appeal to the sense of sight, hearing, and touch, such as:
* rattles
* textured toys
* musical toys
* unbreakable crib mirrors
It's a good idea to choose toys and mobiles with contrasting colors and patterns. Strong contrasts (such as red, white, and black), curves and symmetry will stimulate your infant's developing vision. As your infant's vision improves and he or she gains more control over his or her movements, your baby will interact more and more with the environment.
Here are some other ideas for encouraging your newborn to learn and play:
* Put on some soothing music. Hold your baby, and gently sway and move to the tune.
* Pick a soothing song or lullaby and softly sing it to your infant on a regular basis. The familiarity of the sound and words will have a soothing effect, particularly during fussy times.
* Smile, stick out your tongue, and make other expressions for your infant to study, learn, and imitate.
* Use a favorite toy for the infant to focus on and follow or shake a rattle for your infant to find.
* When your infant is awake, let your baby spend some time on his or her tummy to help strengthen the neck and shoulder. Always supervise your infant during "tummy time" and be ready to help if he or she gets tired or frustrated in this position. Never put your infant to sleep on his or her stomach. Infants should sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
* Talk to your baby.
Keep in mind that babies develop at different rates, and there is a wide range of normal development. If you have any concerns about your newborn's ability to see or hear, or your newborn doesn't seem to be developing well in other ways, talk with your child's doctor.
Updated and reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: December 2005
Originally reviewed by: Steve Dowshen, MD
(Webmasters: If you enjoy this article, please create a link back to www.woodentoysplus.com. Thank you.)
Mary L. Gavin, MD
Medical Editor, KidsHealth
Nemours Center for Children's Health Media
Division of General Pediatrics
Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
Wilmington, DE
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