Stimulation of Child Development
Babies come into the world equipped with immense potential to learn and develop. Each baby is born with certain abilities that develop over time, thanks to the relationships he has with other people and the world around them. That is, the development of babies is not predetermined, but can be encouraged and stimulated from birth.
Research has shown that the first years of life are an ideal and fundamental period for the stimulation of development. This is the stage when development is more flexible. When there is talk of stimulating development, some fathers and mothers think that it is about forcing the growth or learning of their children to accelerate it. However, stimulating development consists of enriching each toddler’s own potential, presenting challenges and activities that strengthen their capacity for learning.
Specifically, during the first two years of life, stimulating a baby means offering different opportunities to explore the world and acquire skills that will help you understand your environment and relate to others.
The stimulation of the development of the baby does not require looking for different moments to the daily activities, but quite the opposite: it is to take advantage of the daily routines to stimulate the development, in the bathroom, during the meals, in the moments of games, etc. In addition, rest is also necessary to grow and develop.
Throughout childhood, boys and girls need stimulating experiences. However, babies grow and learn quickly, and what they need to grow and learn changes with age; that is, children need different things at each age. To help them achieve the following steps in their development it is important to know what the developmental needs of the children are at each age. Although children have similar needs at each age, each baby is unique. Therefore, to promote the development of the baby it is not only important to know what children of that age need; You have to know the baby well, what their needs are and what things are best suited to him or her. Knowing their characteristics allows parents to respect the individual rhythm and preferences of the baby, without putting pressure on or comparing him with other children.
Body control
When they are born, babies barely control the body and its movements. Very soon they learn to control the head and trunk, and this control extends to the lower part of the body and to the extremities. Babies must be helped to learn to control their body respecting that process. There is a wide variety of toys that will encourage babies to do exercises that will improve the control of the head and trunk and strengthen their limbs (like gyms for babies).
Movement capacity
In order for babies to learn to move themselves first, they need to strengthen their body. During the first months of life the baby still does not move, but it is appropriate to do exercises that strengthen your legs, trunk and hips. As the first birthday approaches the baby will begin to move. Not all babies crawl, but everyone finds a way to move if given the opportunity and encouraged.
Manual skill
To help babies to have more and more skill with their hands and their fingers we must give them the opportunity to manipulate different objects. There is a wide variety of toys that promote manual skill. Remember that these toys must be adapted to the level of development of the baby: you must start with games with large pieces that you can hold with your whole hand (shake a rattle or squeeze a squishy ball) to progressively go on to smaller pieces that They need more skill in their fingers (puzzles or drawing).
Choosing toys that stimulate the baby's senses
All these considerations must be taken into account when buying toys for your baby. The best are those that produce sounds, movements or lights when our baby plays with them. That way he will realize that he can influence the things that surround him, that his actions have consequences. For example, if you press a button, a light comes on, if a piece hits apiece, a music plays. Even so, the most important thing is for parents to play with him or her.
The intelligence of babies is not a capacity separate from other aspects of their development. It develops as you learn to control your body better, communicate and learn to love. Therefore, when different aspects of the development of the baby are stimulated, its intelligence is favored.
During the first years of life the intelligence of babies is very practical, they need to manipulate things and explore the world around them to learn. Therefore, to help develop your intelligence you must provide varied and stimulating experiences.