samantha foster's List: developing child

• During the first weeks of life your newborn may seem to do little more than  eat, sleep, cry, and provide dirty diapers for you to clean up. But in reality,  all of your infant's senses are functioning already, taking in the sights,  sounds, and smells of this new world.

   

  It's hard for us to know exactly what a newborn is feeling - but if you pay  close attention to your baby's responses to light, noise, and touch, you can see  his or her complex senses beginning to come alive.

• Sight

   

  Your new baby can see best at a distance of only 8 to 14 inches, and focus  when gazing up from the arms of Mom or Dad. Your newborn can see things further  away, but it is harder to focus on distant objects. Still, the light shining in  from a faraway window may catch your infant's eye.

   

  After human faces, brightness and movement are the things a newborn likes to  look at best. Even a crude line drawing of two eyes, a nose, and a mouth may  keep your infant's attention if held close enough. Although your baby's sight is  functioning, it still needs some fine tuning, especially when it comes to  focusing far off. Your baby's eyes may even seem to cross or diverge (go  "wall-eyed") briefly. This is normal, and your newborn's eye muscles will  strengthen and mature during the next few months.

   

  Your newborn is better equipped to see contrasting colors than closely  related hues. Black-and-white pictures or toys will keep your baby's interest  far longer than objects or pictures with lots of similar colors. It's a good  idea to give your infant lots of interesting sights to look at, but don't overdo  it. One item at a time is plenty. And don't forget to move your infant around a  bit during the day to provide a needed change of scenery.

   

  Hearing

   

  Your newborn has been hearing sounds since way back in the womb. Mother's  heartbeat, the gurgles of her digestive system, and even the external sounds of  her voice and the voices of other family members have been part of your baby's  world for a while now. Once your baby is born, the sounds of the outside world  come in loud and clear. Your baby may startle at the unexpected bark of a dog  close by or seem to be soothed by the gentle whirring of the clothes dryer or  the hum of the vacuum cleaner.

   

  Try to pay attention to how your newborn responds to your voice. Human  voices, especially Mom's and Dad's, are a baby's favorite "music." Your infant  already knows that this is where care comes from: food, warmth, touch. If your  infant is crying in the bassinet, see how quickly your approaching voice quiets  him or her down. See how closely your baby listens when you are talking in  loving tones. Your infant may not yet coordinate looking and listening, but even  if your infant stares into the distance, that doesn't mean that he or she isn't  paying close attention to your voice as you speak.

   

  Taste and Smell

   

  We assume newborns can smell because we know they can taste, and these are  the two most closely related of the human senses. Research shows that new babies  prefer sweet tastes from birth and will choose to suck on bottles of heavily  sweetened water but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to  taste. In the first 6 months, your infant will get needed nutrition from breast  milk or formula and then will start "solid" baby foods. Because infants like  sweeter flavors, it is sometimes easier to get a baby started on the sweeter  vegetables, like carrots or sweet potatoes. As your infant matures, you will  want to expose him or her to different tastes and flavors so that he or she  develops a liking for a variety of foods.

   

  Think of the world of smells an ordinary day affords your newborn: your  clothes, dinner cooking on the stove, flowers in the yard. And at this point at  least, you don't have to worry too much about your baby's taste buds. Breast  milk (the best!) or formula will satisfy your newborn completely!

• Development is holistic; it consists of inter-dependent  dimensions.
  This means that the child’s development cannot be  compartmentalized into health, nutrition, education, social, emotional and  spiritual variables. All are interwoven in a child’s life and are developing  simultaneously.
• Development begins prenatally and learning is occurring at birth.  
  From the moment of conception important developments occur that affect the  brain, the physical body, and the chemistry of the child. These all have an  impact on that child’s ability to learn, to thrive, to grow and be healthy.
  
• The first 8 years of a child’s life form the foundation for all later  development; early attention to the child’s needs is critical. Developmental  psychologists have demonstrated that in the early years a child develops all the  basic brain and physiological structures upon which later growth and learning  are dependent. The benefits of intervention are greater if you provide  appropriate supports early. It is also important that there be continuous  attention to the child’s development.
  

1 more annotation...

• Perception is active, often no less active than imagination, and we  constitute the shape and meaning of our world as we consciously engage with it.  
• Sensory motor activity supports the development of functioning necessary  to be able to learn.
• Most children tend to seek out the activities that provide sensory  experiences which are most beneficial to them at that point in  development.
• Sensory motor exploration is a valuable thing in its own right providing  a means to focus on the feeling of life itself.
• Human development is a discontinuous, self-organising, transactional process  between the task, the individual and the environment throughout a person’s life

3 more annotations...

• Here are eight ways to support the whole child as you educate a child's mind  body and spirit in the ways of the world.
  
• What you feed children physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually is what  they will give back.
• You nurture children's emotions through building confidence

1 more annotation...

•                    

  Age	Communication Behavior
  5 months	Turn to source of moderate & soft sounds
  6 months	Recognize familiar voices & engage in vocal play  with parents
  9 months	Demonstrate understanding of simple words
  10 months	Babbles by stringing multiple, single-syllable speech sounds  together
  12 months	One or more real, recognizable spoken words emerge
  18 months	Understands simple phrases, retrieves, places or manipulates  familiar objects on spoken request; points to body parts on request. Spoken  vocabulary of 20-50 words and short phrases
  24 months	Spoken vocabulary 200-300 words; speaks in simple sentences;  most speech is understandable to adults not with the toddler on a daily basis;  sits and listens to read-aloud story books
  3 - 5 years	Uses spoken language constantly to express wants, reflect  emotions, convey information and ask questions. Understands nearly al that is  said. Vocabulary grows rapidly: 1000-2000 words; produces complex and meaningful  sentences. All speech sounds are clear and understandable by 5  years.

   

  Signs of Hearing Problems

   

  The single most important  sign of hearing loss in children is the failure to develop, or the delayed  development of spoken language.

• How Babies Communicate

   

  Babies are born with the ability to cry, which is how they communicate  for a while. Your baby's cries generally tell you that something is wrong: an  empty belly, a wet bottom, cold feet, being tired, or a need to be held and  cuddled, etc.

• As the days after birth pass, your newborn will become accustomed to seeing  you and will begin to focus on your face. The senses of touch and hearing are  especially important, though. Your baby will be curious about noises, but none  more so than the spoken voice. Talk to your baby whenever you have the chance.  Even though your baby doesn't understand what you're saying, your calm,  reassuring voice conveys safety. With almost every touch your newborn is  learning about life, so provide lots of tender kisses, and your little  one will find the world a soothing place.