Your baby is part of the family now and is craving for stimulation!The first three years of a child's life is filled with critical windows of opportunity and it is during the next 8 months that most of your baby's critical stimulation will be necessary in order to make the most out of these sensitive time periods.
Windows of opportunity are time periods when the brain is sensitive to specific stimuli in order to develop important vital senses. If the brain did not receive the stimuli required for proper development during this time, the window of opportunity will close and the child will have to fight against biology to develop these vital brain connections at a later time.
Research have shown that after 3 years of age the important "windows of opportunity" governing intellectual and emotional functioning are programmed to close.
Let's have a quick overview of these windows of opportunity:
Vision: 4 - 8 Months
At 4 months your baby's eyes should both function together and should be able to process color. Your baby should also be able to see right across the room. Use toys and objects of bright contrasting colors for visual stimulation. Visual stimulation and the development of the following skills/senses goes hand in hand:
. Motor skills [View toys that develop gross and fine motor skills]
. Touch [View toys for oral and tactile stimulation - recognizing different surfaces and textures]
. Eye-hand and Eye-foot coordination [View toys that encourage hand-eye and hand-foot coordination development]
Hearing: 4 - 10 Months
Make use of this enhanced sensitivity for sounds by exposing your baby to all kinds of music, a lot of language and speech (talking and reading to your baby) and other means of auditory stimulation.
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