development for your baby
Infants (0-1 year old) Developmental Milestones
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Cognitive development for your baby means the learning process of memory, language, thinking and reasoning. Your baby is learning to recognize the sound of your voice. She is also learning to focus her vision from the periphery or the corner of her eyes to the center. Language development is more than uttering sounds (“babble”), or mama/dada.
Listening, understanding, and knowing the names of people and things are all components of language development. During this stage, your baby is also developing bonds of love and trust with you. The way you cuddle, hold, and play with your baby will set the basis for how he will interact with you and others.
For more information on developmental milestones and warning signs of possible developmental delays, visit Learn the Signs. Act Early.
Positive Parenting
* Talk to your baby. It is soothing to hear your voice.
* When your baby makes sounds, answer him by repeating and adding words. This will help him learn to use language.
* Read to your baby. This helps her develop and understand language and sounds.
* Sing to your baby.
* Play music. This helps your baby develop a love for music and math.
* Praise your baby and give him lots of loving attention.
* Spend time cuddling and holding your baby. This helps her feel cared for and secure.
* The best time to play with your baby is when he’s alert and relaxed. Watch your baby closely for signs of being tired or fussy so that you can take a break.
* Parenting can be hard work! Take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is easier to enjoy your new baby and be a positive, loving parent when you are feeling good yourself.
Child Safety First
Now that your newborn is at home, it is time to make sure that your home is a safe place. Look around your home for household items that might present a possible danger to your baby. As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that you create a safe environment for your baby. It is also important that you take the necessary steps to make sure that you are mentally and emotionally ready for your new baby. Here are a few tips to keep your baby safe during her first year of life.
* It is important that you never shake your newborn baby. Newborn babies have very weak neck muscles that are not yet able to support their heads. If you shake your baby you can damage his brain and delay normal development.
* To prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), it is recommended that you always put your baby to sleep on her back. For more information on SIDS, visit National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
* Place your baby in a car safety seat every time he rides in the car. The safest place for his safety seat is in the back seat of the car. Children who are less than one year OR are less than 20 pounds should be placed in a rear-facing care seat.
* To prevent your baby from choking, cut her food into small bites. Don’t allow your baby to play with anything that may cover her face or is easy for her to swallow.
* Never carry hot liquids or food near your baby or while holding him.
* Immunizations (shots) are important to protect your child’s health and safety. Because children are susceptible to many potentially serious diseases, it is important that your child receive the proper immunizations. Please consult your local health care provider to ensure that your child is up-to-date on her childhood immunizations. You may visit the CDC immunization website, to obtain a copy of the recommended immunization schedule for U.S. children Read More About Infants >
How Does My Baby Communicate?
Most babies say their first words toward the beginning of this period, though some start even sooner and others don’t start talking until they are nearly 2 years old. If your baby is preoccupied with learning to walk, he or she may push talking to the back burner; this is not unusual and nothing to be alarmed about.
Your baby may have learned fragments of dozens of words that probably won’t be recognizable yet. When he or she gets around to talking, though, your baby will probably progress quickly. He or she will soon be able to point at something familiar and say its name, and recognize names of familiar people, objects, and body parts. By 2 years, he or she may use phrases and even two- to four-word sentences, although your doctor will only expect to hear that your child is putting two words together.
No matter when your child says his or her first words, it’s a sure bet he or she will be understanding much of what you say well before that. Your child should be able to respond to commands (”Roll the ball to Mommy”) and should be fully aware of the names of familiar objects and family members.
You will undoubtedly find yourself struggling with your toddler to do as you say, only to have him or her ignore you or scream in protest. Your child is merely testing your limits and his or her degree of control. By 18 months, he or she will probably have mastered saying “no” with authority, and by age 2 he or she may throw a tantrum when he or she is unwilling to do something you ask. Your child will also show signs of possessiveness, and you’ll frequently hear “mine” or see tears if something is taken away or you show attention toward someone else.
What Should I Do?
Your baby is listening to everything you say, and he or she is storing it away at an incredible rate. Instead of using “baby” words, teach your child the correct names for people, places, and things. Speak slowly and clearly, and keep it simple.
Your baby may still be communicating with gestures such as pointing to something he or she wants. Gestures are OK, but you should use a running commentary such as, “Do you want a drink?” (when he or she points to the refrigerator), then wait for a response. Then say, “What do you want? Apple juice? OK, let’s get some apple juice.” Such behavior encourages your baby to respond and participate in conversations. But don’t frustrate your baby by withholding food or drink waiting for a response.
Between 15 and 18 months, your baby will probably begin to enjoy language games that ask him or her to identify things, such as: “Where’s your ear?” and “Where is Mommy?” Your child’s vocabulary will grow quickly, but his pronunciation isn’t likely to keep pace. Resist the temptation to correct your baby’s pronunciation; most babies mispronounce their words. Instead, emphasize the correct pronunciation in your response.
Should I Be Concerned?
Some babies don’t talk until their second birthday and choose instead to get by with the use of gestures and sounds. Vocabulary varies widely at this age, too; some babies say dozens of words, others only a few.
Most babies this age have these communication milestones in common:
* Speak about 15 words by 18 months
* Put two words together to form a sentence by age 2
* Follow simple directions by age 2
Hearing problems may become more apparent during this stage because of the emergence of speech. Don’t hesitate to report any concerns you have to your doctor immediately, especially if you feel your child is not babbling or responding to your speech patterns. Sometimes chronic ear infections can leave children with excessive fluid buildup that can interfere with normal hearing. Special tests can check for hearing loss.
Some parents worry that a toddler who is not speaking may have autism. Children with autism and related conditions may have delayed speech or other problems with communication, but poor social interactions, and limited or restricted interests or patterns of behavior are also hallmarks of this disorder. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’ development, talk with your child’s doctor.>>Communication and Your 1- to 2-year-old
Parents should start talking to their little baby from the day he is born. Some mothers are by nature quiet and reserved. Others have the unfortunate idea that it is foolish to talk to their babies, knowing that they do not understand. The mother, who does not talk continually while feeding, bathing and dressing her baby, is laying the foundation for a late talker.
The baby learns language in one way only, and that is by hearing language as the parents talk and talk to it. The more a parent can talk to a child, often repeating the same words, the same phrases, the same structures over and over, the sooner the child will learn language.
An important thing to note here is that by the time a baby is about nine months old he should be able to understand simple words and commands.
He may perhaps also be able to say a few simple words already. Invariably, however, one finds that the baby understands much more than he is able to say. In fact, this remains so of any person throughout his life. One is always able to understand more of any language, even one’s mother tongue, than one is able to use in active speech. This is even more so of any second or third languages that a person is able to speak.
This shows that we have two more or less separate masses of language knowledge, our PASSIVE knowledge (also called receptive language) on one hand, and our ACTIVE (expressive language) on the other. When we listen or read, we make use of our passive vocabulary, and when we speak or write, of our active vocabulary.
An important thing to note here is that the child’s passive vocabulary came into being through constant and continual repetition of words, phrases or structures. Once a word, phrase or structure has been repeated often enough, it also becomes part of the baby’s active vocabulary. This shows that the active vocabulary can only be improved VIA the passive. Research has shown that a child who is just beginning to talk must hear a word about 500 times before it will become part of his active vocabulary. Long before that it will already form part of his passive vocabulary. This means that parents should create as many opportunities as possible in which their baby can hear them talk.
2 Responses to “development for your baby”
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My baby boy make the funnest voices. It so funny, we are talking in the funny voices.
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