Stimulation In Babies: Learning To Activate The Senses

Sensory stimulation of the baby not only provides great benefits for physical and cognitive development, but also provides great moments of laughter, hugs and shared kisses that they strengthen ties.

The baby will begin to know the world around him through his senses. Hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch enable you to know and learn. Early stimulation not only helps activate the senses, but also enhances their development in multiple ways.

Parents can activate their baby’s senses with very simple exercises. Many of the daily baby care practices offer multi- stimulation to activate the senses. That is, not one sense is stimulated but two, three or all at the same time.

Why do you have to activate the baby’s senses?

Stimulation of the baby can begin before birth, as evidenced by this study published in the journal Nutrition Hospital . Stimulation techniques can help you connect with your baby until the time of his birth.

Once outside the uterus, during the first 3 months of the child’s life, 85% of the neurons in his immature brain develop. A baby’s brain can create up to 1.8 million new synaptic connections per second.

This extraordinary speed in the production of these synapses is remarkably stimulated by the environment in which the baby grows. From the experiences you live to what you perceive through your senses, everything contributes to the accelerated growth of new connections, branches and prolongation of neurons.

Sensory stimulation helps awaken the baby’s cognitive, perceptual and motor abilities, which are the basis for consolidating future learning and preventing possible difficulties. And this is evidenced by this work carried out by professionals from the University of Chile.

How to activate the senses of the baby?

The most developed sense of newborn babies is touch. Co-sleeping and carrying allow the baby to be in skin-to-skin contact, to feel its smell and its warmth, at the same time that it listens to its mother’s heart and voice.

Breastfeeding is a multisensory experience. It is inevitable that the mother will tell her baby how beautiful he is, how much she loves him, or that they look into each other’s eyes while gently stroking his cheeks. The baby tastes milk and smells his mother’s skin.

Before or after bathing, massages are ideal. With baby creams or oils, the back can be massaged very gently, surrounding the spine. The touch and smell of the child are stimulated, as well as the nerves that are in the spine.

At bath time, the baby feels the temperature of the water, the mother’s hands while she soaps it and the smell of hygiene products. That is another great time to also talk or sing to your little one.

What are the benefits of sensory stimulation?

Skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby is a source of multiple benefits, from the moment of birth. Being skin-to-skin with the mother helps the newborn to regulate the respiratory, heart rate and temperature; It relieves the stress and anxiety caused by childbirth and encourages the initiation of breastfeeding.

Then the baby continues to benefit from physical contact and improves his cognitive and motor skills. As it grows, new fields of exploration open up. Baby has a hard time sitting still and wants to touch everything.

First he holds the objects around him in his hands to get to know them and then he brings it to his mouth. An exploratory behavior that will later result in the development of language skills.

The benefits of skin-to-skin contact are not exclusive to babies. Children also find physical contact with their mother comforting. They like to be hugged and, if they get sick, you will see them decisively resort to the protection of your arms.

And the other senses?

Recognizing the voices of parents produces an increase in brain activity in the posterior left temporal region of the brain. In other words: they create memories in the language area of ​​the cerebral cortex. These memories are very useful when the baby begins to develop speech.

The newborn’s sight is developing. However, the eye contact that the baby makes when it is breastfed or carried stands out. It is their communication formula, which strengthens the bonds with their parents and facilitates the subsequent development of social skills.

By stimulating smell, the baby learns to identify people more quickly. He recognizes the smell of his mother and family members who take care of him (father or grandparents), which makes him feel comfortable in your arms.

When it comes to activating the senses of babies …

Sensory stimulation is a wonderful way to share and communicate with your baby. It will give you unforgettable moments of overflowing with laughter, kisses and hugs. In addition to the exercises you can do for your little one, enjoy daily care.

Everything you can do to activate your child’s senses will contribute to his physical and emotional development. And, while the brain develops, with its abilities and skills, you will strengthen bonds of love and attachment.