Through Your Infant's Eyes: Birth to Age One

Support your infant's development through everyday moments together.

From birth to age one, your child is experiencing the most rapid growth and development of her life. During the first year, she will begin making adventurous moves into the outside world. She will build her communication skills and will respond to many of your cues. She is also building her physical, social, and thinking skills as she ventures into the world. Here are some ways you can enrich your child's early learning experiences:

Physical Development

As your infant grows, you can promote his health and provide him with a safe environment from which to develop physical skills and investigate his world. You can also provide opportunities to develop essential motor skills while supporting other kinds of learning.

• Form a partnership with your child's doctor from the start, scheduling well baby visits as often as your health provider recommends. Your doctor will check that your child is getting adequate nutrition and is growing properly. Getting the appropriate immunizations, so important particularly in the early years, will help avoid illnesses and set your baby on a healthy start.
• The first year of life is physically demanding. Provide adequate time for sleep, including naps. There's no one amount that's "right" for every child at the same age, but a newborn may spend a good part of the day sleeping, while an older baby will begin to balance waking and sleep time more evenly.
• Give your child chances to learn about the world around her through her senses. For example, provide her with safe things she can grasp such as a soft toy or one with bright colors, so she can experience different textures and colors.
• It's important for your child to have fun ways to develop physical skills. To help her stretch neck and shoulder muscles, put your young baby on her tummy a couple of times a day (supervising to ensure safety), and get down beside her to play.
• To help develop muscles and motor skills, give her safe soft toys to grab and crawl toward.
• Sometimes a baby's curiosity is more likely to take the form of visual rather than physical exploration, so put your child where she can see family activities that are going on throughout the day.

Emotional and Social Development

To develop emotionally and socially, your infant benefits from a nurturing and responsive environment. When you respond to your child's different cries that communicate various needs, you are helping her understand that she can affect the world. When your baby reaches for a toy and you move forward to give it, this gives your child a sense of competence and mastery over the world.

• Your baby is expressing her emotions in many ways; it is helpful to recognize how she does it and respond accordingly. She may move her arms or legs quickly to show excitement or agitation, or look away from you when she has had enough. Getting to know your child's emotional cues and responding to them will help her feel safe and nurtured.
• Encouraging your baby to meet new challenges can improve her self-confidence and desire to try new things. Offer opportunities for your child to reach for and grab safe items or follow an item with her eyes from side to side. Let her know she is learning something new, "You reached for the toy!" This can give her the incentive to keep trying while boosting her self-confidence that she is mastering new skills.
• Growing babies are discovering their own independent beings. Often you will catch your baby gazing at her hands or reaching for her toes with a sense of wonder. Allowing time for this type of self-exploration helps your baby take the first steps toward learning about her own body and self- image.
• Providing opportunities for your baby to see and be around other infants is a way to encourage her social skills. You will find that your baby will intensely watch what other children are doing, and older babies may reach out to each other. These first interactions are the basis for young children to begin socializing with others.
• As important as it is to provide stimulation, it's important for babies to get nurturing, comfort, and a feeling of safety, too. Your baby will signal you when she has had enough stimulation by turning her eyes slightly away from you. This may be the time to switch gears to cuddling or rocking, showing her that you understand her feelings.

Language and Thinking

Language is the scaffolding on which all learning and thinking are based -- even mathematics and science. You begin giving your infant the tools for language development by talking to her often, for example, giving her the "play-by-play" of what you're doing ("I'm going to change your diaper now, let me get some wipes, I'm putting on a new diaper, there you go, all clean!"). There are many ways to foster your child's language skills.

• Reciprocate when your baby makes a sound or face. This is actually a way of initiating a conversation and your reciprocation helps her understand she is communicating with you.
• To elaborate on your child's first words, make a word into a full sentence or concept. If she says "da," you can say, "Yes, daddy's home now." If she points to her cup, you might say, "Do you want milk in your cup? OK, here is milk in your cup."
• Use everyday interactions to provide your baby with the names or labels for objects she sees often. For example, while feeding her, use words to describe the food and utensils you are using. "I'm putting soft carrots on your spoon, see the spoon?" While dressing her, say, "Let's put socks on your feet. Touch the yellow socks." Over time your child will begin to link the words to the objects.
• While taking a stroll with your baby around the neighborhood, talk about what is happening or what is around you. "Look at that tall tree. It has a lot of leaves." or "We are taking a drive to see Grandma today." Hearing the rhythms of your voice and descriptions of what she sees can increase her understanding of the world around her.
• It is never too early to read to your child. Select soft or board books with bright pictures and together with baby on your lap, look at and name the objects. Remember it is okay if she just wants to grasp the book and chew on it or only look at one or two pictures. Each experience is building the path for recognizing reading together as a cozy and nurturing time with one another.
• Music is an excellent way to encourage your baby's language skills. By listening to his favorite music or songs that use rhymes or repeat words often, your baby is responding to different rhythms, tones, and ways that language is used.