Infant Stimulation

Infant Stimulation
Many parents want to find ways to help stimulate their baby
and what better way than through play time together. For
babies, playing stimulates their senses, and helps them to
learn. Playing with your baby, also known as infant
stimulation, can include activities that stimulate your
baby's senses.

From birth through the first few months, babies thrive on
infant stimulation. Visual stimulation, tactile
stimulation and auditory stimulation can play big roles in
your interactive time together. Infant stimulation can
also help improve your baby's curiosity, attention span,
memory, and nervous system development. In addition, many
babies who receive appropriate stimulation reach
developmental milestones faster and have better muscle
coordination.

Babies love repetition and will begin to mimic facial
gestures we make. When you place your face directly in
front of baby's this can provide visual stimulation,
entertainment and socialization skills for your little one.
Couple this visual interaction with sounds, and you also
trigger important auditory stimulation. Try singing,
humming or even telling a little story. You can say
something you are familiar or make something up as you go.
Your baby won't even mind if the words don't make sense, as
long as you continue to speak, or sing, in a loving tone
your baby will listen intently.

Touch can be one of the best ways to stimulate your baby.
It provides contact, reassurance and relaxation. The
important sense of touch can be stimulated through play and
close contact. By playing with baby's hands and fingers
you can stimulate your baby's tactile senses. Also by
allowing your baby to grasp your fingers, you continue this
interaction and help to engage baby in this tactile
learning process.

You may also continue this interactive play by using gentle
movements to stimulate many senses at one time. First try
laying your baby down on a soft blanket, and while singing,
help your little one to gently cross arms and then open
them. Next try this with the legs and continue singing or
humming to stimulate both auditory and tactile senses at
the same time. You can create visual stimulation by being
expressive with your face, and making eye contact, while
you engage in this playtime activity.

Consider also the confinement of being in a diaper the
majority of the time. To help improve baby's tactile
input, you may try some activities that allow you to spend
time together and don't require baby to wear their diaper.
Infant Massage may be one of these important activities.
During massage time, your baby is free to explore without
their diaper and you provide stimulation through touch,
sight, sound and smell. By warming oil in your hands your
baby begins to listen to the swishing sounds, see your
hands moving, smell your scent and any the oil may have,
and learn what is happening next.

Begin massage when you are calm and relaxed. Start by
asking baby's permission and then resting your warmed hands
on baby's legs and feet. Begin with gentle stroking down
baby's legs to their little feet, then hug each toe with
your fingers and kiss the bottom of the feet. All the time
making eye contact and speaking lovingly to your baby. If
your baby is enjoying this time together continue on by
stroking down the chest and over the tummy. If you want to
spend a little more time on the tummy, you can massage in a
large circle only moving in a clockwise direction. Then
move on to the arms. Again on the arms, stroke down the
arm towards the hands, hug each finger and kiss the palms.
Then while hugging your little one you can stroke their
back.

Together you will learn what activities you both enjoy and
how best to stimulate your ever growing and developing baby!

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Looking for expert advice for bringing home baby and
improving your family's bond? Find answers to all your
questions about infant massage instruction training,
massage for children and pediatric massage therapy at
http://www.liddlekidz.com . Infant Massage Instructor
Trainer, Tina Allen, founder of leading children's health
and nurturing touch organization Liddle Kidz™, shares over
ten years of expertise working with children and families.