Having a baby is one of the best moments for any parent. However, it’s one thing to successfully give birth to an infant and another to ensure that he develops normally.
There are numerous ways you can ensure that your infant develops well. This includes offering your child a reborn baby doll to ensure that your baby develops a sense of responsibility. Interested in reborn baby dolls? Click here to learn more.
It should be remembered that although these activities are designed to be fun, they play an integral role in your child’s development.
Contrary to common belief, your baby’s development begins well before your infant is born. According to science, a fetus will form its neurological system in the first week. Therefore, by the time a mother attains full gestation, the fetus will have a complete neurological as well as nervous system.
Even so, unlike growth, development is a continuous process. This means that even after your child is born, actual development will still continue. After all, development includes reading, talking, singing, and many other activities.
So, how can you ensure that your baby’s development is smooth? Read along to find out more.
Connect With Your Baby Well
Language and motor skills are two of the most important developmental skills that a child needs to develop after birth. But can you do this successfully?
Well, these two skills can be developed through human engagement. This means that you should connect with your infant by holding him closer to you at all times. You can also foster this connection by singing or talking to him/her. This way, your baby will not only stimulate his language skills, but will stimulate his hearing and sight as well.
Stimulate The Senses
Naturally, babies are very curious. This means that during the second or the third month after birth, your child will most likely begin to explore his environment in a bid to learn more about it. This curiosity is autonomous and always kicks in normally.
During this period, you should allow your child to have ample time to explore different textures. Expose your baby to an array of sights as well as surfaces. At the same time, carefully allow him to touch different surfaces.
You can go further to take your baby’s hand and rub it on different textures that are rough, smooth, soft, warm, and cold. Needless to say, you should do all these with extreme caution.
Exposing your child to these surfaces will not only go a long way in teaching him about his environment, but will help your baby to develop his language and motor skills too.
Ensure Your Baby Has Ample Tummy Time
If you are a parent, you probably have noticed that your child likes spending time on his back a lot. While this might be good, it’s crucial for your baby to spend ample time on his tummy.
Ideally, spending time on his tummy is crucial in ensuring that he develops a strong body movement, which includes a formidable head and trunk control. At the same time, a baby with ample tummy time will develop his motor skills with ease.
This, however, should begin at the end of the second month. You can simply begin by placing him on the chest, arm or laps. As the baby grows further, gradually lay him in the tummy on a mattress or a soft blanket.
Always remember that placing your baby on his tummy isn’t always a fun activity. Therefore, once you notice that he’s getting fussy, ensure to stop the session.
Converse With Your Baby Regularly
Language is one of the developmental skills that your baby can learn with ease. Once your infant is born, you can begin to help him develop his language skills.
In the first few months, you will notice him producing different sounds. These are the basics of developing his language skills. Ensure to imitate these sounds.
Additionally, talk to him regularly. You can also go further to soothe your baby by using facial expressions. More importantly, take note of any irritating sounds such as cries, that might indicate that he is in need of something.
Offer a Sense of Security
In order for your child to have ample development, security plays an important role. From the time your child is born, he needs reassurance that all his needs will be adequately met.
Therefore, ensure to always respond to your baby’s needs adequately. Whenever he cries, it’s a clear indication that he needs something. Therefore, always be there to respond to these needs.
Offer Your Baby Toys to Enhance Activities
If you are a first time parent, you should probably know that toys play an integral role in a child’s overall development. But when should you introduce toys to your child?
While it’s essential to offer your baby toys to enhance his activities, it’s equally of utmost importance to introduce these toys at the right time. Essentially, the best time to introduce toys to your infant is when he reaches 6 months. During this time, he will have developed his motor skills and will be able to not only sit down, but grasp and retrieve objects as well.
At the same time, it’s also important to know the type of toys to introduce to your child. It comes highly recommended to give your baby rolling toys. This way, your son or daughter will be able to go after the toy once they roll, thus stimulating his motion abilities. You can also use toys that are colorful. All these will go a long way in ensuring that your baby develops well and on time.
Turn Off The TV
Contrary to common belief, babies have no need for TV’s during their first 12 months. In fact, you should be aware that TV’s go a long way in hindering a child’s development.
So, what is the best alternative? According to research, babies tend to develop different skills such as language through direct human interaction. This is mainly because unlike adults, babies tend to need immediate response, and this is not what TV’s offer.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks