| BEFORE YOU BEGIN : |
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Three key points should be remembered: |
| * Repetition and continuity are fundamental. |
| * A baby does not have to relay understanding before information is retained. |
| * Babies learn at different paces. |
| Following birth, newborns will spend the majority of their time sleeping or be in a drowsy state. However, just like in utero, there will be times when a newborn is active or alert and as the infant grows, these times will become more frequent for longer periods of time. Don't rush or push. Just as you will set the feeding, bath and sleeping schedule, let the baby set the learning schedule. |
| ROUTINE SCHEDULES : |
| Children, especially babies, thrive in consistent and predictable environments. Establishing a set pattern of events for the baby early in life induces comfort, security and confidence as the baby grows. Through repetition, babies will remember a consistent sequence of events and feel more relaxed knowing what to expect next. |
| VISION and TOUCH RESPONSE : |
| At birth, newborn eyesight is not fully developed (approximately 20/400 vision) and depth perception and color vision can take months to fully mature. However, infants will respond to bright visual objects and can focus on objects upclose about 8-15 inches away (just about the distance a parent's face is to a newborn's while being cradled or fed). Considering the latter coupled with visually reinforcing the already familiar voices of a parent, studies have shown infants can recognize a parent's face as soon as one month old. |
| Touch response with the newborn will also become an important factor in early learning development as infant vision improves. Until birth, touch response has been restricted but now the baby will enjoy the added stimulation of being caressed, tickled or just being held while seeing your loving face and hearing your soft words. |
| COMMUNICATION: |
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had significantly higher IQs and a wider vocabulary range when they got older as compared to other children. So don't be verbally shy around the baby, expose him or her to a variety of words. Taking a stroll in the park, shopping at the supermarket or cooking dinner with the little one? Point out, identify and narrate objects and actions to him or her.
By the end of 3 months, most babies develop cooing and take their first step in language and speech formation. A baby's front temporal lobe (the brain's speech center) is developing rapidly and babies will begin to use the back of their throat to create vowel sounds like ah-ah-ah and oh-oh-oh.
Another milestone in the communication area is the baby's social smile development. A social smile is a reciprocal smile a baby produces in response to someone else's smile. It's another sign that the baby's brain is developing and making the connection of processing a visual image and producing a physical response in return. |
| CLASSICAL MUSIC : |
| Classical music will continue to play an important factor in the unconscious stimulation of the baby's spatial-temporal reasoning development. In the Pregnancy section, we learned enhancing spatial reasoning skills will help increase math, science and overall problem solving skills. Frequent exposure to softly played complex classical music should be continued to stimulate and further develop spatial reasoning. |
| OPTIMIZED TIMES FOR LEARNING : |
| Parents should pay special attention to the moods of the baby during the different times of the day, especially when the baby is more attentive and alert to the parent (and therefore, receptive to learning) as opposed to times of easy overstimulation like becoming fussy or agitated. For productive active teaching lessons, parents should read to the baby during several different times throughout the waking day to establish when is their baby's optimized times for learning (times when the baby is most attentive and alert). On an individual basis, babies will be more focused and receptive to learning during particular times of the day over other times usually on a consistent basis (if the parent has established a routine schedule). For example, after breakfast or after bathtime might be one of the babybs best learning times (most will have 2 or 3 optimized learning times during the day). |
| REPTITION and CONTINUITY : |
| No matter the age, repetition and continuity are the foundation of a solid and progressive learning process. Consider why a baby tends to first "understand" or correctly associate the words "mama" and/or "dada" (or an equivalent word). As you would expect, these words are: (1) repeated often; (2) from the very beginning; and (3) usually annunciated slowly with elaborate mouth display to the baby. Just as importantly, the baby is also being shown a visual flashcard (that being "mama" and/or "dada") to associate the word to. |
| Going one step further, as the baby grows so does his or her innate learning mechanism of mimicking. As a result of the foregoing repetition and continuity of visual and audio instruction, it is no coincidence that a baby's first words are frequently mama or dada (or an equivalent word). However, remember Key 2 from above, long before the baby verbally responds the newly learned word, the correct association has already been retained. |
| ACTIVE TEACHING BEGINS : |
| As a result of a baby's memory, recognition ability and natural receptiveness to bright visual objects, the end of this phase is the opportune time to begin to teach a baby colors (starting with the basics: red, blue, black, white and yellow). Stick with one very distinct shade of each color as a baby's still-developing vision has difficulty distinguishing similar shades of color (like some shades of red and orange or blue and green). Parents should work with one solid color at a time over the course of several days (or more if you are just starting). Slow and steady in the beginning. As the baby advances, so will his or her ability to grasp new information more quickly and easily. |
| During optimized learning times (or throughout the day, if you are still determining when those times are), point to a color visual and annunciate slowly with elaborate mouth display the name of the appropriate color. Repeat several times during each teaching session until the baby's attentiveness starts to wane. Color visuals can range from solid colored flashcards, objects or baby books that have only one particular color displayed on each page. Just be sure the visual is simple and clear. When moving on to a new color, begin the teaching session by briefly reiterating the previously taught color followed by concentrating the remaining time on the new color. |
| PLAN OF ACTION : |
| MONTHS 1 and 2: |
- Continue supplementing Omega-3s (ALA, DHA, EPA).
If breastfeeding, continue to supplement diets with Omega-3s (ALA, DHA, EPA).
If formula-feeding, use formulas fortified with DHA. - Continue to frequently expose the baby to softly played complex classical music.
- Narrate life and expose the baby to a variety of words.
- Read to the baby (use books with crisp images and bright colors, vary the pitch of your voice or sing to help sustain the baby's attention).
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| MONTHS 2 and 3: |
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