Building Sensory Stimulation in Infants Through Touch

Young children learn primarily through their senses, which allow them to interact with the world around them. It̵7;s important for caregivers to provide little ones with a variety of sensory experiences from infancy onward to promote learning and development. Experiences that encourage infants to touch and feel help them to process information about their environments while promoting development of other senses and developmental domains.

  1. Massages

    • A massage stimulates your baby̵7;s emotional senses through physical interaction with Mom̵7;s hands. The contact fosters attachment through closeness and touch. A slow, gentle massage after a warm bath is a bonding experience for both baby and mommy. Massages provide your baby with all-over sensory stimulation and promote body awareness. Massages can also provide relief from pain and discomfort, aid digestion, help the baby sleep better and improve blood circulation, according to the Infant Massage USA website.

    Textures

    • Providing your baby with different textures for her to discover through touch can stimulate her senses in lots of ways. While she̵7;s still a newborn, lightly drag a soft blanket across her check, tickle her toes with a silky scarf or encourage her palmar reflex by placing stuffed toys in her open hand. As your baby develops, encourage her ability to process information through touch with textured picture books, squeezable blocks and things that shake, vibrate and rattle. Encourage your baby to grasp and manipulate items to promote body awareness and motor skills.

    Toys

    • Once an infant is able to sit up on his own and manipulate objects with purpose, introduce a variety of interactive toys. Encourage him to press buttons and pull levers on toys to activate lights and sounds, which stimulate other senses. Promote spatial-perceptual and fine motor skills by helping him to stack blocks, stuff containers and push shapes through sorting toys. Stimulate your infant̵7;s sense of temperature perception with squirt toys at bath time or a cool teething ring that he can explore with his mouth.

    Taste and Smell

    • Offer a variety of foods once your baby is eating solids, encouraging him to perceive different food textures with his fingers and tongue while stimulating his taste buds with different flavors. Stimulate your baby̵7;s sense of smell by giving him items to smell and encouraging him to hold them up to his nose and take a sniff. Appropriate choices for an infant 12 months and under include fruit, freshly laundered blankets, scented baby wipes or soft, plastic blocks. Avoid perfumes, items with a harsh, pungent smell such as vinegar, and items that can be harmful if tasted or swallowed, such as candles or flowers.

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