Sensitive periods for infants and toddlers Montessori summarized the following nine sensitive periods for infants and toddlers: There are nine simple ways to help your baby’s intellectual development, take a look. 1, Love Babies desperately need love, especially in the earliest weeks and months. Your baby is not trying to manipulate or control you; biologically, she just needs your love. Being responsive to his cries will not spoil your child. If you consistently act on your baby’s cries, your baby will trust you and will feel a strong sense of self-respect. She knows that her needs will be met without stress and learns to love and build relationships. If not cared for in the first few weeks or months, the infant may grow up to be introverted and withdrawn. Things to do: Always respond to your infant’s cries by calming her down through touch and sound rather than letting her continue to cry. 2. Chatting Talking to an infant, fast and fuzzy words are useless; a gentle and loving voice is the most appropriate. Mom’s words are her favorite voice …… She has been listening to them since she was a 5-month-old embryo. Things to do: use as many words as you can in the language you know best. Never ignore an infant’s ability to learn. If you make exaggerated facial expressions, your baby will be more willing to communicate with you. Touch is a powerful stimulus and learning tool. Touch is a powerful stimulus and learning tool. It is also very effective in calming infants. It has been reported that premature babies who receive massage grow faster, have less anxiety and leave the hospital earlier than those who do not receive massage. Things to do: feed Times to hold her close and cuddle her often. Give your baby a gentle full-body massage after bathing, and sing and talk to her when you’re next to her. You will enjoy the moment with her. 4. Imitation Babies are very interested in seeing your face. From the moment she is born, she is constantly analyzing your face. She may imitate smiles, frowns and other expressions. What to do: Encourage your baby to imitate you. Hold your baby at a distance of about 8 inches and make faces, such as sticking out your tongue. Surprisingly, this newborn will stick out her tongue too! The more colorful experiences you give your infant, the more her brain will be stimulated. Let your baby experience many different environments. Things to do: Go out for walks and take her to different places such as supermarkets, sports grounds and shopping streets. Expose her to different things and sounds. Things to avoid: putting the infant in front of the TV for hours; this will not stimulate her. She needs real and not virtual experiences! 6. Exploration Provide a safe environment for your infant to explore, such as the living room floor. She needs a lot of space to discover and explore on her own. Things to do: put dangerous objects out of your child’s reach, cover all outlet covers, and pad all sharp corners on furniture. Provide safe and appropriate toys. 7. Reading Start reading to your baby when she is very young. She may not understand the story, but will enjoy listening to your voice and looking at the pictures. Things to do: Use interactive books with bumpy pictures or tactile stimulation to show your baby the different textures inside the book so she can touch and experience the different sensations. 8. Music Singing and playing music to your baby even before birth can be beneficial to her brain development. Generally speaking, music with a continuous rhythm is best. Mozart’s music has been found to stimulate neurons that are later used for math. Things to do: Singing children’s songs and listening to music are great ways to share fun with your infant. Use a music box or recorded music to create a calm mood during meals and upbeat music during play. 9. Play Play is fun, play is work – babies learn while they enjoy themselves! When you play with your infant, you are also helping her develop in more ways than you realize. To do: Use contrasting pictures to help your infant improve her concentration skills and attention span. Explain the colors of the pictures to your infant as she studies them. Play finger games with your infant from the beginning to help her “ignore” her instinctive “grasping reflex”. Only by learning to “let go” can the infant learn to use her hands and fingers. Through finger play, infants learn language and fine motor skills.