What to Teach Children in the First Year Series – Part 1

Children in the first year are more alert than we give them credit for. This series will include facts and recommendations that will help parents and caregivers engage with babies in a confident and an accurate manner. The recommendations will be based on what is known about child development. The provided facts will assure parents and caregivers that they are on the right path to raising a successful person.

Fact: Newborns use their senses to discover their environment. A newborn is able to focus on a person or an object within 30 centimetres. This is the average distance between a child and the mother’s face when the child is held or breastfed.

Recommendation 1: Look at the child in the eyes and engage in conversation with them especially when they are in an alert state. Ignoring the child and engaging with other people around means that the child is looking at the adult’s chin instead of looking at the face and eyes. The eye to eye contact is also the first communication step.

Fact: A child is able to gaze at another person even at a very early age. They look intently as a way to engage socially with the other person.

Recommendation 2: The mother, father, or caregiver should capitalise on those moments to initiate a trusting relationship with the child. Ignoring the child’s gaze means losing valuable opportunities to establish a connection and to familiarise the child with facial expressions. The baby also learns to associate a facial expression with a feeling. This synchrony is one of the main features of successful communication.

Fact: As soon as children start to move, they use movements to sense and discover what is around them. When children are lying on their back, they look at an object and try to touch it with their hands or feet. Once older, they will reach for it and try to hold it in their hands.

Recommendation 3: Provide baby hanging mobile selections so children can take their time looking at them. The collection of items can be homemade and needs to be changed regularly. Provide different colors, sizes, and textures. Once the baby is ready to hold the items, small material will work better as children can explore the different characteristics of the item and also get a sense of what they can hold firmly and what slips away.

As the series continues, we will follow the different aspects of children’s development and give recommendations on how to enhance the development of their body, mind, and feelings. The first year in a child’s life is critical as it is the child’s first contact with a world that will unfold over a lifetime.

Note: Click to access Part 2 or Part 3.

Reference:

Garvis, S., Phillipson, S., Clarke, S., Harrison, L., McCormack, J., & Pendergast, D. (2019). Child development and learning. Oxford University Press.

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