How to stimulate baby’s five senses
Baby has already experienced the majority of senses whilst in the womb. But at birth, these sensations will multiply! Baby has so many things to discover with your help: moments of wonder for them and for you.
Touch
Touch is the first sense that baby will develop! When they’re still in the womb, they can already feel their parents stroking them. After birth, baby will crave this warm, familiar contact that they enjoyed so much. So don’t hold back on kisses and cuddles! You can also massage your baby: you will both really enjoy these moments of complicity. To take learning about touch a stage further, you can roll balls under their feet, wrap them up in soft fabrics followed by rougher ones… Let them feel and experience different materials!
Smell
Baby will start using their sense of smell from birth to locate breast milk! It is their favourite smell, just ahead of the smell of their mum or dad’s skin. You can help develop their sense of smell by offering them different fragrances and aromas: chopped parsley, melted chocolate, coffee and also less pleasant smells! Indirectly this will help baby’s palate to develop.
Taste
Over the course of pregnancy, baby experiences several flavours through their mother’s diet. This system also applies to breast milk. Baby’s sense of taste will become heightened as their diet becomes more varied. It is very important for baby to taste a wide range of fruit and vegetables at this time so that they develop their own sense of taste.
Hearing
Baby could hear you when they were in the womb. This explains why it is so important to talk to them during pregnancy, as it helps give them points of reference. At birth, baby is able to recognise and distinguish their mum and dad’s voices, as well as music you may have listened to during pregnancy. Continue to speak to them softly: a foolproof technique for calming them! To stimulate their hearing, allow them to listen to a variety of natural sounds (scrunched up paper, flattened plastic bottle…) and artificial sounds (toys, ring tones…).
Sight
At birth baby can make out shapes and forms, but can only recognise a face when it is very close (30 cm). At 1 month, they are attracted by sources of light. At 2 months they can clearly distinguish between different colours and are able to follow slow movements with their eyes. Be patient, their vision will only be optimal at the age of one and not before!
Whilst waiting, you can stimulate them with very colourful games and avoid television until they are 3 years old as it is too aggressive for their eyes.