It is undeniable that part of a child's abilities depend on genetics. However, another equally important part of the development of these capacities will depend on the external stimulus that encourages their development.
There are numerous studies that show this. As well as it is shown that sensory stimulation can occur both in the prenatal period, as well as after delivery and childhood. It will always be beneficial for your development.
How many types of sensory stimuli are there?
As many as there are senses. Namely, there are auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory and taste stimuli. All of them somehow enhance the development of the baby.
Through the senses, of all of them, it is the way in which the baby discovers the world and learns based on those sensations and how he perceives them.
Stimulating is not a teaching method
Sensory stimulation is a way to enhance the development of certain abilities, but it is not a learning system for them. That is, the baby is offered a stimulus such as music, but the ability to create it is not provided. This detail must be taken into account, since, yesAlthough stimulation is beneficial in helping to understand and enhance the child's innate abilities, we can also create false expectations regarding these abilities. The fact of thinking that by stimulating we are going to get the baby to be smarter or to develop abilities that it does not have, can create frustration in parents and therefore damage the child's self-esteem.
When does the baby begin to perceive sensory stimuli?
Is in the prenatal period when the baby begins to perceive sensory stimuli. The amniotic fluid transmits information to the fetus regarding tastes and smells, varying its composition based on what the mother perceives. He also receives auditory stimulation, with his mother's heartbeat and vibrations from outside noise. Obviously he receives tactile and visual stimuli, while he fiddles with the cord or feels the touch of caresses and the little light that filters through his mother's skin.
How can I increase my baby's abilities with sensory input?
This type of stimulus They are especially indicated if the baby suffers from some type of disorder in its development, since, speeds up the learning process in a way that is fun. For the procedure to be effective, it is extremely important not to force the child. Each one has his own learning rhythm and not by insisting more, he will learn faster. As we already said, we must take care of self-esteem, not demand more than what the child can really offer.
As for the specific stimuli that benefit development, the first stimulus that they receive and that they need to begin to learn to locate themselves in their new life abroad is the tactile one. It is through touch that they initially communicate with the objects and beings in their environment., capturing objects, beings and forms through the skin. This contributes to the development of their spatial perception, which, although still very primitive, will develop with games such as grabbing objects.
Visual stimulation is also key in its development, although at the beginning babies do not perceive objects clearly, nor are they able to recognize faces, they do fix their eyes on shapes and colors, especially if they are in motion. To stimulate the development of your visual perception, they are very useful brightly colored toys that also have different shapes.
As for smell, it goes without saying that babies are very sensitive to strong odors. I would not recommend that anyone visit a baby who comes with a strong perfume, because if the little one displeases the little one, he will probably cry when he approaches.
One of the advantages of breastfeeding is that if the mother has a rich and varied diet, the milk changes its composition and therefore its flavor. This stimulus makes the baby learn and get used to distinguishing different flavors and therefore helps when introducing food.
With regard to auditory stimuli, it has been shown that some of them, such as music, cause neuronal growth that favors memory and that will facilitate learning and language development.
We must insist that These stimuli will not develop capacities that are not innate in the baby, but they will help to maximize those that are.This will lead us to a full knowledge of our child's abilities, which will allow us not to encourage him to undertake tasks that he is not capable of carrying out and to positively reinforce his effort to improve.
Another thing that we should never forget is that the best encouragement that can be given to a baby, in every way always es let him explore and above all, play with mom and dad.