New Parents’ Lesson Plan for a Better Life

Every new Mom and Dad understand that they are their baby’s first, and most important, teachers. The interactions between parents and their new baby in the first days and weeks of life begin brain development that lasts a lifetime.

In this series of posts, I will encourage new parents to develop an informal “lesson plan” for their new infant. These lessons are really just purposeful interactions that are meant to help the parent guide and understand their child. They can also help the parent identify successful growth points that happen long before the first word or first steps. Everybody needs to feel like their efforts are making a difference. If parents learn to identify these early “success points” it will give them the inspiration to keep at it.

The largest part of our brain is connected to visual perception, yet it does not develop overnight. Shortly after birth the infant can focus on objects that are about 8 to 10 inches away from their face. Of course the child is bombarded with visual information all day, every day. But if a parent takes the time to do certain, small, specific games it gives the child a smaller, easier place to focus.

1. Smile and talk to your child when he/she is awake. Remember to have your face close enough for him/her to focus. You can move your face slowly to each side to encourage your baby to track.
2. Studies have shown that initially babies visually attend to black and white objects better than colorful objects. For the first 6-8 weeks, present black and white objects to your baby to encourage visual focusing and tracking.
3. Encourage your baby to focus on objects first, then slowly move the object from side to side and encourage your child to follow it. The goal is for your child to follow the object with his/her eyes (not to respond to sound). Therefore, eliminate shaking the toy and/or talking occasionally to ensure he/she is using visual cues.
4. As you notice your child focusing more and more, present brightly colored objects and toys to see if he/she can follow them.

Many of these exercises will “come naturally” to new parents. When it comes to visual tracking, however, it is worth noting when your child tracks visually without other cues being present. You will see that your child has reached the point where he/she is relying on visual information more than other cues. Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with using all senses to respond to the world! Of course, we want that! No, as a parent we are just making note of each skill set and the level of mastery the child has achieved in each area. Note that some children will respond to tactile or auditory development more. Maybe that’s their “thing.” That child will grow up to be a musician or an artist. There’s nothing wrong here, but at this stage it’s good to encourage the full range of the senses. Don’t limit your child to one type of experience.

In today’s super-distracted world, slowing down and focusing on your child can seem very difficult. Ignore the Facebook notification and focus on your baby! Taking the time to stimulate the brain development of your newborn will pay dividends forever.