The ABCs of Baby Sensory Development
After 9 months in the warm, round belly of their mother, at birth, the newborn suddenly finds themselves among us, in a completely different world in which they must learn everything! Of course, babies have absolutely remarkable adaptive abilities and a thirst for discovery that will stay with them throughout their childhood. However, the development of babies happens step by step, and one of the very first steps is called sensory development. It is a collection of games, activities, toys and experiences that aim to stimulate baby's 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. All of this gradually promotes their development from birth to around 3 years of age.
From what age?
Sensory development starts from birth! Indeed, babies have a real need for stimulation from the very first weeks because their brain is under full construction. That is why you, as parents, have a duty to offer them appropriate experiences so that baby can discover this new world! Rest assured, you are already doing certain activities without even realizing it: skin-to-skin contact for example, listening to music, talking, smiling, kissing your baby…
What are the benefits?
When we talk about babies and their development, we tend to think first about motor skills — a subject on which they will evolve enormously during the first years of life. Sensory development gently improves the coordination of their movements through certain toy manipulations. But sensory development is above all an excellent way to enhance their cognitive abilities. As we mentioned earlier, brain development is crucial! Through stimulation of the 5 senses, baby also enriches their curiosity about this new world, and little by little, their ability to explore and their thirst for learning will amaze you. As parents, it is also a source of small joys: watching your little one grow, interacting with them — these are memories for life…
How to set it up?
For baby to make the most of these moments, a setting adapted to their needs is essential. This means a safe and hazard-free environment, of course, but also a comfortable space: they must be able to stretch out and move freely (and so must you!). In the first experiences, you introduce the different toys to the child and create interactions together. Little by little, baby will explore all these developmental toys on their own and at their own pace. Finally, be careful not to overwhelm them with objects — introduce things gradually to avoid overstimulation and to create the element of surprise!
How to stimulate my baby's 5 senses?
Overall for the early stages, it is important to vary textures and colors and to choose toys suited to their age. We love the Kaloo toys, which have designed an ultra-practical range of sensory toys for babies. Bonus: all the items were developed in collaboration with early childhood specialists! This range, named "Stimuli" and embodied by a little cat, is designed for babies from 0 to approximately 24 months. Why do we love it? It has everything: soft toys, developmental cards, arches, play mats… With lots of gentleness and age-by-age guidance to help you navigate.
Discovering the 5 senses:
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Touch is a sense that baby takes pleasure in awakening through blankets and varied materials — they will endlessly put their little hands everywhere, and that is perfectly normal! They become familiar with textures and materials, but also with their parents' skin, hair… Everything goes!
- Sight: it is developed through observation, the many colors, the different patterns; it later enables hand-eye coordination.
- Hearing is stimulated by the effects of certain toys: crinkling sounds, gentle music, the jingling of rattles, the "squeak squeak" of a ball… Finally, music, reading a short story or simple words, animal sounds and sounds of nature are all just as many stimuli for them.
- Taste is of course present and stimulated first through bottle feeding or breastfeeding, and then through the introduction of solid foods! But when baby puts toys in their mouth, their sense of taste comes into play there too!
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Smell is a sense that baby develops innately: the smell of milk, of their parents, of their home, of the different rooms, at different times of the day…
Sensory development age by age:
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From 0 to 3 months
At this age, newborns sleep a lot and their wakeful periods are punctuated by breastfeeding or bottle feeding. As a result, playtime is very short… To stimulate them, you can massage them, offer gentle music, rattles and small toys on the stroller, a mobile above the crib, or invest right now in a play arch.
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From 3 to 6 months
Baby starts to show curiosity about their environment. At this age, they want to explore with their hands, their mouth, and why not their little kicking feet! The play arch is highly recommended, as are toys to manipulate (the Kaloo ones are great!): books, soft toys, balls, cubes…
Tips: At 6 months, baby starts playing with their reflection in the mirror! What better than to give them something to have fun with while admiring themselves? By the way, Kaloo has created a wonderful sensory mirror! It is soft and designed to stimulate all of baby's senses. As it is lightweight and practical, it can be attached to any playpen, stroller, play mat… Ideal for the first months!
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From 6 to 18 months
It's a big shake-up! During this period, your child develops at lightning speed — after rolling onto their tummy, then learning to sit up, they will gradually start to crawl, then perhaps move on all fours before standing up! Hold on tight! Here again, set up games available to them, varying rolling activities, encouraging their desire to explore, playing peek-a-boo, stacking objects, listening to sound books…
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From 18 months
Baby wants to do as the grown-ups do: you can offer seek-and-find activities, puzzles, but their interest will lean towards dolls, toy phones (what an era!), musical instruments, little wooden kitchens, having a stroller, playing baby with their soft toys…
