Embedded Files
Sensory Development
is a process which begins from birth where we receive, organize, and interpret information from the environment through our senses to engage in daily activities.
________
In this module, we discuss early development of sensory skills.
Scroll through for a brief overview and guidance to help your young child begin this lifelong journey and set the foundation for years of sensory growth!
The 8 Senses
The 8 Senses
Are the ways infants learn about and make sense of the world around them. They form the foundation that shapes everything from early motor development to social connections later in life.
Each sense develops not in milestones like other skills, but as a way for us to take in and to give information from our sensory world. We all learn to accept or adapt to the world around us through our sensory systems.
The main senses are Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, & Touch.
The remaining 3 senses (Vestibular, Proprioception, and Interoception) are our internal senses of balance, our body's position in space, and awareness of our own needs (i.e., hunger, thirst, etc.).
Sensory Abilities
Sensory Abilities
How to Support Your Baby's Sensory Development
How to Support Your Baby's Sensory Development
Most important: Expose infants to new sights, sounds, textures, and tastes, while doing a variety of activities in different positions to help with balance, body awareness, and their position sense
At such a young age, almost every interaction with the environment is new and can be very exciting or scary to a baby. Activities that allow them to see, smell, taste, move, and feel things around them, even if we ourselves don't like them, can help them learn to feel more comfortable over time with these interactions. Parents often put their own likes and dislikes onto their children, especially when it comes to sensory exposure.
The Importance of TOUCH
The Importance of TOUCH
Touch is one of the first ways your baby learns about the world. Through cuddling, holding, and exploring different textures, babies build a sense of safety, develop strong bonds with caregivers, and begin to understand their bodies.
These early touch experiences also support brain development, help with calming and regulation, and play an important role in feeding and trying new foods. Providing gentle, positive touch throughout the day helps your baby grow, learn, and feel secure.
Oral Exploration (Mouth & Touch)
Oral Exploration (Mouth & Touch)
Your baby’s mouth is one of their most sensitive tools for learning. It’s completely normal for babies to explore toys, hands, and other safe objects by bringing them to their mouths.
This helps them understand different textures, shapes, and temperatures in a more detailed way than using their hands alone. Oral exploration supports curiosity, body awareness, and overall learning about their environment as they grow.
Ways YOU Can Help Your Baby Make Sense of Their World!
Ways YOU Can Help Your Baby Make Sense of Their World!
2 Months Old
Talk to your baby- use different tones
Touch your baby- massage with lotions, brush skin with soft brush
Hold your baby against your skin
Stimulate their vision with high contrast toys ie black, white or red colors
Let them smell and taste and explore with hands and mouth
Move them in different postures as you carry and play with them- rock them
Do Tummy Time with baby- start early; can even put them in tummy time on your chest
4 Months Old
Play with them on a variety of textured baby toys and surfaces
Talk to baby frequently about your day and what is happening to them
Continue to touch them and expose to new scents and experiences
When baby is ready for purees, try a new food
Use mirrors around the house during playtime
Take baby for walks or use baby carrier or backpack, use bouncer, swings
Play movement games with actions, like pat-a-cake, peek a boo
Tummy time is even more critical now- babies need to feel themselves push up and view the world from this new lens to explore
6 Months Old
Allow baby to explore different textured toys of different colors, sizes, shapes and materials to play with
Read picture books and point to items as you say them, some books have textues in them as well
When you feed baby, let them smell it as you prepare. Allow them to smell what you eat and odors of all kinds around you
Allow baby to move to reach, roll, pivot, or crawl to them. Don't just hand to them.
Introduce toys that involve pushing and pulling
Movement exploration on floor is critical so the feel the surfaces they explore
9 Months Old
Provide baby with new textures through food, toys and clothes
Allow baby to feel food on their face and hands for longer, wait to clean them up
Talk to them and tell them what you are doing as you dress, feed, and bathe baby; point to things when you see them
Let baby be in a highchair while you’re cooking, and at the table with the family eating. Maybe they can try new tastes from what you are eating if appropriate
Encouage baby to play with toys that require different amounts of force, push toys for walking; movement though obstacle courses- climbing in tunnels, over pillows and people
12 Months Old
By 12 months, babies have many likes/dislikes, so it is important to keep encouraging a variety of experiences so they don't avoid experiences. Babies should be interested in exploring all kinds of things presented to them.
Take baby steps and model the explorative behavior you want, then say, " Your turn" or "Do you want to try?"
When you ask "Do you want-" always be ready to respect them when they say no. So sometimes it's better to say, "Now you try"
Being easy-going with many experiences and modeling your experience in a positive light helps children want to explore themselves.
Toys for Sensory Development
Toys for Sensory Development
This video explains the different sensory systems and provides examples of children who have sensory issues to help us understand if a child has issues and what to do if there are concerns
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse