The moment you welcome your child into this world, he is already learning about everything around him. Imagine this. Within hours of birth, a child can already tell the difference between a mother’s voice and that of a stranger’s, and also know who their Mom is from her unique scent. That’s pretty amazing for a little one, but how do they do it? Through their senses – vision, hearing, taste, touch and smell!

So if you want your child to grasp what’s out there fairly quickly, you can begin by introducing various sounds, objects, shapes and textures. Well, at least until he can talk, this is the best way of communicating with your little one as he learns more about you and makes sense of his surroundings.

Through sounds, objects, shapes and textures, your child is learning more about you and the world.

At first sight
During the first few weeks your child sees things best from a foot away - that’s about the distance when you are cuddling him. You can increase your baby’s visual enjoyment by introducing plenty of human and pet faces as he learns to look for similarities or differences. With enough exposure, your child will become used to all types of faces and their varying looks.  

Your child can spot sharp colour contrasts but they will have difficulty distinguishing details. So try showing stripes, polka dots or try wearing bright colours and see your child’s reaction.

Be sure to increase your child’s enjoyment of looking at various things by placing plenty of images, colourful toys near the changing table, nursery and the car’s backseat. Or you could also attach a baby mirror to his crib. He won’t recognise the image he is looking at, but he will love to stare nonetheless!

When your child is four to six months old, he becomes more intrigued at distant objects. So even if it is a short trip to the supermarket, take a little time appreciate the red car passing by or how the sun is reflected in a puddle - together with your child!

Hearing things
Babies hear right from the womb – a mother’s heartbeat and the voices close to her – and often seek comfort in familiar voices or soft music. So as you go through your daily routine, talk to your child by saying, “First, we put the shirt over your cute little head. Then your right arm goes through one small opening and now your left arm goes through the other.” This interaction teaches your baby communication as well as the basic rhythms of language.

Your baby will be fascinated by the simplest sounds, so make silly noises at the slightest provocation. Your baby will love this and very soon, start to “talk” back to you in his own language.

Point out the world around him, the birds singing in the trees or an aeroplane passing overhead. At this stage, you can also enhance his hearing abilities with toys that make noise, squeak or play music. If your child is too young to hold a rattle, you can shake it for him or attach a toy that makes subtle sounds to his wrists.

The gentle touch
The earliest of conversations between you and your child is the sense of touch. Most babies love to be touched and prefer a firmer touch. Try applying pressure to the baby’s skin slowly and gently before naptime or bedtime to help him settle down.

Very soon, your child will explore and appreciate different textures – rough, soft, squishy, smooth. So give them toys that will keep him in awe of the world around him.

What’s that taste?
Babies are born with sweet tooth! He’ll prefer the sweet taste of breast milk or formula to other foods because his other basic taste senses – bitter, sour and salty – develop several months later.

Your child will taste almost anything you give him and their little hands can’t wait to grab whatever that’s within reach. In fact their senses of taste and texture work together to help him make new discoveries. By putting things and food in his mouth, he is discovering how they feel and provides clues about shapes and sizes.

Amazingly, babies can visually recognize the difference between a square and a round object after putting it in his mouth – even if he did not look at the object beforehand! So do encourage this by providing safe and appropriate toys for mouthing. And of course, the toys have to be washed very often.

* This article is brought to you by