According to experts, the first years of your child’s life should be spent on learning. The things they learn (and don’t learn) during this time can have a significant effect on their development and growth. This responsibility can put pressure on the parents’ lives, but there are simple tricks that enable you to encourage your baby’s healthy development.
Baby activities aren’t just done for fun. Aside from bonding with your baby, these activities can aid your child in reaching vital development milestones, too.
Here are some ways parents can help the healthy development of their babies:
1. Carefully Establish Routines With Your Baby
Babies don’t understand what’s happening around them. Their days are usually spent the same way – sleeping, drinking milk, and playing – and any changes in this routine can be very stressful for them. They’ll usually feel scared and stressed whenever they’re frequently exposed to a new environment.
If you want your baby to feel confident, safe, secure, and in control of their world, make sure that your activities during the day are predictable. Wake up every morning and feed them at the same time each day. Creating a routine for your 4 month old baby will make it easier for them to adjust and will eventually understand what will happen next. The more predictable the routines are, the faster your child can prepare themselves for any of those changes.
When your child knows what to expect, playing, growing, and learning will become effortless to them.
2. Give Your Child Responsibilities
Having responsibilities are a normal part of life. Every human being in this world has responsibilities. Although stressful at times, feeling needed and useful can also make your babies feel important. Having responsibilities and accomplishing all of these can also help your child build self-confidence.
As one way for your child to healthily develop, give them responsibilities. Make sure that these responsibilities are age-appropriate. Giving a task that’s too simple will not stimulate their senses. While giving one that’s too challenging can usually result in depression the moment they don’t accomplish any of these.
For example, you can entrust your child to keep track of their own screen time. If they still have other responsibilities, such as doing their homework, you can set a limit on how many hours are they allowed to use the gadget. Check on them and see if they’re following instructions. This is one of the simplest ways for parents to develop responsible children.
3. Allow And Facilitate Your Baby To Play
Regardless of how busy you are as a parent, you should never forget about allocating time for your babies to let them play. Playtime, like the one shown here:
is one of the best platforms for your baby to learn about themselves, mingle with other people, and understand the world around them. It’s also through play that your baby learns how to solve problems and develop a positive self-image.
When your baby enjoys the sound of music after successfully pressing a button from a toy, they can understand that they can make something happen through their efforts. This simple routine also enables them to better understand the concept of cause and effect.
Whenever your child is playing, they can learn how it feels to play with someone else, try on new roles, and work out complicated feelings. A three-year-old child who’s fond of playing Power Rangers might be using this character to vent out any aggressive feelings, practice being more assertive, and conquer their fears. When your two-year-old child dresses up to become a mommy who often leaves for work, she might be working out her feelings about separation and anxiety. Let your kid lead playtime so they can gradually build their leadership skills, assertiveness, and confidence.
4. Strive To Become Your Child’s Role Model
A growing child is like a clean slate – they have zero knowledge on the things happening around them, and everything they see and do can affect their development and character. All of your efforts to teach your child good manners will be useless if you yourself can’t practice the same at home. Remember that kids are always watching adults for clues about the things they should and shouldn’t do. Kids are often looking up to their parents and other adults to know how they can manage their emotions, too.
Strive to become a role model for your child. Whenever you’re angry or frustrated, praise yourself aloud and let your kids know that it’s okay to have downtimes. Leading by example allows your child to find ways to healthily vent out their emotions and practice good conduct.
It’s All Worth It
Caring for your baby can be rough, but for sure, it’ll probably be the most rewarding experience of your life. To make things easier for you, use this article as your guide.
Your efforts will go a long way so your baby will develop properly and become a smart kid in the future!
