Your child's brain will develop very rapidly during this infancy stage.
He has to begin to make sense of his surroundings.
He will learn to recognize you and others, his room and house.
He will develop his sense of touch and his sense of smell (he will recognize your scent before he can recognize your face!).
He will learn to recognize words and names.
His brain is being stimulated and exploding with growth! And the more we stimulate that brain, the better and faster it will grow! So, you want to do things with the environment that will expose your child's brain to as much variation and detail as possible.
I believe that one of the best ways to increase this brain stimulation is to have classical music playing, non-stop if possible.
Numerous studies have been done that demonstrate the incredible effects of classical music on brain stimulation in infants.
Classical music provides both simple and complex rhythms and melodies that almost seem to force the brain to develop more readily than it would without this music.
The variety of instruments also plays a key role in this hyper development.
Finding classical music is really not hard.
Just about every area in the country has radio stations that play only classical music.
Or you can find many good and rather inexpensive CD collections through eBay or Amazon or through mail order catalogs.
However you do this, it is important that you play this music throughout the first several months of your child's life.
I cannot recommend this strongly enough.
Please do this for your child! Don't play this music too loud.
Your child's sense of hearing is pretty good.
So just play it loud enough that they can hear it well.
Soft, non-harmful mobiles are another item that can be used to provide environmental stimulation.
These can be hung from the ceiling or can attach and hang from the crib.
Your infant does not need a lot of toys, but a mobile that he/she can 'get to know' can provide both visual stimulation and security.
New parents always want the best 'stuff' for their child, but don't spend too much on these things.
Your child doesn't need the mobile that has all the latest bells and whistles.
He/she just needs something that will provide some stimulation.
So save your money.
(You will need it more later).
When looking at toys during the infancy stage, just make sure that they are big enough so that the child can't put it in his/her mouth.
Everything goes in the mouth.
This is because your infant experiences his environment best through the mouth.
The brain center that concerns the mouth and taste is the most stimulated part of the brain in infants.
So it makes sense that your child will try and put anything he can in his mouth, including toes.
So just make sure the toys are soft and have a good size so that the baby can't swallow them.
I am a HUGE proponent of reading to children.
Sometime between 4 and 6 months is a great time to introduce your child to reading.
Thankfully, there are some wonderful books out there for these young ones.
Content at this point isn't as important as whether or not the child can hold, touch, feel (and taste) the book.
Look for books that are easily manipulated.
Many are made so that the child can bend the pages, feel different types of surfaces, and can be wiped clean.
Read the book to your child.
Talk about the pictures.
Associate pictures in the book with things in the outside world.
Help your child to begin to make connections.
Your child wants to hear your voice, so don't hold back.
Make 'reading' time fun and enjoyable.
Your efforts to foster a love of reading in your child will pay huge dividends later on.
And if you haven't already, start reading bedtime stories before you sing them to sleep.
As a side note, if you are at all musically inclined (and even if you aren't), try and make up a song for your child.
It should be a song about him/her.
Simple, two or three lines, simple melody.
And sing the song to them at night.
Children eat this up.
They love their songs.
He has to begin to make sense of his surroundings.
He will learn to recognize you and others, his room and house.
He will develop his sense of touch and his sense of smell (he will recognize your scent before he can recognize your face!).
He will learn to recognize words and names.
His brain is being stimulated and exploding with growth! And the more we stimulate that brain, the better and faster it will grow! So, you want to do things with the environment that will expose your child's brain to as much variation and detail as possible.
I believe that one of the best ways to increase this brain stimulation is to have classical music playing, non-stop if possible.
Numerous studies have been done that demonstrate the incredible effects of classical music on brain stimulation in infants.
Classical music provides both simple and complex rhythms and melodies that almost seem to force the brain to develop more readily than it would without this music.
The variety of instruments also plays a key role in this hyper development.
Finding classical music is really not hard.
Just about every area in the country has radio stations that play only classical music.
Or you can find many good and rather inexpensive CD collections through eBay or Amazon or through mail order catalogs.
However you do this, it is important that you play this music throughout the first several months of your child's life.
I cannot recommend this strongly enough.
Please do this for your child! Don't play this music too loud.
Your child's sense of hearing is pretty good.
So just play it loud enough that they can hear it well.
Soft, non-harmful mobiles are another item that can be used to provide environmental stimulation.
These can be hung from the ceiling or can attach and hang from the crib.
Your infant does not need a lot of toys, but a mobile that he/she can 'get to know' can provide both visual stimulation and security.
New parents always want the best 'stuff' for their child, but don't spend too much on these things.
Your child doesn't need the mobile that has all the latest bells and whistles.
He/she just needs something that will provide some stimulation.
So save your money.
(You will need it more later).
When looking at toys during the infancy stage, just make sure that they are big enough so that the child can't put it in his/her mouth.
Everything goes in the mouth.
This is because your infant experiences his environment best through the mouth.
The brain center that concerns the mouth and taste is the most stimulated part of the brain in infants.
So it makes sense that your child will try and put anything he can in his mouth, including toes.
So just make sure the toys are soft and have a good size so that the baby can't swallow them.
I am a HUGE proponent of reading to children.
Sometime between 4 and 6 months is a great time to introduce your child to reading.
Thankfully, there are some wonderful books out there for these young ones.
Content at this point isn't as important as whether or not the child can hold, touch, feel (and taste) the book.
Look for books that are easily manipulated.
Many are made so that the child can bend the pages, feel different types of surfaces, and can be wiped clean.
Read the book to your child.
Talk about the pictures.
Associate pictures in the book with things in the outside world.
Help your child to begin to make connections.
Your child wants to hear your voice, so don't hold back.
Make 'reading' time fun and enjoyable.
Your efforts to foster a love of reading in your child will pay huge dividends later on.
And if you haven't already, start reading bedtime stories before you sing them to sleep.
As a side note, if you are at all musically inclined (and even if you aren't), try and make up a song for your child.
It should be a song about him/her.
Simple, two or three lines, simple melody.
And sing the song to them at night.
Children eat this up.
They love their songs.