The video below shows a number of activities used at Baby Sensory classes which are specifically designed to help with Social-Emotional Development of babies from birth.
This is the first of a series of videos that will be launched on this site during the course of this year.
We will announce each video launch on our Facebook Group.
Baby Sensory founder, Dr Lin Day has been commissioned to write aseries of articles about Baby Development for Early Years professionals. Take a look at a few samples of these articles below.
Choosing a Good Nursery
Choosing a good nursery is a big decision for most parents, but one that often causes great anxiety and raises many questions. The first step that parents might take is to visit a number of nursery settings to be absolutely confident that the one that they have chosen is right for their baby.
Knowing something about the nursery in advance of the visit can be helpful. The good nursery will have a reputation locally and will be known for its friendly approach and welcoming setting. Parents can also
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Swine flu: spread, prevention and treatment
The emergence and rapid spread of a new strain of influenza, swine flu H1N1, has raised concern among parents and practitioners. At the start of the outbreak, some nurseries and schools closed to prevent the spread of the virus. However, swine flu is now widespread within communities and this approach is no longer recommended.
Childcare settings and schools have an important role to play in preventing the spread of the virus, by taking sensible personal precautions and by following the good hygiene practices recommended by the Department of Health. Parents are also more likely to accept the need for good hygiene practice if they are kept fully informed of how the virus might spread and the likely effect of countermeasures.
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What do Babies See?
At birth, sight is the least developed sense. The ability to see objects and colours clearly depends on the development of the visual cortex, the maturity of the retina, coordination of the eye muscles and focusing ability. Until these complex systems have matured, images, shapes and colours will appear blurry.
By eight months of age, the ability to see clearly has nearly reached normal adult levels. The rapid pace of development is highly dependent on the amount of visual stimulation that the baby receives. If the baby is deprived of visual stimulation, cells in the visual cortex may decrease or develop abnormally which can have serious implications for hand-eye coordination later on. Other problems may include clumsiness, difficulties in concentrating and reading and writing problems when the child goes to school.
The brain is divided into two halves or cerebral hemispheres by a deep fissure. However, both sides of the brain are able to communicate with each other through the corpus callosum, a thick tract of nerve fibres that lies at the base of the fissure.
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Left-right Brain Dominance
The brain is divided into two halves or cerebral hemispheres by a deep fissure. However, both sides of the brain are able to communicate with each other through the corpus callosum, a thick tract of nerve fibres that lies at the base of the fissure.
Although the two hemispheres appear to be similar, each half has its own unique set of functions. Studies show that the right hemisphere is dominant for emotions, creativity, music and rhythm and that the left brain is dominant for mathematical and language abilities. Although both sides of the brain have the ability to analyse, process and store information, form thoughts and ideas and make decisions, one side of the brain is usually more dominant than the other. Brain dominance affects learning, determines personality and influences behaviour.
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A Good Night’s Sleep
For most parents, the two main problems are falling asleep and stayingasleep. Some babies fall asleep easily and stay asleep while othersfall asleep easily, but wake up frequently. Some babies go to sleepwith difficulty, but stay asleep, while others do not want to go tosleep or stay asleep. Babies that were good sleepers at six months ofage may develop sleeping difficulties as they grow older and viceversa.
Sleep problems are common in babies, but understanding and knowinghow to deal with them enables parents to get a better night’s sleep forthemselves, which in turn enables them to provide loving, patient andconsistent care for their baby.
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Dads are important too!
Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that fathers were a biologicalnecessity, but a social accident. One of our greatest theorists,Sigmund Freud, believed that mothers were biologically suited to bebetter parents than fathers. In fact, fathers were relegated to therole of provider and little else. John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist,also reinforced the idea that the mother was the first and mostimportant object of infant attachment. Even Harry Harlow’s experimentwith rhesus monkeys promoted the idea of the mother as the maincare-giver. However, male rhesus monkeys have been shown to make goodfathers in the absence of the female. Many animal studies support theview that males make good fathers. Marmoset and tamarin monkeys assumea fatherly role with their infants, chewing food for them and evenassisting at the birth. Generally, the female’s willingness is thecrucial factor in determining paternal involvement.
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Music for Babies and Children
It is impossible to define exactly what music is, although most peopleaccept that it might be sound through singing or active music-making.What is certain is that music helps us to communicate thoughts, ideasand emotions in ways that no other stimulus can. It offers a wholerange of other benefits too, from pain and stress management toimproved motor and rhythmic coordination. It also contributesunequivocally to the positive development of the human brain.
In the home or nursery, music can set the tone for a relaxed, warm andinviting atmosphere. It can help parents and practitioners address theemotional, creative, language and social needs of infants and it can beused to support movement activities. Music can also meet the needs ofbabies and children from different cultures. The effect of music onchildren with sensory impairments, disabilities, illnesses and speciallearning needs can also be far-reaching.
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Sensory Baby
The next time you read a book, stop for a moment and marvel at theamazing capacity of the brain to carry out such an intricate task.Processing information and co-ordinating the eyes involves many complexinteractions between the brain and senses. Sensations from the outsideworld are changed into electrical impulses and carried to the brain,which then decodes the information to produce the image that is seen.Although the process of gathering and deciphering information beginsbefore birth, as soon as the baby leaves the womb, the sense organswork overtime. This is the beginning of sensory education.
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The Power of Touch
Babies have a biological need for close physical affection. Nothing ismore important to their emotional, physical and intellectualdevelopment than a comforting cuddle or a loving touch. What is certainis that babies who are cuddled, stroked and caressed are more likely togrow up to be loving social beings. They also gain independence andconfidence, which leads on to an important milestone by the end of thefirst year: the ability to play alone.
Babies that are regularly touched gain weight faster, developstronger immune systems, crawl and walk sooner, sleep more soundly andcry less than babies deprived of close physical contact. Children thatare given plenty of physical affection show more task orientatedbehaviour, less solitary play and less aggression at school. They alsoachieve higher levels of educational qualifications in later life.
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A Sense of Smell
All seasons offer a range of tantalising smells to stimulate thesenses. The spring is no exception. The air is filled with thefragrance of flowers, the rich loamy smell of wet earth, freshly mowngrass, new leaves growing and wealth of other olfactory (smell)experiences. These smells are converted to electrical signals whichreach areas of the brain involved in emotion and memory. This is whysmells experienced in early infancy can bring on a flood of emotivememories in later life. No other sense has the same power to do this.
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Pet Assisted Therapies
Research shows that having a pet can provide a wide range of health andemotional benefits for babies and children. Most are associated withrelease of the hormone, oxytocin.Oxytocin has been called the ‘cuddle’, ‘love’ or ‘bonding’ hormonefor its role in facilitating pair-bonding and long-term attachment.Stroking, holding, cuddling or patting an animal releases oxytocin intothe bloodstream in the same way that cuddling a familiar adult does,giving rise to feelings of happiness, calm and contentment. As aconsequence, the child becomes less anxious and more willing to makefriends. The hormone also heightens emotional feelings towardsinanimate objects, which is why some people name their cars, cry whenthey sell their belongings and show generosity towards completestrangers. Similarly, oxytocin orchestrates attachment to a soft toy orspecial blanket, since it is associated with comfort and warm feelingsbetween the baby and the parent.
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Baby Signing
Babies are born with an inherent body language that is common to allcultures. Long before the emergence of speech, babies spontaneouslycommunicate with their parents using gestures and sounds to stimulatetheir loving attention. Smiling, for example is the first friendly signthat keeps the mother close and attentive. In later life, it acts in ahundred different ways to signal amicable feelings towards people. Itis without doubt, the most important social signal in the humanrepertoire of gestures and signs.
Many parents experience intense frustration in understanding theirbaby’s signals. Even though common sense goes some way in helping themunderstand their baby’s needs or wants, in practice, they have torespond to a dozen or more cues and come up with the right solution.Sign language is one way of taking the guesswork out of parenting!
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Early Nurturing and Attachment
Bonding is an intense emotional tie between the parent and baby thatoften begins during pregnancy and continues after birth. Nevertheless,after all the excitement and anticipation, when the baby finallyarrives, some parents find it difficult to form an attachment withtheir baby. In the past, researchers thought that time spent with thenewborn was sure to seal the bond between them. However, there is noevidence to suggest that bonding begins at birth. We now know thatparent-baby bonding is very complicated and that there are many reasonswhy relationships take time to grow and develop.
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The Language Path
The acquisition of speech and language are complex life skills and yetbabies understand words and whole sentences long before they can speak.What is so extraordinary is that babies up to the age of ten monthshave the capacity to learn several languages. Adults, however, havegreat difficulty in managing the grammar and dialects of new languagesbecause they are accustomed to the sounds and codes of their nativetongue.
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Solitary Confinement
Health professionals are increasingly concerned that motor delays inbabies may well be related to the amount of time spent in containerssuch as car seats, carriers, bouncers, swings, walkers and strap-inchairs. While containers have their uses, babies who spend too muchtime in them may develop problems such as flattening of the skull,contorted neck muscles and delays in sitting, crawling, walking andspeaking. Container overuse may also be partially responsible for spineand back disorders in later life.
Baby containers can be useful in allowing parents and practitioners thefreedom to accomplish chores at busy times of the day. Containers mayalso offer a solution when nothing else seems to soothe or settle thebaby. Well-meaning parents and practitioners may put babies in them forsafety, support and entertainment, but even so, they should not be usedas permanent ‘baby sitters’. A caring nursery will have put somethought into the amount of time that babies spend in containers andparents are advised to look carefully at how often the restraintsystems are used.
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Babies and Mathematics
Learning basic mathematical concepts is a complex business, but intrying to understand the world, babies naturally seek out problems tosolve. The challenge for the parent or practitioner is to create aninteresting and rich environment in which early math (and science)learning can occur. This article provides an overview of basicmathematical understanding in the first year and suggests ways in whichparents and practitioners can encourage a love of math in babies thatwill stand them in good stead for the future. Read more....
Babies Are So Clever!
This is the first in a series of articles about baby learning anddevelopment. However, you won't find advice on nutrition, feeding,safety or hygiene. The aim of each article is to explain how babieslearn, develop or acquire language and to demonstrate wy sensoryexperiences, tummy time and early nurturing are so important. Babieshave an amazing capacity to learn, but because parents or practitionersmay not know what to look for, skills and capabilities may gounnoticed. This article reveals just how clever babies are and offersparents and practitioners a significant and remarkable opportunity toenjoy the learning potential of these incredible beings right from thestart!
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Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: the drive to walk
Thefirst year of life is unlike any other stage in human physicaldevelopment. In a relatively short period of time, the baby changesfrom a helpless individual to a walking toddler. Parents never forgettheir baby's first steps. It is a momentous achievement! At thatmoment, the baby becomes a toddler and a whole new world of learningopens up.
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Omega-3 makes Babies Brainier
Seafood is one of the richest sources of omega-3 essential fattyacid. Recent data suggest that even small amounts of seafood consumedduring pregnancy can make a significant difference to the developmentof the foetal brain, nervous and visual systems as well as overallgrowth. Omega-3 also provides excellent long-term health benefits forchildren such as improved motor co-ordination, communication andconcentration skills. Clinical studies have paved the way for a muchbetter understanding of its use as a food supplement for children withlearning disabilities, asthma, eczema and attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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Chemicals: A Safe Start in Life
When a parent purchases baby care products or toys, the last thingthat crosses their mind is whether they contain chemicals that may harmtheir baby. However, parents and practitioners owe it to themselves andto their baby to know all about the products they use, the potentialrisks and how to seek suitable alternatives. Babies are particularlysusceptible to chemicals due to their rapid rate of growth anddevelopment. Even exposure to small doses of common everyday chemicalscan have a profound effect on their future health, learning anddevelopment.
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Tummy Time
Modern day practices suggest putting babies on their backs to sleepand while this has contributed to a significant decrease in cot deathor Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), they may miss out the crawlingstage, which is crucial to later learning. Babies need to be on theirtummies in order to go through the fundamental movement patterns (forexample, raising the head, creeping, and crawling) that stimulate bothsides of the brain and lay the foundation for later reading andwriting. If the crawling stage is avoided, they may encounter learningproblems in school, no matter how intelligent they are. The good newsis that even five minutes of ‘Tummy Time’ a day can lessen or eliminatethese potential problems, and have a positive effect on head shape.This article explains why tummy time is so important to babydevelopment and learning and what parents and practitioners can do tomake it a happy and productive experience.
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Premature Babies
Statistics show that one in fourteen babies arrive in the world toosoon. The UK has the highest rate of preterm deliveries in WesternEurope with about 50,000 babies born prematurely each year. Despitemedical advances, figures are on the increase after fifteen years ofstagnancy.
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Sex and Gender: Why do boys and girls behave differently?
Some experts believe that the way in which boys and girls are raiseddetermines behaviour. We now know that is not completely true. The factthat males differ by just one Y chromosome could help to explain whycertain behaviours are more dominant in one sex than the other.Scientists have found that all foetuses are female in the first sixweeks after conception. After this, testosterone surges through thebrain of the male foetus, depleting the communication and emotionalcentres of some cells and promoting the growth of cells responsible foraggressive behaviour. In the absence of the testosterone rush, theareas of the brain responsible for language, creativity, emotion andsocial development continue to grow unperturbed.
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