During the first year we attract your attention through the senses.
Attention, like memory, is not voluntary in the first two years of life. The child pays attention to what stimulates him at every moment, it is not the result of a decision. And what stimulates you? What he likes: Mom’s caresses, her voice, everything related to food… and also what is challenging for him, what he likes and amuses.
But although attention is not voluntary, it is important to stimulate it. Developing the ability to be interested in something is one of the cornerstones of your child’s learning. Because the power to be attentive, which seemed to belong to other ages, actually begins to be forged from the first day.
Acting tales
Sit in an armchair with your baby on your lap and a book in front of you. Choose a story, describe in simple words the characters you are seeing in the illustrations and tell the story, emphasizing the special effects and the characteristics you have attributed to each character. If you talk about a little mouse with a red bow, you will always name it that way, the little mouse with the red bow. On each new page, you can ask, “Where’s the little red bow rat?” If it’s still too small to point out, say it yourself, “Look, here it is!” There is a time when they can participate in our conversation, either with words or signs. But even if that time has not come, do not stop voicing the questions, and behind them the possible answers that the little one would give you: «Where is the green duckling? Well, here in the lake, swimming! ».
With those little fingers
Manual skill and attention go hand in hand in child development. Wanting to grab something is the first step in doing it. The baby of a few months will be eagerly directed towards everything he sees with different degrees of success or failure. Your baby’s ability to cope with frustration and keep his focus on what he wants to achieve will be key to the further development of manual skills. Offer attractive games, full of color and textures, for her to practice.
Sit across from him on the table or floor on a flat mat, and place a jar with a medium-sized hole in front of him. On either side you put various objects, some larger than others, such as a stroller, a rubber band, some grapes …
Ask the baby to put them in the pot. In this way you are encouraging him to move his little fingers separately and start developing the pincer movement.
Let him entertain himself with each object, look at it, explore … and make sure that he does not bring it to his mouth.