Recognises a familiar object when they can only see part of it
Your child has been combining information from their senses to learn about the world since they were a baby. Their vision is clear, and they have developed their cognitive skills and now have a clear understanding of many familiar objects. They know that objects maintain their shape and size even when they cannot see them and can think about familiar objects.
Looks around and can pick out a familiar person in a group of people
Your child’s vision will have had similar clarity to that of an adult for some time now, and they will have been noticing things that are further away for a while now. They are still developing the skills to process and think about what they see, and you might notice that they are able to find a familiar person amongst a group of people.
Responds to what you say when in a busy or noisy environment if you get their attention first
Your child has been able to recognise familiar sounds since they were born, and they might have noticed and looked towards the direction of a sound. They might have found it more difficult to identify specific sounds or words in a busy or noisy environment but now are beginning to do this as long as you gain their attention first.
Knows where their body starts and ends so bumps into stationary objects less often
Your child has become more confident as they move around different spaces. When they first started to walk and run you might have noticed they lost their balance when moving through small spaces or when running. Now, they are more aware of their body and have developed their balance so that they can adjust movements and will bump into objects less often.
Turns pages in a book with appropriate force so can now usually turn paper pages without tearing them
Your child has probably been interested in looking at books for a while and might have been turning pages. Now their proprioception is developing, and this means that as well as having more awareness of their body they are also more able to control the force they use for different tasks. You might notice that they turn pages more smoothly and can turn paper pages without tearing them.
Enjoys being held and swung, bounced or rocked quite vigorously
A natural response as a parent is to sooth your baby by swinging, bouncing or rocking them from side to side. This innate reaction is no coincidence as it has been proven that it has comforting and self-regulatory properties [1]. Starting in the womb, babies become consoled by their mothers’ movements and continue to enjoy these actions for sleep and play right throughout their first years. Even as adults, we can continue to find regulatory properties in rhythmic motions. For example, some of us might find that we feel relaxed and even sleepy whilst on a train or a bus.
Uses their hands to move food or drink split on the table, watches their hands and the food as they move
Your baby’s senses started to develop before birth and as they have had more experiences your baby will be bringing together information from their senses to understand themselves and the world. You will notice this combining of information when you watch your child as they explore a new texture with their hands. They will watch the movement of their hands, the marks made as they explore, and move in different ways to see the effect. When they do this your baby combines information from their vision touch and proprioceptive (body) senses.
