How your toddler learns to interpret signals from inside their body
Lots of your toddler’s sensory development is linked to understanding signals from different receptors in their body. When it comes to our senses most of us think of 'the five’. But these are just the start – one of the other key senses your toddler is developing is interoception. Here’s more about it.
Sensory development is about how our brains process information from our senses
Getting to know your baby – some days will be easier than others
All babies are individuals. Research tells us about averages, but your baby hasn't read the research and will respond in the moment to how they feel! You are learning together what works for your baby and your family. You and your baby are getting to know each other now, but some days and nights might feel harder than others, and that’s ok.
I see what you see... sharing attention and learning about objects
When your baby looks at the same object as you or another person, they will find themselves in something call a ‘shared-attention episode.’
These moments allow for an exchange of information between them and another person. This helps them to learn about what you're sharing as you look at something together, their thoughts, intentions, the environment in which it occurs and the object.
There is a lot of cognitive processing at play here as your baby processes and responds to both intentional and incidental signalling and gaze between both the initiator of this interaction and the responder. They might be the initiator and you respond, or vice versa.
So, just talking about a simple object with your child and looking at it together has many learning opportunities for their cognition, language, and social and emotional development.
Wondrous words – how does your toddler learn new words and phrases?
Your toddler has a thirst for learning and might be using new words all the time. The first words your toddler says will probably be the ones they hear a lot – and the words that seem important to the people around them. But how does your toddler learn new words beyond simply listening?
Not all listening is equally good for learning new words
Why being able to wait in a ‘ready, steady, go’ game is a big step for your baby
Every skill your baby masters is amazing and an important step in their development. But, we just love skills that seem really simple but are actually quite complicated. Waiting in a ‘ready, steady, go’ game is one of those!
What’s so special about waiting for a moment?
Why does my baby love to drop or throw everything?
Young children benefit from opportunities to repeat and practise different actions. This helps their brain development and learning as they grow. Babies love exploring how things move and soon discover that whatever is dropped or thrown falls down, never up!
Getting to grips with in-hand manipulation
In-hand manipulation is the ability to move objects around the hand, and position them, without using your other hand. This is something we use often in everyday life, for example, when we pick up a coin and put it in the slot to pay for parking, put the lid on the toothpaste, or pick up a pen and write.
Your toddler is probably starting to get more confident doing this, perhaps picking up food and holding it in their palm before moving it to their fingertips so they can eat.
Squatting skills – why they're so good for your toddler
Toddler squatting is a perfectly natural movement. Humans used to squat all the time and in many parts of the world squatting is common while cooking, eating, foraging and sitting. Regardless of why your toddler squats today, the advantages of this skill are eye-opening.
Squatting offers your toddler a different perspective of the world
Photographic memory! Physical skills can help share ideas and develop memory and language
Now your toddler is developing their physical skills and can notice more detail in photographs and pictures, they will be able to point out the ones that interest them. It's a wonderful time for you and your toddler to look at photographs together!
Looking at pictures of family members is brilliant for brain development.
Top tip for your toddler's pincer grip!
Not sure whether your toddler is using their pincer grip? Think about the OK sign....
When you see a pincer grip in action, the thumb tip and pointer fingertip should be touching each other. An open space will be created between the thumb and finger.
