The Basics of Baby Sensory Development
After 9 months in the warm, round belly of their mother, at birth, newborns suddenly find themselves among us, in a completely different world in which they must learn everything! Of course, babies have absolutely remarkable adaptive abilities and a thirst for discovery that will stay with them throughout their childhood. However, the development of little ones happens step by step, and one of the very first stages is called sensory development. It is a collection of games, activities, toys and experiences designed to stimulate baby's 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. All of this gradually supports their development from birth to around 3 years of age.
From what age?
Sensory development starts from birth! Indeed, little ones have a real need for stimulation from the very first weeks as their brain is fully under construction. This is why you, as parents, have a duty to offer them appropriate experiences so that your baby can discover this new world! Rest assured, you are already doing certain activities without even realising it: skin-to-skin contact for example, listening to music, talking, smiling, kissing your baby…
What are the benefits?
When we talk about little ones and their development, we tend to think primarily about motor skills: a subject on which they will evolve enormously during the first years of life. Sensory development gently improves the coordination of their movements through the manipulation of certain toys. But sensory development is above all an excellent way to enhance their cognitive abilities. As we mentioned earlier, brain development is crucial! Through stimulation of the 5 senses, babies also enrich their curiosity about this new world and, little by little, their ability to explore and their thirst for learning will astound you. As parents, it is also a source of small joys: watching your little one grow, interacting with them — these are memories for life…
How to set it up?
For babies to make the most of these moments, an environment suited to their needs is essential. This means a safe and hazard-free space of course, but also a comfortable one: they must be able to stretch out and move freely (and so must you!). In the early stages, introduce the child to the various toys and create interactions together. Little by little, babies will explore all these developmental toys on their own and at their own pace. Finally, be careful not to overwhelm them with objects — introduce things gradually to avoid over-stimulation and create a sense of surprise!
How to stimulate my baby's 5 senses?
Generally speaking, in the early stages, it is important to vary textures and colours and to choose toys suited to their age. We recommend the Kaloo toys, which have designed a range of ultra-practical sensory toys for little ones. Bonus: all the products have been developed in collaboration with early childhood specialists! This range, named « Stimuli » and embodied by a little cat, is designed for babies from 0 to approximately 24 months. Why do we love it? It has everything: comforters, development cards, arches, play mats… With lots of gentleness and age-by-age advice to help you find your way.
Discovering the 5 senses:
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Touch is a sense that babies take pleasure in awakening through blankets and varied textures — they will never stop putting their little hands on everything, and that's perfectly normal! They get familiar with textures, materials, but also with their parents' skin, hair… Everything goes!
- Sight: it is developed through observation, many colours and different prints, and later enables hand-eye coordination.
- Hearing is stimulated by the effects of certain toys: rattling sounds, gentle music, the jingling of rattles, the "squeak squeak" of a ball… Finally, music, the reading of a short story or simple words, and the sounds of animals and nature are all equally stimulating for them.
- Taste is of course present and stimulated first through the bottle or breastfeeding, then through the introduction of solid foods! But when babies put toys in their mouths, their sense of taste comes into play there too!
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Smell is a sense that babies develop innately: the smell of milk, their parents, their home, the different rooms, at different times of the day…
Sensory development age by age:
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From 0 to 3 months
At this age, newborns sleep a great deal and their wakeful periods are punctuated by feeds. As a result, playtime is very short… To stimulate them, you can massage them, offer gentle music, rattles and small toys on their pushchair, a mobile above the cot, or invest now in a play arch.
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From 3 to 6 months
A budding curiosity about their environment begins to emerge. At this age, they want to explore with their hands, their mouth and perhaps even their wriggling feet! A play arch is highly recommended, as are toys to handle (those by Kaloo are great!): books, comforters, balls, cubes…
Tips: At 6 months, babies start playing with their reflection in the mirror! What could be better than giving them something fun to enjoy while admiring themselves? In fact, Kaloo has created a wonderful sensory mirror! It is soft and designed to stimulate all of baby's senses. As it is light and practical, it can be placed on any playpen, pushchair, play mat… Ideal for the first months!
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From 6 to 18 months
It's a big upheaval! During this period, your child develops at lightning speed — after rolling onto their tummy, then learning to sit up, they will gradually start to crawl, then perhaps on all fours before standing up! Hold on tight! Here again, set up games within their reach, varying rolling activities, encouraging their desire to explore, playing peek-a-boo, stacking objects, listening to sound books…
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From 18 months
Baby wants to do things like the grown-ups: you can introduce seek-and-find games, puzzles, but their interest will be in dolls, toy phones (what an era!), musical instruments, little wooden kitchens, having a pushchair, playing baby with their soft toys…
