I am really excited to be writing this post, since I am always fascinated by humans especially the little ones. I have recently given birth to a little human, now 9 months old. While being pregnant, I started searching about ways to help infant development. My life has always been surrounded by small children and teenagers (this is a whole other level! I am going to make a separate post) and I have gathered some information and techniques that actually increase various skills, such as attention span, independence and concentration.
To be honest, I knew that all this starts from the womb but I couldn’t possibly imagine how big of an impact the first years of a child (especially the first 12 months) have on their future personality and character.
I want to be clear at this point. The ways and techniques I am going to mention in this post are what helped me with my child and also derive from my tiny experience with preschoolers and little kids over the years. In a nutshell, it’s what I have seen to work for parents, teachers and me. You are more than welcome to try them out and propose some ways of your own that helped you increase your infant’s focus.
Let's get right into the subject!
Limit TV or videos during the first years. This is something that works very well. However, I can relate to any parent who will say: “This is impossible to do when you have to watch over your baby 24/7”. I get it. While I was pregnant, I kept saying that I am not going to switch on the TV or show any videos to my baby for at least 3 years. You can laugh as much as you want. Clearly, that hasn’t been the case. Nevertheless, what I try to do is limit screen time to only half an hour a day and some days I skip it altogether. What is more, I choose the video content very carefully. In general, passive watching inactivates focus and concentration and discourages babies to occupy themselves with any task actively and thus practice being concentrated.
Be a silent observer. When you think that your baby is just lying over there, you are mistaken. Babies aren’t used to getting bored. They are always doing something and they examine everything meticulously. Every time you step in and try to get their attention to something you regard as important for them, you actually disrupt their focus on what they were doing. Even if you are super excited about your baby’s achievement, it’s better to stay silent and not praise them verbally. You may very well interrupt them from the thing they were working on. However, if your baby pauses and looks at you, then you can say something short like “You did it” and make eye contact smiling at them.
Let your baby choose. Babies know best what they are interested in. How many times have you given them a toy and they decide to play with a spoon and a fork instead? The idea here is allowing your babies to make their own decisions. In this way, they are going to spend far more time on what they have chosen to occupy themselves with and as a result they are going to stay focused for longer periods of time. This is also something that is going to pay off later in their lives during their school years. So, don’t direct your babies in the things you want them to play, just sit back and let them show you their preferences.
More Yes, less No. Babies like to feel secure. In order to achieve this, they need a space where they feel safe. In the first months of their lives, this can be a bassinet or a crib. But as they grow up, start to crawl and stand, you can make their room in such a way that it contains only safe options to interact with. In other words, they are going to have their own “Yes” area, where they can spend much time concentrating on an activity without being interrupted by a loud “No” several times during the day.
Nutrition and exercise count. Babies need to be exposed to different types of food to get all the appropriate nutrients for their welfare. Of course, milk plays a very important role to that, being the main source of nutrition up until 12 months. But after 6 months, babies start to get acquainted with all kinds of food. Remember to offer them fatty food as, good fats make their brain grow, improve their vision and help them improve their attention span. On the other hand, babies need to move so that they can alternate between mental and physical activity. Babies can focus on a task no longer than 15 minutes. Then, they get tired and get distracted very easily. This is the ideal time to offer them a physical alternative to help them recharge their mental batteries.
A few simple toys. Have you ever been to a toy store? Of course you have. The toys are countless and you end up being so overwhelmed not knowing what to buy. The same applies to babies. The key here is to present them with only a few toys that are open-ended. These are toys that can be played in various ways and aren’t limited to a specific way of interaction. Not only are babies interested in them but they get to practice their ability to concentrate by investigating them closely and coming up with several forms of play.
Attempt skills building. To optimize your baby’s concentration you should first identify the skills they are already good at. Incorporate these in their play time and then add a slightly more challenging skill every time. It is very crucial that you add just one skill at a time. For instance, if your baby is good at grasping a single ball and holding it in their hand, you can offer them a basket of 3-4 balls in different shapes, colors or textures so that they can examine them.
Connect with your baby. Emotions are very important to all of us let alone your baby. Offer them your undivided attention as frequently as possible. I cannot express how significant the emotional bonding is. It puts the foundation for the development of cooperation and collaboration. It is also very important in the learning process. In that way, you make your baby feel naturally interested to investigate all the things that are unraveling before their eyes and engage in all activities both mental and physical. Their natural interest in being involved forces their memory muscle to work really hard, eventually teaching them to focus. Mission accomplished!
Well, those are my tips and techniques to help your baby increase their focus and thrive in their first years of their life. I would love to see your suggestions in the comments down below. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends.
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