Nurturing children
Angela Oswalt, MSWWhile good nutrition, sleep, hygiene, and basic medical care obviously are important to babies' overall health, another less concrete element is equally important, if not more important to a baby's emotional, social, and physical health. Babies need to be loved and nurtured from birth to create a trusting bond between them and the adults who care for them, and to help create trust and interest in the world at large, which enables them to grow and to learn. In fact, even if babies are given all their basic physical needs but not given love and nurturing, they can stop growing and gaining weight, become sickly, and be diagnosed with a condition known as failure to thrive.
The most valuable loving and teaching moments often come during everyday activities. Any event can be an opportunity for showing affection and loving interaction: bath time, feeding, diapering, and bedtime, just to name a few. Parents and caregivers should constantly talk to and interact with the baby. They can describe what they're doing while they do it, and describe things in the environment. They can ask the baby questions, even if the baby can't yet respond. Caregivers can also sing, laugh, read, and pray, or participate in other religious traditions, with the baby. Not only will this interaction improve social skills, it will also help develop the baby's language comprehension and expression skills. As well, caregivers can take every opportunity to hug and kiss and to tell their baby that they love them. Hugs and kisses can never spoil a child; they can only build a child's self-confidence and feelings of security and love in the family.
Loving, nurturing family and playtime can also be a scheduled part of the day. Parents and caregivers should spend a period of time each day dedicated to playing with the baby and to stimulating the baby's minds and senses. There are many age-appropriate songs, games, and interactive toys to help develop baby's gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language, cognitive skills, and social skills. Many books available at the library or bookstore include hundreds of fun songs and games that help baby grow without having to spend a lot of money on any specific toys or props.
It is important to follow baby's lead about playtime. Babies can be over stimulated or under stimulated. Babies tell caregivers that they're feeling overwhelmed or tired by averting eye contact, disengaging from play, or actually moving away. Allow babies a chance to take a break and come back to the play later.
Dedicating a portion of every day to family play time helps the entire family grow together and will set a precedent that can build and strengthen relationships that span into childhood, through the tumultuous adolescent years, and into adulthood. These family times are especially important if one or multiple caregivers are working outside the home, and the babies spend a significant portion of time in outside childcare.
Resources
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Articles
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Infant Development: How Your Baby Grows and Matures
- Infancy Introduction
- Infancy Physical Development
- Infancy Physical Development: Motor Development
- Infancy Physical Development: Gross Motor Skills
- Infancy Physical Development: Fine Motor Skills
- Infancy Physical Development: Average Growth
- Infancy Cognitive Development
- Infancy Cognitive Development Continued
- Infancy Cognitive Development: Language Development
- Cognitive Development: Language Development Continued
- Infancy Emotional/Social Development: Emotional Expression and Understanding
- Infancy Emotional/Social Development: Temperament
- Infancy Emotional and Social Development: Social Connections
- Infancy Sexuality and Body Awareness Development
- Infancy Conclusion
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Infant Parenting: Keeping Your Baby Healthy and Happy
- Infancy Parenting Introduction
- Holding and Physical Support
- Facilitating Growth and Movement
- Feeding and Nutrition
- How Much to Feed
- Breastfeeding
- Selecting and Preparing Bottles
- How to Feed
- Burping and Spitting Up
- When and What Solid Foods to Introduce
- How to Feed Solid Foods
- How Much to Feed Toddlers
- Weaning
- Elimination and How to Diaper
- Penis and Cord Care
- Sleeping
- Bathing
- Other Baby Hygiene
- Dressing Baby
- Soothing a Crying Baby
- Well-Baby Checks and Immunizations
- Common Baby Medical Concerns
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Teething
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Colic
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Coughs and Colds
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Fever
- Common Baby Medical Concerns - Diarrhea and Vomiting
- Nurturing children
- Discipline
- Baby Safety
- Baby Safety Continued
- Conclusion
- Infant Safety: Keeping Your Baby Safe
- Infant Enrichment: Stimulating Your Baby
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Infant Development: How Your Baby Grows and Matures
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Questions and Answers
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Links
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Videos
- What Your Baby Sees
- Safe Sleep for Babies
- Safe Sleep for Infants
- Button Batteries Sending Kids to the ER
- Uncovering Top Causes of Diaper Rash
- Holiday Travel - Child Safety Away from Home
- Safe Seats for Baby
- Vaccination: A Key Piece of the Puzzle
- Babies on the Move: Protecting Babies with Vaccination
- The Breast Feeding Boost
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12 more
- Skin to Skin with your Newborn
- How to Get Your Baby to Sleep
- Diaper Rash Dos & Don’ts
- Sunscreen Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers
- When Breastfeeding Doesn’t Come Naturally
- Diaper Dilemma: Baby Powders & Wipes
- Breast Feeding and Gluten Introduction: What Research Tells Us
- Dealing with Diaper Rash
- Strategies for Encouraging Your Child's Speech and Language Development
- Is it Baby Babble or a Sign of Speech Problems?
- Infant Hearing Loss
- Household Poisonings and Childhood Dangers
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