At birth the sense of hearing is considerably more advanced than vision. Although it is more advanced, hearing develops gradually.
Playing Music
Music stimulates more than just the auditory brain centres-it connects powerfully to baby’s emotions. Test how music affects your baby-play a lively, fast-paced song, then a slow, soothing song. Babies have an innate response to music, which can be very useful when you are trying to soothe an overtired, overstimulated, or colicky newborn.
Classical music is particularly good for baby’s developing brain; it is closely linked with an improved ability to solve spatial problems. Playing classical strains to your newborn could help lay down important spatial reasoning pathways, as well as connections within the auditory system.
For more information on the importance of music to brain development, take a look at “Building Baby’s Brain: The Role of Music” in the University of Georgia’s article archive at http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FACS...
Talking and imitation
Language development begins from the moment your baby first hears your voice. Talk to your baby often-as you are changing him, feeding him, or walking with him. Listen carefully to his little noises and repeat them; you can have baby ‘conversations’ this way, each taking your turn. And read to your baby-look for books with rhythmic, rhyming language. Even tiny babies will listen attentively to the sing-song cadences of poems and nursery rhymes.
Touch
Every time a baby is touched or cuddled, it shapes her growing brain. Lise Eliot writes in her book, What’s Going On in There?, “Touch experience is essential not only for the development of touch sensitivity but for general cognitive development as well.”
Baby Massage
A soothing way to stimulate your baby’s sense of touch is through baby massage. To learn more about baby massage, I suggest the article “Loving Hands: A Beginner’s Guide to Infant Massage,” by Cris Beam. This article is posted on the Family.com website at: http://family2.go.com/features/family_19...
Rocking, Walking, and Swinging
Why is it that babies calm down when they are rocked or gently bounced? Closely related to the sense of touch, the baby’s vestibular system tells the baby where his body is in space-if he is reclining, sitting upright, or moving. Every time you walk, rock, or swing your baby, the vestibular system is stimulated.
“Infants who are comforted through vestibular stimulation show greater visual alertness than babies comforted in other ways. It’s during these periods of quiet alertness that babies do their best learning, when they can most effectively absorb information about the world around them.” writes Lise Eliot.
