Fostering Development after Discharge

What activities can I do to foster normal development of my baby?

• To help develop head control, when held at your shoulder:
  • Hold your baby high enough that s/he can look around
  • Let your baby raise his/her head, but keep a hand near to support if necessary
  • Turn your back to a mirror so the baby can see him/herself
  • Have someone stand behind you and talk to your baby
  • Walk around so there are new things to see
• Tummy time, when awake only. This helps strengthen neck and shoulder muscles. This should be done on a flat surface like a matress or a covered floor.
  • Place baby on tummy with the arms forward and elbows in line with the shoulders.
  • Place a toy 6-8 inches in front of your baby or place your baby in front of a mirror.
  • Gradually increase tummy time. At first your baby will tire easily.
  • Hold your baby on his or her tummy while on your lap.

• Bring hands together near the face and chest. This helps prepare your baby for reaching and exploring his/her hands.
  • Position your baby with the arms forward when cradled or when in an infant seat.
  • Place a finger in each of his/her hands when playing.
  • Play pat-a-cake.
  • Encourage your baby to bring hands together to explore a toy, bottle or your face.
  • Put a toy with texture on your baby's chest.
  • Provide some side-lying time with your baby's hands together.
• Encourage your baby to grasp toys and other objects. At first your baby will have an automatic grasp. As this reflex goes away, your baby will develop a more purposeful grasp.
  • Provide opportunities for you baby to grasp things: fingers, rattles, teething type toys.
  • Provide a toy during diaper change.
  • Help your baby practice holding on to things one hand at a time. At first your baby will drop toys frequently even if s/he is still interested in them.
  • If your baby has trouble letting go, gently stroke the back of the hand from wrist to fingers or bend the wrist forward a little to encourage letting go
• Learning to roll from tummy to back: With you baby lying on its stomach, get your baby's attention by holding a toy in front of him/her. Then slowly move the toy toward the side and back. As your baby stretches to see the toy, s/he will start to roll.

• Help your baby explore his/her feet.
  • Play with your baby's feet, kiss them, move them and play games with them.
  • Encourage your baby to find his/her feet with his hands.
  • Help your baby explore his/her toes with his lips and mouth

What things should I avoid during early development?

• Walkers are unsafe and do not foster good development.
• Doing activities too long or when your baby is tired. If your baby arches or fusses, it is time to stop.
• Standing on his/her legs before s/he is ready.

How can I foster mental development?

• Providing an interesting environment and toys. Let your baby explore them safely.
• Talking to your baby often. Use a lot of facial expressions.
• Singing to your child.
• Reading to your child. Start this habit at a few months of age and continue it daily until your child reads well.

What do babies of different ages like to do?

• Respond to sounds by blinking, crying, or startling
• Lift head momentarily when on stomach
• Be comforted most of the time by being held or spoken to
• Follow with eyes and sees best at a distance of 8-12 inches
• Move all extremities
• Cry a lot; it's his or her only way of telling you what s/he wants

• Bright colors, contrast patterns and shint objects
• Lots of cuddling and holding
• A change of position so s/he can look at different things
• Talking and singing in a soft voice
• Gentle motion, like rocking and swaying

• Coo and vocalize
• Hold on to other's fingers
• Smile when spoken to
• Show some head control in an upright position
• Open hands most of the time now
• May begin to sleep 5-6 hours during the night and take 3 naps during the day
• Show interest in seeing different things and hearing different sounds

• A pacifier to help meet the need to suck
• A massage after bath, s/he likes your touch
• The feel of soft fabric and textures on his/her skin
• Repetition of sounds that he makes
• Stimulation by opening and closing your mouth or eyes
• Musical toys
• Time to play on his/her tummy

• Smile, laugh and squeal
• Roll over from stomach to back
• Reach for and bat at objects
• Pass toy from hand to hand
• Show signs of stranger anxiety
• Recognize his/her own name
• Stand up if held under arms
• Bring toy to mouth
• Make single sounds
• Hold head erect, raise body on hands, arch back and rock when on tummy

• Your response when s/he "talks" to you; s/he will answer back and smile
• Safe squeaky toys and rattles to grab or kick
• A game of pat-a-cake
• A mirror to look at self
• Time to play on her tummy when awake strengthen leg, back, and arm muscles
• Different places to play during the day; s/he likes to see new things
• Toys to teethe on

• Sit up alone
• "Babble" a lot
• Roll around
• Scoot around on his tummy or crawl
• Put toes in his/her mouthlearning to use fingers
• Solve simple problems, such as making a bell ring
• Look at and study things for a long time

• The sounds of toys when they are dropped
• A container to put things into
• The opportunity to explore; s/he is very curious
• Reading books and point out pictures that s/he sees everyday
• Hide a toy under a cup or cloth for him/her to find

• Crawl
• Sit alone and turn body in a complete circle
• Pull self up on furniture and walk holding on
• Walk if hands are held
• Sit down from a standing position

• Animal sounds
• Play hide and seek
• Roll a ball back and forth
• Teach him/her to pick up toys by doing it with him/her

• Climb onto a low ledge or step
• Stand alone and walk
• Stoop and stand up again
• Speak two or three word sentences
• Wave "bye-bye"
• Take off clothes, but can't put them back on
• Open and close doors
• Look in the correct direction when asked where something is

• Play "copy what I do"
• Play music and dance with him/her
• Practice naming body parts
• A large safe area to explore and strengthen muscles needed for walking and running

• Climb on things and up stairs on hands and knees
• Carry things in each hand
• Follow simple requests such as "give me the ball"
• Point to pictures you name, if the things are familar
• Say "no" a lot!
• Recognize self in a mirror or photo

• Help to discover how things move
• Gentle bouncing on your knee or lap
• Clap with her in time to music
• The feel of different kinds of textures
• Things to throw, push and pound on

• Explore
• Run without falling too often
• Stand on either foot, holding on
• Kick a ball
• Climb on everything!
• Be very independent
• Ask a lot of questions, mostly "why?" or What's that?"

• Music and teach him/her to dance and clap hands to the beat
• Wooden spoons to beat on something to make noise
• Blocks of varying shapes and sizes
• Show how to stack things and what happens when they fall down
• Encourage and priase each tiny accomplishment
• Be calm and patient
• Read to your child often
• Point to objects that are familiar and ask him/her to name them

• Express feelings of love and anger
• Show right or left handedness
• Use gestures when communicating
• Understand "mine" and "yours"
• Walk backwards
• Pedal a small tricycle
• Balance on one foot for about a second
• Understand why some things happen (a switch turns on a light)
• Walk up stairs with both feet on each step, holding a railing
• Recognize and name people s/he knows from a photograph

• Encouragement to wash and dry his/her own hands
• Help tp pick up and put away toys
• A puzzle with three to six pieces
• Help to match colors and to learn their names
• Talk to child about what you're doing, without using baby talk
• Communicate to child by talking and listening
• Help child develop an imagination by encouraging and joining in with his/her pretend play

• Walk on tiptoes and hop
• Walk up stairs taking turns with each foot
• Tell you where things are
• Sort and put things away
• Throw a ball overhead and catch a large ball
• Repeat simple rhymes
• Dress and undress self
• Match objects that have the same function (cup and plate)
• Begin to control bladder and bowel movements during the day
• Walk down stairs, usually with both feet on each step

• Routines that make him/her comfortable
• Teach him to understand alike and different
• A form boerd to match shapes on
• Draw an "X" on paper and have child copy you
• Establish simple rules, explain them to child, and stack to them
• Simple instructions (please throw the napkin in the trash)
• Give him reasonable, limited choices (do you want peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese for lunch?)

Other Resources

Parenting in the First Year

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Learning Disabilities in Family Village