InfantBrainDev

When an infant is born, his/her brain development is not yet complete. The infant's brain is programmed with millions of neurons that are organized during the first few years of life to adapt to the environment and needs of the child. Unused neurons die, which is why early education and stimulus is so important for the infant and toddler.

The infant's brain adapts to the environment and builds organizational patterns based on the stimulus and sensory input derived from the environment. In other words, the infant is learning through the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and movement.

To know whether the young infant is adequately using his/her senses, observe how the child behaves. A child between the ages of 0-6 months should noticeably respond to sights, smells, touches, sounds, and movement. In addition, the young infant is beginning to develop an attention span. Although children differ in the length of attention with the average 0-6 month old attending from a few seconds to a minute or two, the important thing is that the infant is attending.

Below is a chart that shows a few of the sensory organizational patterns that are taking place during this time:

Task	Action
attends to visual stimuli	When shown a colorful object or toy, the infant looks and my follow the movement of the object with eyes.
attends to auditory (hearing) stimuli	The infant prefers his or her mother's voice over other people's voices, will startle at a loud noise, and may turn his or her head to mother's voice in another room.
attends to tactile (touching) stimuli	When touched by a person or object, the child responds with pleasure or displeasure.
attends to olfactory (smelling) stimuli	The infant prefers certain smells, particularly that of the mother. S/he may also wrinkle up nose or turn away from offensive smells.
attends to vestibular (rocking/spinning) stimuli	The infant responds to being rocked rhythmically, typically quieting and indicating pleasure at the experience.
attends to proprioceptive/ kinnesthetic (movements) stimuli	The infant enjoys being held and moved about in a stroller or car seat. The infant responds with arms, legs, or body is moved into positions.

Although infants need lots of sensory input in order to learn and develop, they can also become overstimulated at times (learning is hard work). They may become overly tired, irritable, colicky, and have difficulty quieting or attending when this happens. Just like we all need a break after a hard day, so does the infant, so it is important to provide quiet, non-active times as well as sensory stimulus.

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