When a baby is in the womb we’re told that they can respond to the voices around them. At around 18 weeks of pregnancy, the baby can start hearing their very first sounds. This improves with time and growth. What I find interesting is how the parents expect the baby to suddenly not hear and understand things once they are born. Somehow as parents, we forget that babies are humans and need to develop and grow. The only way they can do that is if we treat them as humans and not as aliens from out of space.  As a parent who is an educator to young children, I understand this well.

The growth and development of a baby is dependent on the environment that the baby is exposed to. Unfortunately, growth and development are not as visible as we would like it to be. They respond to the loud noise and relax when they hear a soothing voice. At a few weeks baby can identify the parent/caregivers voice.  Babies are mostly instinctive and trying to find safety and security, if you give baby this, then stimulating them for growth and development will be easier.

Even at a few weeks old, babies can get traumatised, they can actually get traumatised in utero as well, but that is a conversation for another time.  The sooner that a baby feels secure and safe, the sooner they can thrive and develop. A child that is anxious and feels unsafe, will have developmental challenges.

Here are a few simple but very important tips on how I created an environment for my baby to feel safe and ready for stimulation:

1. Use Your Voice To Make Baby Feel Safe – When my boy would cry like a baby, [L1] I would rush to him, as expected. On my way there I would make him aware that I was on my way. With time he knew that my voice meant that I was on my way. With everything I did with him, I spoke to him. I would ask him if his nappy was dirty? I would ask if he was hungry? I would speak to him and not at him. I acknowledged that he is a person and he is capable of understanding our conversations.

2. Speak To Baby To Help Develop Language – Basically, baby needs to be exposed to language from the moment that they are born. If you listened to music when you were pregnant, it’s important to allow the baby to also listen to music when they are born. Talk to them, that’s the only way that they will develop language, speech and understanding.

3. Touch And Hold Baby – When interacting with baby it’s important to hold baby close and talk, read or sing to them. It is important for all of this to come out naturally and not seem like you’re trying too hard. Babies are emotional beings, they feed from your emotions so if the parents or the caregiver is not emotionally happy then the baby will also not be happy.

4. Debunk Old Wives Myths – There is a theory in the black community that when you hold your baby too much they become too used to being held and as a result, they struggle to sit and become independent. Remember babies have no way of communicating or movement. Their only means of communication is through crying. When a baby cries, they need to be held as it’s a way of calming them. As the parent/caregiver its your responsibility to try and figure out the reason behind the tears. It is possible that they are only crying because they need to hear your voice. When you have checked the nappy, fed the baby and made sure that they burped maybe put them down but continue to talk, sing or read to them. Give the baby the reassurance that you are there.

5. Create And Follow A Routine – The other aspect that I have noticed with small babies is that the parents/caregivers don’t follow a routine. Once you keep track of your baby’s routine it is easy to notice change and growth. You can see if they are not sleeping enough. This helps the baby to later be able to put themselves to sleep without assistance from the adult. Routine is very important as it gives children a sense of security and stability. It becomes easy to know and understand what is happening around you when you follow the routine. When a baby/child knows what is expected of them or what is going to happen next, they manage to deal with everything around them better with less anxiety. 

6. Include New Baby In Activities With Older Siblings – When I was pregnant with my second child I used to read to the older sister. This was our routine, I read to her before bedtime. When the baby was born, I forgot that he was also part of the reading routine. I would let the father hold him while I read to the older sister. This was a mistake that I made because I forgot that he was also a part of this. After realising my mistake, I started including him in our storytime. He could not sit quietly for as long as the story was read however, he would listen to part of the story. With time he started sitting quietly and listening to the story. Now he is 6 years, he enjoys telling stories and being read to. He speaks clearly and makes sense when he is talking. He has started reading independently. He is very creative; he can reason very well and manages to follow multiple instructions with ease.

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