It is in vain that most adults think that a month-old baby needs only food and sleep. The needs of the crumbs are growing every day. He already knows a lot and is capable of a lot, and therefore developing classes with a toddler, who is already 1 month old, is not only an absolute benefit for his development, but also a great pleasure for all participants in this process without exception. Let's take a closer look at how and what you can do with a toddler in this age group.
Benefit
For the first month of his independent life, the baby has almost completely adapted to the world around him. The best time has come to acquaint the little one with this world in more detail. Of course, the baby still spends most of the time sleeping. However, the periods of wakefulness have already become a little longer, and this should definitely be taken advantage of.
Do not think that classes with a child who has just turned 1 month old will make a real child prodigy out of the baby. They have a different goal - to establish close and pleasant communication, which absolutely all people need, whether they are a month old or five decades old. Contact with mom, with dad, with brothers and sisters, if any, is important for the baby. This should be the basis for planning the first crumbs of developmental activities in life.
Principles of classes
It is important to remember that a child at this age is not yet able to focus on one point for a long time, he does not hold his head on his own and gets tired very quickly. In short periods of wakefulness, you should not overload the child with activities that are accompanied by loud sounds, too bright light. Try not to have too many people around your baby during class, he has enough mom and dad. However, it is by no means worth collecting an entire large family around the little one.
For all exercises and games, try to provide tactile contact, it is very important for the baby. Turn on soft music, preferably classical, make sure the lights are dim. Do all classes in the daytime. In the evening, before going to sleep at night, it is better not to disturb the baby.
The main principle of training is the development of the sense organs. Sight, hearing, smell and touch will help him to more effectively learn all the possibilities of the world around him, which still seems so alien to a new person. At the age of 1 month, it is possible and necessary to develop the physical data of the child - the muscles, the nervous system.
Suitable games for development
Big teddy bears and colorful cars, which you undoubtedly have already been presented, are completely useless for a month old baby. At this age, a bright and contrasting mobile is more suitable for him - a carousel on a crib, large rattles (mostly yellow, green, blue, red and white). You can print black and white drawings on the printer, which depict a checkerboard or a contrasting spiral.
Each of the senses should be developed with the help of special exercises. There are a huge number of them, but let's focus on those that are time-tested.
Vision
If a newborn sees a cluster of blurry and devoid of outline spots, then a baby who is already 1 month old is quite capable of focusing on a certain object of bright color for a short time. The kid can already look at the big rattle with interest. It's still difficult, but he can already start trying to follow her with his eyes. All exercises for the development of visual function are based on this.
At first, it is enough if the mother demonstrates the toy to the baby statically. In this case, the distance between the face of the crumbs and the object should not be less than 35-40 centimeters. The same rule applies to tying toys to a crib. You will notice that the baby will quickly learn to look at the items on display.
After that, you can move on to more complex exercises: moving the rattle left and right horizontally, then up and down vertically. When the little one will confidently follow the movement with his eyes, you can practice cross movements - vertically, in a circle.
Adult hand movements should not be too harsh, frightening, and the sounds that most children's toys make should not be loud and shrill.
Black and white pictures based on simple geometric shapes and color contrasts of black and white are perfect. Leaves with such patterns can be fixed on the crib - first to the right of the crumbs, then to the left. He will look at them with interest.
Hearing
The newborn knows very well the voice of his mother and will always distinguish it from the voices of other people. Hearing development classes should be based on voice communication. It should be dominated by intonation. Leave loud rattles, rubber toys-tweeters until better times, replace them with emotional communication, which should accompany any activities, procedures, feeding. Lullabies, rhymes, affectionate words - the baby will accept all this with gratitude.
In addition, it is important to teach your baby to distinguish from which side a particular sound comes. This will help rattles with a gentle and quiet sound, bells that can be sewn onto a fabric base. Exercises are based on moving a sounding object: first to the left of the baby, then from the side of the right ear.
Quiet calm music has a beneficial effect on the baby. Watch your child, his reaction to music will be instant. You will see that his gaze is more focused, he smiles and is completely calm.
Touch
As already mentioned, tactile sensations are very important and informative for an infant. At the age of one month, the baby cannot yet pick up toys of various textures, but the mother can apply small pieces of different fabrics (corduroy, silk, chintz, lace) to the baby's delicate skin. You can use fabric mittens for baby bathing and turn an ordinary hygiene ritual into a developmental activity that perfectly stimulates the touch.
Emotions
The most powerful emotional factor for a small child is mom. He not only accurately guesses her mood and state, but also reacts to it himself. That is why it is better to throw away all the worries when starting classes with the baby.
Communication should be joyful and positive, then the child will be calmer and more responsive to the emotions of adults.
Without exception, all crumbs love it when mom "talks" with their tummies. To do this, touch your lips to the baby's belly and tell him something - it doesn't matter what it is, because he will first of all react to pleasant vibrations. Smile often when addressing your baby.
Musical development
Music for the child is also useful, but it should not be loud and long. It is enough to turn it on for 10-15 minutes - two or three times a day. It is better if these are melodies and compositions that the mother most often listened to during pregnancy, because the child already "knows" them. Classical music has an excellent developing and even health-improving effect, especially the works of such composers as Mozart and Vivaldi. Sing to the child more often, say "in a sing-song", all this forms a positive perception of sounds in the baby.
For physical development
At the age of one month, it is useful to lay the baby on the tummy: this not only has a positive effect on the work of the intestines and reduces the manifestations of intestinal infant colic, but also trains the muscles of the abdomen and back. The child begins to try to hold the head, and this stimulates the muscles in the neck and shoulder girdle.
Gymnastics and exercise
Gymnastics for a month old baby should be a daily ritual, because morning exercises are useful for everyone, without exception, regardless of age. It should not be too intense, the movements of the arms and legs should be done carefully. The recommended exercises are flexion and extension of the arms and legs, gentle extension of the legs at the hips, lifting the arms up and down.
Massage
Stroking and patting should not be too hard. It is best to massage before your evening swim. Separately stroke the hands, legs, tummy (clockwise), and then, turning the child over on the tummy, gently stroke the back. All movements are done in order to relieve muscle tone that every newborn has. If he is very strong, the neurologist will most likely recommend a specialist massage.
Massage and gymnastics help your baby to grow up healthy and develop faster. What are the most common mistakes parents make when massage, a professional children's massage therapist gives detailed instructions.
Swimming
It's no secret that all children are able to swim from birth. However, only a few parents are ready to immediately throw a month-old child into the pool and send him to free swimming. Groups for babies come to the rescue, which are now in almost every pool or water sports palace. Mom and baby will be able to enjoy water treatments under the supervision of an experienced trainer with medical education.
For home swimming, you can use a special circle Baby swimmer, which is sold in chain children's stores, orthopedic salons. It reliably holds the baby's cervical spine, its head is always above the water. The baby will be able to swim in a circle both on his back and on his tummy, and he will begin to roll over in the water almost from the first lessons.
Tips for parents
Don't overwhelm your child with new information. Introduce any new types of activities gradually, starting from 1 minute during the waking period and bringing the time to 4-5 minutes, and by the end of the month - up to 10 minutes.
If you are going to start doing exercises for physical development, gymnastics, massage, be sure to consult your pediatrician. There are diseases and congenital defects in which massage should be of a therapeutic nature. In such cases, it is not recommended to do it yourself.
