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Playtime for Baby
The Best Toys for Infants up to 6 Months
By Donna Smith
Every time there is sensory input, the baby's brain responds (whether to a word, a touch, a coo, a song, etc.) by sending electrical and chemical stimuli across the synapses, which are the places where the dendrites of one cell meet the next neuron cell. Though they do not touch, the stimulation flows across that tiny gap between neurons.
According to Dr. Honig, the more these connections are wired, the better chance the child will not lose these pathways as the early years pass. "That is why talking and singing and stroking Baby are such crucial experiences to provide," she says. "Pathways that are not well wired up will be 'pruned' by mid childhood."
"Usually a baby, where the room is filled with loud music or too much noise, shuts [his] eyes and curls into sleep when very young," she says. "The best sign that the sensory barrier is weakening is that the baby who is in an over-stimulating environment now cries, tries to turn the head away, avoids eye contact when an adult is over-stimulating."
Black and white toys are most appropriate during the earliest weeks of life. As they grow, toys that will respond to Baby's actions are good choices, but not ones that will over-stimulate. "Thus, a black and white mobile hung to a side over a diapering table may be just fine," says Dr. Honig. "Infants are in either in right TNR (tonic neck reflex) or left TNR, with fists closed and body in archery position for the early weeks and become over-stimulated by any toy over the midline of the body. Over-stimulation leads to crying and upset. The baby is telling a parent that this toy is too much for the young nervous system of the infant."
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Playtime for Baby by Anonymous on 01/12/2010 12:15PM
very good article