Infant Stimulation Activity 39: quiet time

Sometimes the best stimulation is no stimulation. Be sure you are reading your infant’s mood to determine what activity is best:

An interactive activity is best when your baby is seeking you out with her eyes or reaching with her hands, or is generally alert and ready to go!

It is time for a solo activity if your baby is not tired or ready for sleep but is fussy or perhaps has just been highly stimulated, for example, by being outdoors or she has had a visitor. A quiet solo activity such as looking at her paper plate faces may be just what she needs.

Perhaps, however, it is time to lower the lights, block out general noises, and just sit together quietly. You can sing a quiet song, just rock, maybe read a book, but generally keep the activity level low.

Infant Stimulation Activity 18: Motion (slow motion)

The day is hectic for everyone and the more hectic for you the more so for your infant who is along for the ride wondering what is going on, stimulated (and often overstimulated) by so many sights, sounds, and movements. It may be time to teach your baby relaxation and how to wind down.

Put a small baby cotton sheet or blanket over your shoulder, let your baby's head rest on it as you move about; do not be surprised when the baby falls asleep! Or for a change of direction, rock your baby gently as you sing softly, and look into her eyes.