Sensory Seekers – Exploring Babies and Infants Sensory Experiences
Engaging a newborn in various sensory experiences plays a significant role in promoting neuroplasticity and supporting both motor and cognitive development.
Movement in Babies and Infants
Movement starts early, with even the smallest actions—like kicking, grasping, and rolling—playing a vital role in a baby’s development (Reed and Parish, 2021). These movements help strengthen muscles, develop coordination, and lay the groundwork for more complex motor skills like crawling, standing, and walking (Duncombe and Preedy, 2020). As babies move, their brains rapidly develop, forming neural connections that enhance sensory-motor integration, essential for later learning and cognitive development.
1. Natural Movement (Babywearing): Carrying baby in a wrap close to your body provides a more natural range of motion, stimulating the vestibular system (which governs balance and spatial orientation). This can promote head control, core strength, and coordination in early development.
2. Tummy Time: Tummy time is crucial for strengthening the neck, shoulders, and core, leading to gross motor skills like rolling over, crawling, and sitting up. Starting tummy time by laying your newborn on your chest (torso) is a great way to ease into it, allowing your baby to lift their head and work those muscles in a comforting environment.
3. Back time: Time spent on their backs, or “back time,” is essential for babies’ physical, cognitive, and sensory development. Lying on their backs allows babies to freely move their arms and legs, which strengthens muscles and helps them develop motor skills essential for rolling, reaching, and eventually crawling. It also gives them the chance to explore their surroundings, enhancing visual tracking and awareness. Regular back time, balanced with supervised tummy time, supports a baby’s overall physical development.
4. Multisensory Stimulation: Introducing a variety of sensory experiences—visual (colourful toys, patterns), auditory (soothing music, varied sounds), olfactory (familiar smells), and tactile (soft fabrics, textures)—encourages the development of different sensory pathways. These stimulations can also lay the groundwork for future cognitive and emotional regulation.
5. Hip Movement and Crawling: Encouraging hip movements through play and positioning prepares infants for crawling, which is essential for bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body) and further supports spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and core development.
The key benefits of placing babies on their backs:
Reduces SIDS Risk: Sleeping on the back lowers the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Promotes Safe Sleep: Minimises the risk of suffocation and overheating with safe sleep practices.
Supports Spinal Development: Keeps the spine in a neutral position, aiding proper growth.
Improves Head Control and Vision: Encourages neck muscle strengthening and visual tracking.
Prevents Aspiration: Lowers the risk of choking compared to stomach-sleeping.
Balances Development: Complements tummy time by allowing free movement, aiding motor skills.
This position ensures safety while supporting healthy physical and sensory development.
Sensory Motor Play
Sensory motor play is fundamental for infants’ development, combining sensory stimulation with movement to support their growth in various domains. Through activities like reaching for toys, feeling different textures, or tracking moving objects, infants develop essential motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and muscle strength. These activities stimulate their senses—sight, sound, touch, balance, emotional development—which helps with brain development and processing new information.
Sensory motor play also promotes cognitive growth by encouraging curiosity, problem-solving, and exploration. It fosters emotional and social bonds as caregivers engage in play, enhancing infants’ sense of security and building communication skills through responses to their movements and actions. Overall, sensory motor play provides infants with a well-rounded developmental foundation.
The Development of Infant Feet and Supporting Sensory Stimulation
An infant’s feet play a crucial role in their overall development, serving as the foundation for balance, coordination, and mobility. At birth, a baby’s feet are soft, pliable, and filled with nerve endings, making them highly sensitive to touch and movement. Unlike adult feet, an infant’s feet lack fully formed arches and rely on fat pads for support. As they grow, their muscles, bones, and sensory receptors develop through movement and tactile experiences.
Supporting Sensory Stimulation for Healthy Foot Development
A baby’s foot contains approximately 7,000 sensory receptors, similar to an adult foot, but these receptors are much more sensitive in infancy. Since babies rely on touch to explore their environment, the feet serve as a crucial sensory tool, helping with:
Balance & Proprioception – Developing body awareness and movement coordination.
Tactile Exploration – Feeling different surfaces to process sensory information.
Neural Development – Strengthening brain connections through sensory input.
To promote strong and responsive feet, caregivers can encourage:
Barefoot Exploration: Allowing babies to be barefoot helps strengthen foot muscles and enhances proprioception (awareness of body position).
Varied Textures: Let infants feel different surfaces (e.g., grass, carpet, sand) to stimulate sensory feedback.
Gentle Foot Massage: Lightly massaging a baby’s feet supports circulation and neural connections.
Encouraging Movement: Activities like tummy time, kicking, and early standing help build strength and coordination.
By providing rich sensory experiences, caregivers can support the natural development of an infant’s feet, laying the groundwork for strong motor skills and confident movement.
Top Tips for Creating a Multi-Sensory Environment for Babies
Use Soft Lighting and Colourful Visuals
Introduce soft, natural lighting combined with colourful mobiles or high-contrast patterns that catch a baby’s attention. Simple visuals like black-and-white patterns are especially beneficial for young infants’ developing vision.
Incorporate Various Textures
Offer toys and blankets with diverse textures—smooth, soft, bumpy, and crinkly. Babies enjoy exploring textures with their hands and mouth, which helps refine their sense of touch and grasping skills. Include heuristic baskets with natural objects and objects from around the home for baby to explore lemons, CD’s, pinecones, natural sponges, cloths, large keys, wooden spoons, containers etc.
Play with Sounds
Introduce a variety of music genres, lullabies, jazz, funk, pop, classical or natural sounds (like ocean waves or birds) to provide auditory stimulation. Percussion instruments can aid auditory stimulation, tracking and listening skills.
Introduce Safe Scents
Gentle, natural scents like lavender or chamomile can be calming. Avoid strong or synthetic smells, and ensure scents are used sparingly and safely away from the baby’s immediate space.
Engage in Movement Activities
Gentle rocking, swaying, or bouncing can provide sensory stimulation. Swings or bouncers, when used appropriately, can help soothe babies and provide sensory input through movement.
Add Water Play Opportunities
Supervised water play, such as splashing in a shallow tub or playing with a damp cloth, offers unique sensory experiences and helps develop body awareness.
Encourage Tummy and Back Time with Sensory Mats and Arches
Use sensory mats and overhead arches with different textures, colours, and attached toys to encourage tummy and back time, which strengthens muscles while offering a rich sensory experience. `Using suitable floor surfaces infants can explore this play outdoors to notice the delights of the natural world.
Rotate Toys and Sensory Experiences
Change toys and sensory equipment regularly to keep the environment interesting and to expose the baby to a wide range of stimuli, supporting curiosity and cognitive development.
Creating a safe, multi-sensory environment helps babies learn through exploration, enhancing their physical, cognitive, and emotional growth in engaging and comforting ways.
The overall goal is to ensure baby experiences a wide range of movements and sensory inputs to support the integration of primitive reflexes. By providing these opportunities early on, you are creating an environment where their brain and body can adapt and develop, promoting healthy growth and behaviour.