Nursery World - Look, listen, smell, touch

A new book from Nursery World on working with babies and the under-threes explains their development and suggests activities for encouraging it. Here we offer an extract from the book on how you can enhance the growth of their senses Looking and seeing

Looking and seeing

Babies explore their world most actively with their eyes, so you need to provide activities that stimulate their vision. During the first weeks, babies focus best on objects 20-30cm from their eyes; the carer's face is usually at this distance when holding the baby. Toys and mobiles hanging over a cot at this distance will encourage the baby to focus. By around four months, babies start to realise that when they see something they can reach out and touch it. When they cannot yet move independently, they need you to bring them interesting things to look at or to carry them to the sights for a good look.

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