Cognitive development indicates how far baby’s brain had developed and it also contributes to baby’s intelligence. Cognitive development in baby is related to the way how a baby thinks and understands some thing in order to know many things. So, it is important for parents and caregivers to always stimulate baby’s cognitive development.
The newborn explores the world by mouthing objects; by one year he expands his exploratory techniques by imitating actions and manipulating objects. He establishes the base on which to build increasingly complex cognitive accomplishments.
Cognitive behaviors can be observed in the following ways
Between birth to 4 months the child
turns his head to look towards sound
follows moving toys with eyes
recognizes family members
explores new objects by mouthing
makes simple associations, e.g. if he cries he gets picked up memory: starts to expect feedings at regular intervals; distinguishes key people in his life; may single out mother in a group of people
By 5-8 months the child
explores by touching, shaking and tasting objects
explores his own body with hands and mouth
discovers that objects exist even when they're out of sight; watches and looks for hidden toy
pulls string to get toy out of reach
explores cause and effect by banging, rattling and dropping objects
memory: may anticipate a whole object after seeing a piece of it; observes comings and goings of others; remembers sequences such a jack-in-the-box that jumps up at the end of a song
By 9-12 months the child
holds 3 toys at the same time
finds a hidden toy
uses an object as a container
imitates actions
holds one toy and explores with the other hand
starts linking meanings to gestures, shaking his head no and waving bye-bye
memory: notices when someone leaves room and anticipates their return
categorizes objects (thinks about similarities and differences), and develops symbolic thought.
Here are some ways, parents can help babies improve their cognitive skills
Exploring with senses: the infant can explore things by using his senses. For ex.comparing the texture of a ball made of tin foil and sponge, smells a flower, listens to a song and explores things happen in the world around him.
Experimenting. Infant understands cause and affect relationship by dropping a spoon on the floor over and over again, banging and tossing a toy and perceives differences in sounds.
Manipulating objects. Infant learns accidently by handling objects. For example, she may try to push a toy through the bars of her crib and find that, in the position she is holding the toy, it doesn’t fit through. Eventually, by chance she may rotate the toy and succeed at sliding it through the bars this time. The next time she tries the same action, she will remember to turn the toy so it fits through easily. She learns the correct position by accident and is able to retain this bit of information to use the next time. This accidental learning, a form of experimentation, is the beginning of problem-solving.
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