Sensory stimulation in babies and young children: Promoting learning

Sensory stimulation connects the use of the senses of visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), tactile (touching), gustatory (tasting), and olfactory (smelling). The use of the senses has been demonstrated that promote and encourage learning, brain development, and growth during the early years. The lack of sensory stimulation can be detrimental to the development of babies and young children. This damage persists during adulthood. There are a lot of activities that stimulate the senses creating brain connections that are discussed and recommended in this blog post. Sensory stimulation and sensory play demand to be done constantly as the child develops and grows to obtain the best benefit in the short and long term.

What is sensory stimulation?

Sensory stimulation is the input one person receives when one or more of the senses are influenced, activated, or as the concept itself, stimulated. Sensory stimulation theory states that effective learning appears when the senses are stimulated. So, by stimulating and activating the senses, learning can be improved and upgraded. This theory also establishes that the more senses are activated and stimulated, the greater the learning acquired.  

Research has found that sensory stimulation is important for babies and young children's development and can be used also for the improvement and well-being of developmentally disabled adults, people with neurocognitive disorders, and older adults.

Experiments conducted in rats demonstrated that the lack of sensory stimulation resulted in aberrations of behavior in the deprived rats even after being adults. Moreover, when the deprived rats became mothers, they failed to show adequate maternal behavior towards their little rats.

Sensory stimulation and brain development 

Research has found that the brain in a newborn baby develops 2 to 3 million synapses per second. These synapses make a route for the senses to reach the brain. The more synapses that are used, the more quickly these become permanent. If the synapses are not used, the synapses may die out. 

Sensory stimulation is crucial for the normal development of the brain, and it also promotes learning about the world, communication, language development, and healthy attachment with parents and caregivers.

Sensory stimulation for babies

The evidence has demonstrated that the most stimulating activity for babies is feeding. In addition, playing with the baby, carrying, bathing, and changing the diaper or clothing are other essential sources of sensory stimulation. The activities that promote sensory stimulation in babies are linked to their emotional, cognitive, and physical development. 

Some recommendations to promote sensory stimulation in babies are:

✔the use of textured objects and toys 
✔playing in the water
✔sucking clean and appropriate objects and toys 
✔playing appropriate music, lullabies
✔watching objects in motion, like mobiles
✔bouncing balls, rattles
✔foods of different flavors and textures
✔coloring, painting, and other related art activities
✔smelling food, flowers (avoid if the child has allergies), and grass 
✔looking through various transparent-colored objects
✔peek-a-boo games

In all these activities, the child requires to be supervised by a capable adult. The objects need to be clean and adequate for the use of the child. The adult needs to be careful to prevent choking or suffocation of the child.

Sensory Stimulation for young children

To be beneficial, sensory stimulation must continue as the baby grows and develops. For young children, sensory play includes activities that involve the many senses as possible to create brain connections for more complex tasks. Sensory play helps and supports language and cognitive development, growth, motor skills, and problem-solving skills, among others.

Some recommendations to promote sensory stimulation in children are:

✔playing musical instruments, like drums
✔playing in a sandbox
✔using food coloring in water
✔preparing simple foods
✔blowing whistles and bubbles
✔bouncing and catching a ball
✔comparing different tastes of food
✔coloring and finger painting

My experience as a mother

When I speak or encourage parents about sensory stimulation and sensory play, I recall my own experience as a new mother of my only child. At that moment, I experimented with what literature and research established about the benefits in the short and long term when stimulating the senses of babies. Even though I was educated and trained in this field, I brought a lot of books according to the age that my son was reaching. I needed to be sure of what I was doing!

I remember scheduling activities by days and hours. Some days of the week I planned for active tasks and other days for passive activities. Active tasks included playing with water, blowing bubbles, playing with clay using hands and feet, painting, walking in natural environments, touching trees, smelling flowers, and comparing new and known smells, rolling and running over dry leaves. and so on. Passive activities included mostly listening to songs, reading, describing illustrations, repeating rhymes, sentences, words, coloring with crayons, and drawings (I still have them!). 

I brought his first book when he was 2 months old. One of the memories I have frequently present in my mind is laying back in bed reading aloud with enthusiasm the rhymes while I hold the book in front of his eyes. 

His development and learning were amazing. It was not only my observation but also of the health professional who routinely treated him. At present, my son is 18 years of age. Characteristics as intelligent, independent, educated, and problem solver emerged at a very young age and persist today. His abilities for spacing and mathematical reasoning were equally observed. Since he entered school, he had an academic achievement of excellence until he finished high school. He is currently applying to college to study computer systems. 

In these short paragraphs, I summarized a process that took years of practice, experience, and effort.
During all this time, I learned how important is sensory stimulation for learning, brain connections, and cognitive development for babies and young children. That is something that no child should miss and that no parent should avoid doing!

Dedicating this time and effort to our children requires the involvement of other family members and relatives who can take care of the child. It also requires an investment in the cost of educational toys and games. But outdoor experiences and play are the best environments for young children to learn. Another recommendation is to establish conversations and ask questions about a topic, for example, choose an animal, a flower, or an object and begin to talk about it and make a drawing. Allowing that kind of interaction will result in a strong bond between the child and the parent or caregiver and will contribute greatly to language development. The effort of these practices, activities, and efforts will result in a capable and well-developed human being.

References

Learning Theories - a quick look at the different ways we learn. (2013, January 30). Corporate Team Building. https://www.eventus.co.uk/learning-theories/

Sensory Stimulation: What It Is and How It’s Used. (2020, September 10). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-sensory-stimulation

Thomas, L. (2018, May 27). Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies. News-Medical.net. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Importance-of-Sensory-Stimulation-for-Babies.aspx
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Diana A. Rivera is an Early Childhood Educator, with graduate studies in Educational Psychologist, and author of Be the voice for children. Diana believes and commits to the healthy development, growth, well-being, and learning of all children. The blog posts share ideas and knowledge about educational psychology, child and brain development, parenting, diversity, effective teaching practices, early childhood education, and care to support the empowerment of children and families.

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