Screens and devices

Screens and devices

We are surrounded by digital media, technology and screens. They are a big part of life for most people.

Children and families often use technology for entertainment and learning. Modern technology allows us to seek answers to questions, reach out across the world, and open our minds to endless information and possibilities.  

Supporting healthy screen time habits

Australian school children use technology (including TV) for an average of 20 to 25 hours a week.

It’s important to make sure that the use of devices and screens does not take the place of beneficial activities essential to our children’s health – and ours too. This includes adequate sleep, regular mealtimes, and physical activity.

You have an important role in managing your child’s screen time and helping your child develop healthy screen time habits.   

Healthy screen time for preschoolers and primary schoolers means choosing quality programs and applications (apps). It is also important to have an adult watching or playing with them whenever they are using their devices.  

When you help your child combine good choices with screen time boundaries, it forms the foundation of a healthy relationship with technology. 

Managing boredom

Constant use of technology can mean your child ends up relying too much on technology for ‘something to do’. 

Playing on a device in boring situations may distract your child, but it can mean your child misses the chance to learn social skills. These social skills include how to act in public, how to interact with new people, and how to manage boredom in creative ways.

You can set a good example by using other ways to keep your child entertained in situations like long car journeys. You can use books, crayons and paper, toys, or play games like ‘I Spy’. 

Some guidelines that may be helpful

  • Be a good role model by monitoring and limiting your own use of technology.  
  • Have relaxation time that does not involve screens, like listening to music or stories.  
  • Be selective about programs and apps.  
  • Set clear limits and boundaries and schedule screen-free time. 
  • Participate in or monitor device-based tasks. 
  • Take time to ask your child about their homework. 

Supervising and setting limits

Managing screen time can be tricky. One of the best ways is to encourage your child to make choices about their screen time within your agreed limits.

  • Use technology and devices as an opportunity to connect and have fun together by playing games or watching with your children. 
  • Actively supervise and explain what they are seeing and how it relates to their world – the more a child can apply their learning to the real world, the better their educational experience.  
  • Aim to limit screen time to one hour a day for pre-schoolers. 
  • Avoid use of digital devices or screens for at least an hour before bedtime. 
  • Keep track of what your child is doing or using on digital devices.  
  • Consider consistent time limits based on the value of the content: does it stimulate imagination,  encourage creativity, or build meaningful connections? 
  • Talk to your child about cyber-safety and ways to stay safe online. 

Want to know more?

Kids Matter – How screen time affects health 

Kids Matter – Strategies for screen time 

Kids Matter – Cyber safety and children’s mental health 

Raising Children Network – Entertainment and technology articles 

Office of the eSafety Commissioner – iParent

The latest recommendations based on science can be found American Academy of Paediatrics.  

Managing media and technology

When children make their first trip out to a store on their own, parents are clear about the benefits of the increasing independence. Our guidelines for their safety may have been: stop at the corner, wait for the light and don’t talk to strangers.  

Teens need the same kind of parental guidance as they take their first independent steps out onto the Internet.  

Guiding teens’ technology use

Just as they are naïve about how the world works, most teens—contrary to popular belief—are also naïve about the Internet. For example, lots of young people don’t realise that Google searches can be biased. Advertisers can blur the lines between ads, content, entertainment, and social media.

To make matters more difficult, the brain undergoes tremendous changes in the teen years, especially between 12 and 15 years of age.  

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to guiding teens’ technology use. The combination of technological and social change and normal adolescent development creates a huge challenge for today’s parents. Understanding these changes can help parents better guide their young teens in the wise use of technology.  

Five research-based tips

Support teens’ social lives online and off

Teens are absorbed by their social lives—it’s one way nature nudges them out of the nest. Social media actually meets an important need. By tagging friends, commenting on posts, and uploading photos, teens build on offline relationships.

Parents can guide, discuss and model healthy relationship skills. Stay in conversation with them to help them express themselves in healthy ways. 

Support their focus on their new interests

This includes sports, hobbies, online interests and face-to-face friendships.  

Being self aware

Encourage them to check in with themselves to become more aware. Does hanging out on social media makes them feel connected and happy, or sad and excluded?

They can then choose either to maintain the feeling or do something to change it. Help them to set goals and screen out distractions. 

Encourage face-to-face relationships

Face-to-face relationships increase our health and ability to connect with others.

Set limits on teens’ technology use, emphasise real-life interaction—and practice what you preach. By checking your own mobile phone all the time, you may be role-modelling the very behaviour you want teens to avoid.

Watch and intervene

If you’re lucky, your teen will bring any issues to you. Or you may notice your teen ‘cry out’ on the Internet, or see changes in their eating, sleeping, or social behaviour.

Respond to your teen with empathy or a hug while you check in with yourself to manage your own anxiety and beliefs. Use gentle prompts to allow your teen to express concerns and then explore ways to manage the situation together. 

Want to know more?

Australian Government – staysmartonline.gov.au 

Office of the eSafety Commissioner – esafety resources and advice 

Learning Potential – Cyberbullying 

The Raising Children Network – Teens entertainment and technology 

Parents who work away

There are growing numbers of families where one parent works away regularly. Though usually working in the resource sector, other sectors that often require onsite workers include: the defence forces, transport, maritime, small business, corporate, and sales and service industries. 

FIFO (fly in fly out) appears more common than DIDO (drive in drive out), but all families with a parent who works away face unique challenges and opportunities.  

Benefits and challenges of a FIFO lifestyle

FIFO work often provides an opportunity for well-paid employment without the need to relocate families. It means families can maintain their social networks and access familiar schools and services.

FIFO parents are able to spend extended periods of time at home to focus on full-time parenting.

There are also unique concerns and challenges for FIFO parents. At the heart of their concern is wanting what is best for their family, whatever the type of employment.

Research has found that social support, negotiating parenting tasks, and maintaining an emotional presence within the family unit were of particular importance to FIFO families.  

Common concerns of parents who work away
  • How do I stay emotionally connected and in tune with my partner and children? 
  • How do we both function as a parenting team given my regular absence? 
  • How do I readjust to family life after being away? 
  • How does my family at home manage and adapt to the household’s needs as I come and go? 

The effects on families of a parent working away vary according to the length, predictability, and frequency of shifts.

Managing issues and getting support

Managing what is best for your family is as individual as the personalities within it. An important way to resolve parenting issues is to recognise the unique challenges of your own family.

Children’s personalities and ages, conditions of employment, availability of family support, and access to services are all factors that affect how you manage with working away.   

Parents report that the quality of life with their children is related to the level of support they have. This support may be found through friends, family, sporting and community groups, or parenting education services.

It helps to be part of a network of people who understand what it is like being a family where a parent works away. Developing a network that can provide support in times of stress can act as a buffer for the times when one parent is away.  

There are many community services that provide support for families for a range of issues. There are also organisations, like Ngala, that offer specific programs for families with a parent that works away. These organisations provide information that will increase awareness and access to support. 

Want to know more?

Work and family 

FIFO families website 

Mining Families Matters

Talking and listening to your toddler

Toddlers love playing and exploring the world, learning how it works and where they fit in it. It can be a challenging time for parents and carers as toddlers want to become more independent but still have lots of things they need to develop, practice and learn.

It can also be a wondrous time as your toddler encourages you to see the world from their perspective. Communicating clearly with your toddler can help things go more smoothly. 

Tips for communicating with a toddler

  • Toddlers can get very involved in what they are doing. Calling out from another room probably won’t get their attention!  
  • Get close and get down to their level. Make eye contact and use your child’s name. This will help your toddler focus on you and your words. 
  • Toddlers find it hard to take in a lot of information at once. Long instructions are tricky for toddlers to remember. Keep sentences short and to the point. 
  • Use positive language. Limit your use of the words ‘no’ and ‘don’t’. For example, say “Yes, when I’ve finished this” rather than “No, not now”.
  • Tell your child what you want, rather than what you don’t want. For example: “Please walk on the path” rather than “Don’t walk in the garden” or “Please shut the door quietly” rather than “Don’t slam the door”. 
  • Be specific when you praise and encourage your child. For example, rather than “Well done” or “Good girl/boy”, say “You did a great job packing your toys away” or “I can see you are trying really hard to wait quietly”. 
  • Offer two choices so your toddler feels like they have some control. For example, “Do you want to get out of the bath by yourself or would you like me to help you?” or “Would you like to wear the blue jumper or the red jacket?” Giving more than two choices is confusing for toddlers. 

How you talk to and about your child matters

There is an old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”. But children CAN be hurt by adults talking to them, and about them, in negative ways.  

Children need to hear that the adults in their lives think they are okay. You can help children feel good about themselves by the way you speak and the things you say. Hearing positive things helps children feel more confident and helps them try even harder to get our respect and approval. 

When adults use helpful and supportive words, children feel loved, worthwhile and valued.  

Children who feel this way are more likely to be confident and try new things, recognise when they do well, value and respect themselves and others, feel hopeful about the future, enjoy school, take part in sport and other activities and enjoy being healthy. 

Being positive and giving praise

Children need to know your love does not depend on how they behave. 

When adults use negative words to or about children, they are usually talking about the behaviour they don’t like, not the child. But the child hears the words as being about them and this can make them feel bad and worthless. They often show this by behaving badly, even though adults may not see this as a response to the hurtful words the child heard. 

It is important to separate the child from their unacceptable behaviour. Let the child know you will always love them no matter what, but you don’t like their behaviour.  

Praise your child and ‘catch them being good’. Use positive, honest comments that are specific about what you like. This helps your child feel good and be more confident next time. For example, “I am really impressed by how hard you worked on that”, “It was lovely to see you so happy when you did that”, “I liked the colours you used” or “You should be proud of yourself for finishing that. I’m proud of you!” 

Want to know more?

The Raising Children Network – Toddlers connecting and communicating 

Talkable – Your toddler’s development 1–3 years 

 

The pregnancy healthy eating guide

You may find during pregnancy that you need to change your eating and drinking habits. To meet the extra demands of pregnancy you may need to consume more nutritious foods and drinks. The key is to start small and be consistent.

Try to think of one or two dietary habits that you can improve. Think about what may contribute to you repeating these habits. Next, make a plan to overcome these issues and put the plan into action and involve your partner or support person. 

It is important to continue your new healthy eating habits once you have given birth to help restore your body’s nutrients. Maintaining a healthy weight and being a good role model for your partner and children becomes important. 

Tips for healthy eating during pregnancy

Healthy eating during pregnancy means having more than just the type of foods you eat. You should:  

  • Eat regularly 
  • Eat a balanced diet 
  • Choose carbohydrates with a low Glycaemic Index (GI)  
  • Choose reduced-fat options 
  • Drink plenty of water 
  • Avoid drinking alcohol 
  • Be aware of food safety and foods to avoid. 

Eat regularly 

Eating three smaller meals and two or three healthy snacks boosts your metabolism and stops you from getting too hungry. It also ensures both you and your baby get enough energy throughout the day. 

Look here for healthy meal and snack ideas and an easy read guide. 

Eat a balanced diet during pregnancy 

A balanced diet means eating the right amounts of each of the food groups every day. For a guide to daily serves of fruit, vegetables, cereals, meat and dairy, see the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy. 

Keep a diary of what you usually eat and check this against the recommended serves. Refer to the diary section in the Women and Newborn Health Service BLOOM.

“I never took much notice of what I ate but once I was pregnant I knew I should be more careful. I tried to be really honest and wrote down what I usually eat and drink over a day. I soon saw that I didn’t eat a proper lunch and I was eating a lot of unhealthy biscuits and chocolates before and after dinner. I realised that because I was rushing to get things done during the day and not eating or just grabbing a takeaway or a diet coke from the deli, I was hungry and craving carbohydrates in the evening. I decided to pack a lunch to keep in the fridge at work. I stopped buying biscuits and chocolates and stocked up on foods that were easy to pack and safe and healthy for me to eat during pregnancy, like canned tuna and chick peas. I packed fresh vegetables and bread to go with them and fruit and yoghurt to eat later in the afternoon. It took a bit of planning at first and my husband missed his evening snacks but I wanted a healthy pregnancy. Now it’s an easy habit and we both feel better for it.” 

Choose carbohydrates with a low glycaemic index

The glycaemic index (GI) refers to a way of ranking carbohydrates according to the time it takes to raise your blood sugar levels after eating. Carbohydrates with a low GI should be eaten with every meal and snack. 

Those foods with a lower GI are better for you as they provide a slower, sustained release of energy into your blood. The benefits include feeling less hungry, more energetic and a lower risk of developing diabetes. 

Use the list of common foods and their GI in BLOOM guide to help you choose healthier carbohydrate foods. The GI database can be used to search for specific foods not listed.  

Choose reduced-fat options 

  • Healthy unsaturated fats, are those such as those found in avocados, nuts and olive oil  
  • Unhealthy fats (trans and saturated fats) are found in full cream dairy, fat or skin on meat and chicken, coconut and palm oil 
  • Both healthy and unhealthy fats are strong sources of energy. When they are consumed in excess, it will result in weight gain 
  • It is best to minimise your saturated fat and control your unsaturated fat intake to reduce your risk of high cholesterol and heart disease, and maintain a healthy weight.  
To reduce saturated fat intake: 
  • Trim fat off meat before cooking. 
  • Bake, stir-fry or grill instead of frying, and use minimal added fat Vegetable oil sprays are a good option for browning. 
  • Eat reduced-fat dairy foods (cheese, milk, margarine, yoghurt) Reduced-fat milk has more calcium and less saturated fat than full cream milk. 
Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats by:  
  • Using margarine, avocado, pesto or tahini instead of butter. 
  • Eating nuts as a snack (almonds, Brazil nuts or walnuts are best). 
  • Using vegetable cooking oils such as canola, sunflower or olive oils. 
  • Including three serves of fish per week (e.g. salmon, sardines). 

The Heart Foundation has more information about fats in food. 

Drink plenty of water 

  • Water is required for all body functions. Even mild dehydration can reduce physical and mental performance. 
  • Water requirements are slightly increased in pregnancy. Low fluid intake can contribute to fatigue and constipation. 
  • Your body needs extra fluid with more weight and activity. Climatic conditions such as high temperature, high altitude, and low humidity also increase your need for fluids. 
Tips to keep your water intake up
  • Aim to drink seven to nine cups (1.75-2.25 litres) of fluids per day. This amount is considered enough for the average pregnant woman in Australia (NHMRC). Choose water over other beverages such as soft drinks and fruit juice. These are concentrated sources of sugar.  
  • Boost your fluid and calcium intake  with two cups of low fat milk per day. 
  • Limit tea, coffee and cola drinks due to the caffeine content and diuretic effect (increase urine output). Tea with meals also reduces iron absorption. 
  • To reduce toilet trips at night, drink throughout the day and less closer to bed-time. Also avoid evening drinks containing caffeine. They will have a diuretic effect (i.e. increases urine output) and may worsen heart burn. “How diet can make a difference” 

Avoid drinking alcohol 

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can impair your baby’s brain development. This can have life-long consequences for your child. 

Low-level drinking (such as one or two drinks per week) is likely to be of low-risk; however, evidence cannot ensure there is no risk. More about alcohol – effects on unborn children. 

Not drinking alcohol is the safest option for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, as there is no known safe intake. 

 Be aware of food safety and foods to avoid

  • Food poisoning can affect anyone who consumes contaminated foods. Be aware that the symptoms may be more severe and prolonged in pregnant women due to reduced immunity. 
  • Some foods and drinks that are common in the Australian diet may not be safe to consume during pregnancy. 
Tips for food safety
  • Always have good personal hygiene and food handling practices to avoid common forms of food poisoning.
  • During pregnancy, avoid foods that are at risk of carrying harmful bacteria (such as listeria, toxoplasmosis, salmonella). Safe Food Guide for Pregnancy
  • Follow the guidelines for caffeine, alcohol and fish consumption during pregnancy. 

Want to know more?

The Royal Women’s Hospital – Food and nutrition in pregnancy  

Eat for health – Healthy Eating for Pregnancy. 

Frequently asked questions

What’s a healthy weight gain in pregnancy?

It’s normal and healthy to gain weight during pregnancy. The baby is growing and the mother’s body getting ready to support pregnancy and lactation  

However putting on too many kilos is not recommended, as it will affect your health and your baby’s. Excess weight gain during pregnancy has a number of risks for you and your baby and can have a lasting effect after pregnancy. For more information read healthy pregnancy for women who are overweight. 

Balance food intake and activity for healthy weight gain

Make sure you balance your energy intake (food and drinks) with energy output. Check the articles on physical activity here. To get an idea of how much activity is needed to burn off the energy from certain foods, see  healthier food choices  and recipes use  the food and activity calculator. For example, it takes 88 minutes of brisk walking to burn off the energy from one serve of takeaway fries!

Brains under construction: Language and brain development

The brain is already processing sounds, voices and language rhythm in the womb. Babies come into the world already primed for language.

However, speech can only be learned if it is heard. The more words you use and the frequency with which you talk to your child will enhance your child’s vocabulary, even if the words are yet to be understood. 

Language and development

Language is important for a baby’s development. It is used to communicate, build relationships, express emotions and learn.

A baby needs to hear a language in their usual environment by the people with whom they interact. Without any interaction (like hearing talking on TV), language does not have the same impact on brain development. 

At birth, your baby is ready for some form of communication. For example, your baby will start communicating by looking into your eyes and will stop by looking away. Your newborn baby can hear a wide variety of sounds. They prefer the sounds of voices and other complex sounds. Newborns prefer happy sounding talk, not speech with negative or neutral emotions. 

Talking to your baby

When your baby hears you talk, the language areas of the brain are stimulated. The more language your baby hears, the more these areas will be stimulated and grow. Long before babies can speak, they understand the emotional meaning of speech. 

How your baby’s language skills grow depends on the development in the language areas of the brain. This can take time and happens mostly during the first four years of life. 

What if we speak more than one language?

Bilingualism is common and the brain is so sophisticated and ready to learn that it can absorb and process multiple languages at the same time. If there is more than one language spoken in your home, your baby will be able to process the difference.  

Children have no problem learning more than one language, as long as they hear them from a young age. They also need to be supported and have a consistent language environment to learn well.  

What can parents do?

  • When your baby cries, respond to them in a sensitive and nurturing way. Your baby will learn that the world is a safe place. 
  • When your baby coos or babbles at around two months of age, delight in their interaction and respond with talking and sounds. 
  • When you and your baby are looking at the same object, comment or name what your baby is seeing. Excite them and talk about the object’s shape and colour. 
  • Talk about everyday activities, things and objects to your baby. Research has shown that how much an adult talks with their child in the first few years of life affects their language development and eventual success at school. 
  • Play games with your baby, sing songs and nursery rhymes, and enjoy large picture books together. 
  • Use a higher pitch or expressive voice, commonly called a “sing-song voice”. 
  • Pause before continuing a sentence and use gestures to support your verbal meaning. This type of speech helps your baby notice the emotional meaning and important parts of the conversation. They will be more likely be attentive when you speak like this. 

Want to know more?

Read more about reading to babies and newborns 

Raising Children Network – Language development: an amazing journey

Raising Children Network – Thinking and imagining: newborns

Brains under construction: Sleep and brain development

The brain experiences the outside world through the senses. Seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling are how human beings collect information about the world. This information is relayed to the brain, which uses the information to formulate ideas and opinions, assess situations, generate reactions and then store what it has learned as memories.  

In the early months, the brain connects through a sensory dance with significant adults. The relationship that a baby has with an adult has a big impact on the baby’s development. 

Brains wiring, firing and resting

Brain development in the first three years of a child’s life occurs so rapidly it is referred to as a ‘critical period’. The rapid accumulation of cell connections during the first three years teaches the brain how to react in a given situation. Repetition builds stronger connections. 

Basic pathways are being created from birth. At around six weeks of age, babies start to smile with purpose. Parents know when their baby sees them and when they smile the baby smiles back, and this causes a positive response from the parents. This action is repeated over and over again – creating strong connections through cause and effect.  

While the way our brains are organised and the way we respond and interact with the world around us is set early in life, there is potential to adapt and change, throughout life. This is known as brain plasticity.  

The brain wires itself in a way that lets all parts communicate, make decisions, problem solve, analyse the environment and plan for the future, and this process may take years.  

Sleep and brain development

On average a newborn baby sleeps 15 to 18 hours over a 24 hour period. They usually tire after 1-1.5 hours of awake time and sleep for a one to three hour block. 

Their sleep is made up of sleep cycles. Within those sleep cycles they have periods of REM sleep and non-REM sleep. 

Circadian rhythms (those natural signs that tell us when to eat and sleep) are not developed in babies until they are four to six months old. As a result, babies can become hungry or tired at any time of the day or night. However, with regular repeated cues from a loving and responsive  adult, babies understand the experience and begin to form a feed, play, sleep pattern. 

Babies also encode memories during REM sleep. Their memories are the ones formed through the senses. These include their parents’ smell and voice, the familiar sounds of home, the warm sensation of being cuddled and repetitive experiences of being responded to when they cry.

With time, your baby’s ability to settle themselves off to sleep will improve as they become familiar with the routine and develop the ability to regulate their feelings. 

What can parents do?

  • It is important for parents to tune in to their baby’s tired signs. This will avoid overstimulation and help them settle to sleep. 
  • Some babies also need help to resettle to sleep if they wake from REM sleep. 
  • Warm and responsive parenting help babies to feel safe and calm. It will help them to form positive memories through their senses and daily experiences while they sleep 
  • Babies learn routine by regular cues from their parents in the way they are settled to sleep. Pat, rock and stroke your baby to calm them. Stop when they are quiet but still awake. This way they learn to fall asleep during this calm state by themselves 
  • Keep the light dim during sleep times because the melatonin level (sleep hormone) is dependent on light. Keep household noises normal as your baby is familiar with these sounds and it helps them to feel secure. 

Want to know more?

Raising Children Network – Newborns Development 

The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne – Brain Builders (video) 

Brains under construction: Play and brain development

Play is vital for developing your baby’s brain. Babies learn about themselves, the world around them, and their relationships through play.

When we think of play, we often think of imaginary games. Yet for babies, play consists of everyday moments spent experiencing their world through their senses.

This is why babies put objects in their mouths for the first 18 months. In this way they are able to sense the taste, texture and weight of the object. 

Learning through the senses

Most babies are born with the senses of touch, smell, taste, vision, hearing, movement and balance. Using information gained from the different senses is how your baby’s brain begins to understand the outside world. The way we take in and make use of the information from our senses is called sensory processing.

Sensory information is processed by babies’ brains and affects everything they do. This includes how they explore, move, learn, interact with others and control their emotions.  

From birth, parents help their baby experience the world through their senses. By being cuddled, talked to, fed and having their nappy changed, a baby receives signals through their senses. These signals help them learn about balance, momentum, space and movement, and their muscles. Your baby needs these experiences before they can physically move, roll, crawl and walk on their own. 

Spatial awareness

By involving your baby in everyday activities you are letting them explore their world. For example, by rocking or swinging them, you are helping their spatial awareness. This is their awareness of objects in the space around them and also their body’s position in space. 

Children who have well developed spatial awareness are able to feed themselves as they can judge the distance from the plate to their mouths.

It also helps them become better at abstract thinking, maths and reading. Spatial awareness will enable them to see patterns and spaces between the different letters. As they grow, they may also be skilled at team sports as they are aware of the precise positions of other players on the field. 

What can parents do? 

  • By simply holding your baby you are helping to wire your baby’s brain circuits. That will help your child achieve at school in the fields of maths, science and language.  
  • Your baby’s favourite toy is your face and body. 
  • Hold your baby close to your face and talk to them, while watching to see that your baby is not getting too tired or overstimulated. Stop if your baby indicates that they are tired and overstimulated. They will do this by looking away, arching their backs, or crying. 
  • Allow your baby time to lie on their back while being able to freely move their arms and legs. 
  • Provide your baby with frequent supervised tummy time. 
  • Model play behaviours to your child by picking up and shaking a rattle.  
  • Allow your baby to safely explore their world. This way you will encourage them to develop their thinking, emotional and physical skills through exercising their muscles. 

Want to know more?

Read about play for newborns and babies

Raising Children Network – Thinking and imagining: newborns 

Raising Children Network – Newborns Development 

Learning through the senses: When everything is stimulating

Babies and young children learn about the world through their senses. Our senses allow us to taste, touch, smell, hear, see and move.

Before your baby was born, they were in an environment in which the temperature was kept constant, it wasn’t too bright, and sounds were muffled. Coming into the world can be overwhelming for your baby. They need you to help them understand the world around them through slow exposure to new experiences. 

Sense of sight 

Your baby will enjoy looking at contrasting colours and interesting patterns. You may have already noticed that your baby is drawn to stripy clothing and is intrigued by the shadows as they move on the wall.  

It won’t take long for your baby to recognize your face and soon you will become their favourite toy.  

Your baby will watch people if they are in their line of sight and even turn their head to watch them as they move.   

Through sight, your baby will learn to: 
  • develop close relationships with important people in their life 
  • develop hand eye coordination 
  • develop physical skills 
  • judge how far away objects are 
  • Sense of smell

Your baby also learns about the world using their sense of smell. Remember that your baby’s sense of smell is much more sensitive than an adults. They will enjoy smells that are mild and make them feel calm (for example, the way you smell, or the smell of the soap in their bath).

Your baby will learn very quickly what you smell like and this smell will make them feel safe. 

Through smell, your baby will learn to: 
  • develop an awareness of their world 
  • attach a feeling to a smell 
  • feel safe and comforted 

Sense of hearing

Your baby has been listening to your voice for a while now. They started hearing sounds when they were only 20 weeks old in-utero and were able to recognise your voice at birth.  

Talk to your baby all the time, telling them what you are doing and commenting on what you can see as this helps them learn about the world around them. It also helps them understand what words mean.  

Your baby will listen to the rhythm and tone of your voice and find your voice reassuring and comforting. Copy the sounds that your baby makes as this tells them, “I’m listening to you and what you have to say is important”. 

Sound and voices will help your baby to: 
  • tell one sound from another 
  • recognise familiar voices and sounds that soothe and stimulate 
  • attach a feeling to a sound 
  • learn about words and how to have conversations 
  • develop thinking and intelligence 

Sense of taste

Your baby has been tasting for some time now. When they were in-utero they were swallowing and tasting the amniotic fluid which changed in flavour as you ate different foods. Your baby’s first food will be breast or formula milk and they will soon associate this taste with feeling comfortable and safe.  

As your baby grows and they start eating solid foods they will experience new taste sensations. Remember that your baby has many more taste buds than an adult which makes them very sensitive to flavours.  

Through taste, your baby will learn to: 
  • develop an awareness of their world 
  • speak 
  • feel secure and comforted 
  • develop an awareness of food 
  • develop hand eye coordination 
  • recognise hunger and fullness 

Sense of touch

Your baby loves your touch. Through this touch they feel comforted and safe. You will even find that holding your baby and applying firm but gentle pressure will calm them when they are upset or overtired.  

Your baby will also like to feel different sensations on their skin such as water at bath time or your hands as you gentle massage them. As they are able to use their hands they will enjoy reaching out and feeling toys and objects of different textures.  

Touch will help your baby to: 
  • feel calm and loved 
  • relax and settle 
  • learn about objects and the world around them 
  • develop thinking skills 

Movement

Your baby has been moving with you since the moment they were conceived. You may find that your new baby loves to be held and gently rocked. This reminds them of the movement when they were in-utero.

As your baby grows they will enjoy being held in a variety of positions. This helps them learn about the world around them and begins to develop their very early balance and spatial awareness skills.  

Your baby will spend lots of time on their back sleeping so when they are awake, it is important that they have plenty of time on their tummy 

As your baby grows, their reflexes will become more integrated into their movements and most will disappear. Your baby’s movements will initially be big swipes of the arms and kicks of the legs. As they develop they will have more control over how they move. 

Movement will help your baby to: 
  • feel calm and loved 
  • relax and settle 
  • learn about objects and the world around them 
  • develop thinking skills 
  • develop physical skills 
  • grow 

Want to know more?

Raising Children Network – Newborns development

Brains under construction

Parenting advice is everywhere. A lot of this advice is from either the toy industry or companies who want to sell well-meaning parents products that will give their baby an ‘advantage’. 

The best advice we know, based on our understanding of the first three months of development of an unborn baby, is to leave baby alone. Life in the uterus is dark, moist, warm, safe and much quieter than the outside world. This relative lack of stimulation is what your baby needs for brain growth. Morning sickness is natures way of ensuring we don’t interfere. 

Building brains

Brain development begins from day one, conception – the joining of the sperm and egg. Once these two cells are joined, they produce lots of cells in a small space, at an incredible rate. The human embryo soon looks like a tiny mulberry. Within the mulberry certain cells are assigned to creating the placenta and the water balloon in which the embryo will float, the amniotic sac.  Certain cells are given the duty of constructing the embryo, creating a knot of internal tissues termed the inner cell mass. The inner cell mass at this point possesses a cell whose entire offspring will form the human brain. This has all happened before you have missed a period and realized you are pregnant. 

The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne – Brain builders video  

Folic acid

One of the first things you can do to aid in the development of your baby’s brain is to take folic acid. Women who take folic acid around conception and during the first few weeks of pregnancy are 76 percent less likely to create a fetus with a neural tube defect. 

Parents’ health

The health of the mother and father are equally important at conception and it is important to remember that the health of both parents will have a lasting impact on the unborn baby. 

Drugs (including alcohol and nicotine) can damage a baby’s brain during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is the result of the consumption of alcohol during the crucial period of brain development. 

High levels of stress can also affect brain development in babies and may result  in smaller head size, delays in mental and motor development, and increased irritability.  

Baby’s senses

Babies learn about the world through their senses. From touch and smell to hearing and vision, babies have an increasingly active mental life in the womb. 

Factors proven to help baby’s brain development in the womb, especially important in the second half of the pregnancy, are: 

  • Eating the right foods (internal link to 2.4). Healthy food promotes health, growth and development.  A balanced diet that incorporates all the food groups is the best start a pregnant mother can give her baby’s developing brain. 
  • Avoiding stress. Too much stress is not good for pregnant women or their babies. For the best development of your baby’s brain try to avoid stress, especially in the last few months of your pregnancy. There are plenty of ways to actively practice general stress relief. Exercise is one of them. 
  • Exercise (internal link to AN 6.1) just the right amount. Women who exercise regularly have a much easier time giving birth than unfit women. It is thought that the direct affect of aerobic exercise on the baby’s developing brain is of benefit, but also exercise can reduce the mother’s stress. Getting the balance right is important as strenuous exercise in the later stages of pregnancy can have a negative impact. Moderate, regular, aerobic exercise for 30 minutes per day is ideal.  
  • Gaining just the right amount of weight (internal link to AN 6.6), this will vary depending on whether you are overweight or underweight at the start of your pregnancy. Your doctor or midwife will be able to advise you. 

Want to know more?

Raising Children Network – Newborns Development 

Raising Children Network – Smoking, alcohol and other drugs in pregnancy: men 

Frequently asked questions

Why are babies born with a brain not yet fully grown? 
  • Physical- Corresponds to the size of the pelvic outlet- at birth the newborn baby’s brain weighs 400grams, at the end of the critical period a three year olds brain weighs 1100 grams. 
  • Cognitive- The brain requires stimulation and nurturing to grow it to maturity. We are complex beings with higher functioning than all other mammals on earth
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