The Senses

Sense and Baby’s Stimulation

The senses play a central role in our lives: they are the channels through which we take in information from our environment; absorbing sights, sounds, sensations, smells and tastes and assessing our position in space, balance and more. In the first few months, baby’s senses are not fully mature and pass on only partial info, but once baby turns 4 months old his senses are ready to pass on diverse rich data from the environment. Your baby’s senses mature in response to the stimulation she receives, as you share different sights, sounds, smells and sensations. In reaction to stimulation, your baby’s sensory receptors transmit and stimulate nerve activity in the relevant part of the brain. For example, when you show your baby a brightly colored, highly contrasted image, the nerves are triggered in the area of the brain that controls vision – supporting development and maturation of the retina, cornea and the muscles of the eye.

This process is gradual and moves from the specific to the comprehensive. As she gazes lovingly at your face, she will first focus on the main features, such as the eyes, mouth and nose. Later she will see other details, like the eyebrows and teeth. There is also a gradual transition from absorbing sharp contrasts to being able to absorb an entire range of hues and shades. For instance black and white are more readily processed, as opposed to similar colors like blue and green. Over time, your baby’s abilities gradually improve and move from a more single sensory grasp of her surroundings to an inter-sensory perception of our entire world.
At any given moment, our senses are bombarded with a wide array of stimuli. Naturally, we are not able to process everything our senses pick up. This is where the process of sensory regulation steps in, helping us filter and moderate the data our senses receive on a day-to-day basis.