B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

W
H A T
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S
B
E I N G
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In terms of physical development, babies are practicing their eye-hand
coordination. They have to keep an eye on the moving object and coordi-
nate their hands in just the right place to catch the slippery thing.
This task requires total concentration and extends their ability to pay
attention.
If It Doesn’t Hurt—It’s a Toy
Children are very curious about all the things around them, especially if
they see that these objects interest you. It’s getting more common these days
to find a very young child who can’t even walk who already knows how to
use the remote control for the television!
There are thousands of things that are acceptable for babies to explore.
To encourage this innate instinct of exploration, keep out of reach the
things that your baby can’t explore, then just let him loose on his own to
find the things that make up his world. You can also provide new things to
examine.
Once they have looked at an object from every angle and discovered how it
smells and tastes, babies are usually bored with it and try new ways of dealing
Games for Infants
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with it, like throwing it out the window and watching it bounce.
Change the objects, and you’ll renew your baby’s interest.
Anyone who has had to distract a fussy child knows well the
effectiveness of searching in a purse, pocket, or drawer
to find something new for your baby to examine.
T
Y P E S O F
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T T E N T I O N
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N C O U R A G E D
Open and focused