Introduction

The module on need for stimulation will help you to navigate in understanding its importance during the period of infancy spanning from birth to 1 year. The unit emphasizes on care and development of infants through right stimulation. The details on the importance of stimulation in the first one year of the child’s life, activities that foster stimulation, benefits of simulation and role of parents and caregivers are discussed below. This module gives a bird’s view on the need for stimulation.

Objectives

On completion of the module, you should be able to develop a plan for Early Stimulation for your children. You should be able to utilize the materials for Early Stimulation using the understanding from this module. The following are the concepts covered in the module. 1. What is stimulation? 2. Why is stimulation important during infancy? 3. How does stimulation activities foster brain development? 4. What are the benefits of stimulation? 5. Role of parents and caregiver in facilitating infant stimulation.

Meaning of Stimulation

All babies need stimulation through a basic process of exposure, experience, interaction and learning with the parents or the caregivers. Stimulation provides a foundation to infants to see, observe, learn, imitate and experience the environment around them from the first year of life. In practice, stimulation is all about how the parents or the caregivers are being receptive to the needs of the infant by caring, talking, playing, or interacting with them in their day-to-day routine.

Types of Stimulation

All infants need stimulation to grow and develop their senses through a congenial, conducive, enriching and a supportive environment. Most part of early learning happens through exploration and experiences. Different parts of the brain are responsible for processing the information for the infants to hear, see, touch, taste, and smell things around them.

Stimulation and Brain Development

Research in brain development has shown that an infant’s environment has a strong influence on building neuron connections and healthy development. During the first year of an infant’s life, the brain is building the wiring system and synaptic connections are formed. These connections are formed based on the extent to which the infants receive the stimulation. A constant and consistent type of stimulation an infant receives will indicate how the synapses are formed. The right kind of stimulation during early years helps in strengthening the synaptic connections that are not constant and what are not used consistently will fade away from the infant’s memory.

Importance of Stimulation

Though an infant’s life revolves solely around sleep and feeds, it is also important to take note that their personality is gradually developing. Stimulation helps in developing an emotional tie between the infant and the parents/caregivers as it aids them in understanding how the infant is developing. Stimulation also ignites the infant’s curiosity and observational skills thereby making way for the neural pathways. In addition to this, early stimulation helps in detecting any delay in development or anomalies. It also creates a strong bonding between the infant and the parent/caregivers thus establishing the acquisition of healthy child rearing skills.

Activities to Foster Stimulation during the Period of Infancy

Early stimulation is key to brain development as the brain growth and function is based on the stimulation an infant receives on a day-to-day basis. Hands-on-experiences are the building blocks in the teaching learning process. Infants get stimulated when they see things around them. Stimulation is more meaningful only when parents or caregivers involve themselves in providing the correct stimulation either through play, simple activities, or games by using the locally available resources.

Conclusion

Stimulation during the first year of life is important for developing a healthy bonding between the infant and the parents or caregivers. Stimulation can be a boon if the parents and caregivers focus on activities that can foster the infant’s concentration, attention span, interest, memory, and wish to explore new things. Providing them with opportunities for multi-sensorial experience will enhance their cognitive development. Play is another essential element for the formative years which is governed by rules. The crux of play is to be creative and have fun.

On the other hand, stimulation can be a bane if the parents and caregivers do not provide opportunity for infants to explore, experience, interact, play, participate etc which can impede their development. Thus, involving and interacting actively with the infants using mundane things can be fruitful and beneficial in promoting the brain and overall development.

Source and Attribution of images All images used in the above Assets and Aids are originally created.

This digital material has been developed by the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini Inclusive Education Project, a unit of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam, as a collaborative offering in the service of our nation.