Exploring Texture with Infants

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can encourage the pathways of their brains to make new connections.

FOR INFANTS
Babies need a variety of tactile experiences to become familiar with their world. An infant spends the majority of his first year of life learning through these tactile experiences.

Babies need touching experiences to “grow” the brain and “grow” the body. It is as critical as nutrients and vitamins.

Exploring texture is something that babies love to do. You can uses silky cloth, materials that are fuzzy, smooth, and furry.

Another lovely tactile experience is to take a hair dryer and blow gentle air on different parts of the baby’s body.

Here is a wonderful tactile game that you can play with your baby.

Using your index and middle fingers, gently tap on different parts of your infant’s body. As you tap, name the part of the body.

Use the following poem as a guide:

Tap, tap, tap
On my baby’s (or use baby’s name) cheek.
Tap, tap, tap
On my baby’s cheek. (take his hand and put it on his cheek)

Repeat this little poem, tapping on different parts of the body.

Ideas that take this activity to the next level:
For building confidence: Each time you tap a body part, clap your hands and shout “Hooray!”
For developing the idea: Reverse the game. Take your baby’s fingers and tap them on your body.
For moving forward: Play the game with a stuffed animal or doll.

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Through songs and fingerplays, many important skills can be taught which are vital in the development of the brain.

The following rhyme develops sensory perception and fine motor skills. Say the rhyme as you touch your baby’s fingers one by one. On the final verse, wave your baby’s hand.

Tommy ThumbTommy thumb, Tommy thumb,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do! (wave baby’s hand)
Peter pointer, Peter pointer,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do! (wave baby’s hand)

Continue on with Toby tall, Ruby ring, Sally small, and fingers all.

Your baby will respond to your touch and your voice.

Ideas that take this activity to the next level:
For building confidence: Each time you touch your baby, kiss the finger you are touching.
For developing the idea: Reverse the process. Put the baby’s hand on your fingers.
For moving forward: After you play the game, add the song “Where is Thumbkin” to play with the fingers.