Birmingham Vision Care. P. C.
280 N. Old Woodward o Lower Level o Birmingham, Michigan 48009 o (248) 646-4777
Dr. Harriet C. Pelton | Dr. Lloyd 1. Snider | Dr. Ronald S. Spalter Optometrists
A Home Guide to Child Development for the Early Years
Proper child development starts at home, below is provided a list of guidelines and tests both of motor skills, hand eye coordination, inter-neuro-sensory motor integration, communication, and balance.
Adapted from “Mommy and Daddy – You Can Help Me Learn To See” by G. N. Getman, O.D. and J.W. Streff, O.D., copyright 1959 Women’s Auxiliary to The American Optometric Association
I. From birth on, the infant is attracted to areas of light. By looking at bright spots and shadows, they begin to develop the earliest visual skills. To guide this development properly:
1. Keep a dim light on in the baby’s room during hours of darkness so they will have something to look at whenever they awaken.
2. Move their crib to various positions at regular intervals so that light will stimulate each eye and each side.
3. Change the baby’s position in the crib at regular intervals so that light will stimulate each eye and each side.
4. When the baby is awake, talk to him/her from different places in the room. This gives them a familiar moving target to watch and follow, thereby teaching them to associate distances and directions both in sight and in hearing.
5. Hang a nursery-type mobile about six to eight feet from the crib, at the level of the crib rails, so that it will be in line with the child’s gaze as it looks through them. The slow movements of these brightly colored objects assist them in learning what movements are and how to keep the eyes directed toward these objects.
6. Arrange for the baby to be in other rooms also while he is awake. This provides many more bright areas and objects to watch while they are learning to control their eye movements in these important early weeks.
7. Change and feed the baby from alternate sides. This gives the baby basic and important seeing experiences from different positions.
II. The earliest form of hand-eye coordination starts when the baby begins to be aware of the movements of its own hands. This sets the stage for the exploring of objects within its reach. To enhance this development:
1. Help the baby move their hands before their own face so they can see these movements.
2. Place a light-weight rattle first in one hand, then in the other and help them shake it. They will not hold it very long, but it will give them a chance to feel, see, and hear it.
3. Play “peek” by holding the baby’s hands before their own eyes so they can start to learn the difference between having their eyes closed and having their view blocked.
III. At about 16 weeks of age, the child discovers that they have two hands which they can “see in one look” as they move together, apart, closer, and further away. At this stage, it is time to:
1. Play “patty cake”. Make a big game of it with your baby. Say all the words to them as you “pat ’em, roll ’em, and toss ’em”. Each movement of the hands helps them learn the many directions of movement which hands and eyes can take.
2. Provide plastic or wooden blocks of a size that they can hold in their hand. Help them to put these blocks together so that they click and bang as they watch them.
3. If the child is a bottle baby, have them help you hold the bottle during feeding time. Place their two hands on the bottle as it approaches their mouth, so they see and feel the nearness of it as the nipple enters the mouth.
4. Arrange for several clean, smooth objects that they can put to their mouth. The sequence of looking at a rattle, taking it in the hand, and putting it to the mouth is a very important experience in learning about the many things surrounding them. In fact, this is the practice for feeding themselves and is the eye-hand control necessary for use of their own spoon.
5. Move the mobile closer to the baby. They will enjoy the opportunity to hit it so that it swings and bounces. Previously, most of their movements have been random or steered by you. Now they can create movements of the objects around them.
6. Play “Please” and “Thank You.” Place a toy in the baby’s hand and say “Thank You”. Gently remove it and say “Please”. Wave the toy so they look at it when you place it in their hand. This helps them learn to visually grasp and release objects as well as to develop finger flexibility and dexterity.
7. Tie bells on the the baby’s booties and help them learn to see their feet by hearing them too. Help them learn to kick the mobile to make it move.
IV. At about six to seven months, the baby needs to have play time on the floor. Their rolling and crawfishing movements will bring their entire muscular system into action. Therefore, provide the child with opportunities to reach, touch, and feel as many things as possible.
1. Provide large plastic or rubber balls so they may reach for them every time they see them.
2. Vary the toys and objects to provide the child with different textures and surfaces to explore.
3. Arrange room and floor temperature whenever possible so the child can be on a large crib sheet in their “birthday suit”. The bulk of tightly pinned diapers can hinder leg and body movements. All babies should have some time without these hindrances to gain freedom of the movements of their entire bodies.
4. Whenever possible, have other children play in the same room with your baby. All babies start to imitate others just as fast as their development allows. As the baby sees other children at play, they too will use these visual clues to go into movement. They will watch others move toward and away from them, thus gaining their early experiences in visual size and visual distances.
V. The growing child reaches a stage where they begin to push and throw objects off their high chair tray. This helps them to learn that there is a “down”. It also teaches them how to release objects from their hands just as much as they need to know how to hold objects in their hands.
1. Place objects on the high chair tray that can be pushed off or thrown to the floor. Take a little time each day to play this game.
2. Of course, certain objects like the food dish needs to be held fastened to the tray. The child must also learn to recognize which things are for pushing and tossing.
3. Use all the words that go with this game, such as “There it goes”, “all gone”, and “here it is”, as well as “no-no” in the case of the food dish. These are visual words which describe the action they see while playing this game.
4. Use many simple words with your baby. Talk to them frequently about each experience. Talking helps them associate word sounds with what they see and feel. While they are in the bath, talk about the bath, when a brother or sister comes into view, talk about them, when they are playing with a toy, talk about the toy. Assist them in associating speech sounds with what they see and feel by imitating their expressive little noises. This will encourage them to try again.
5. The child should have freedom of the house to be able to feel the object they saw. This verifies and expands their visual knowledge of the object. Dangerous objects, however, should be placed out of reach, but many things should be made available to them to examine.
6. Yam or pom-pom make wonderful balls which can be thrown or chased, as well as providing a different texture that will look and feel different than the usual rubber balls.
7. Arrange a “pot and pan” cupboard where the baby can reach it and open it themselves. Put tissue paper, cellophane, clean rags, and a two or four cup percolator with the pans. All these objects provide visual experiences which let them learn about tops and bottoms, insides and outsides, smooth and rough, soft and hard, big and little, light and heavy, and many other visual aspects of the things his world contains.
VI. By the time the child is one year old, they need to crawl, wiggle, roll and creep.
1. The child needs to get stuck under a desk or coffee table. They need to get into and out of tight places and they need to discover how to do these things for themselves. When they get stuck, show them how to back up or turn around so they can solve the problem next time.
2. They need experience on stairs and steps. Stairs help them learn to see that up is different from down and that steps are different than floors. Protect them from severe falls, but little bumps help them to learn how to avoid big bumps.
3. They need to creep before they walk, so do not be in too big a hurry to help them walk. Spend time assisting them to creep, since this will enable the bilateral (two-sided) abilities to develop more satisfactorily.
GENERAL HOME ENHANCEMENT PROCEDURES FOR THE FIRST TO THIRD YEAR OF LIFE
Every child should be assured of proper visual development. This includes the integration of the process of vision with all the other sensory systems of the body, the development of efficient eye tracking skills, as well as the ability for vision to be able to substitute for hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. In order for these abilities to develop effectively, matching of different combinations of sensory-motor systems, including speech and rhythm must occur during the vital stages of infancy and early childhood. It is during this period that it is important that the child be exposed to these interactions. The following are some basic activities that attempt to accomplish these goals.
a. Whenever possible, talk, sing and play with the child.
b. Allow the child time for play and exploration by themselves.
c. Avoid the restraints of a playpen. crib and high chair during those periods of the day when they are not required. Let the child move around as much as they can.
d. Show affection to the child.
e. Try to approach the child from different sides at different times. This goes for feeding and playing. It is also recommended that the crib be moved to different positions of the room on different days, if possible, so that the child will not always face the light from the same side.
Eye Movement Abilities
a. Hold a flashlight or penlight before the child and move it from right to left, left to right, up and down, diagonally, and in circles while talking to the child as it tries to follow the light.
b. Shine a flashlight at a wall and move it slowly while the child tries to follow the beam visually.
c. Play flashlight tag with the older child by having them hold a flashlight as well and try to follow your beam of light with their own.
d. Play “airplane” while feeding the child by circling the spoon in the air and making a buzzing sound as it approaches his mouth.
Hand-Eye Coordination
a. Stacking blocks
b. Stringing beads
c. Tossing and catching balloons
d. Close fists and open one finger at a time
e. Ring toss
f. Push toys
g. Pull toys
h. take apart toys as well as percolators and kitchen utensils
i. Peg or nail pounding
j. Follow-the-dot games
k. Folding and unfolding napkins
l. Modeling clay or play dough
m. Toss bean bags at someone or into a basket
n. Simple puzzles
o. Tracing and coloring
p. Free painting or finger painting
q. Trace around wooden, plastic or cardboard forms. Use large crayons.
r. Spread food out in front and to both sides of the child as they eat
s. Have child switch a small object from hand to hand as they put on a shirt or sweater
t. Place pegs in a pegboard
u. Dot 0’s in a newspaper or phone directory
v. Color and fill in drawings
General Movement and Balance Skills
a. Set up an obstacle course composed of chairs, tables, hassocks and boxes in such a way that the child has to crawl under, over and squeeze between narrow obstacles.
b. Play ‘Take 1, 2, or 3 giant steps”. “Take 1, 2, or 3 baby steps”.
c. Push a wheelbarrow.
d. Hold child’s ankles as they become a wheelbarrow.
e. Walking backwards.
f. Toe touching.
g. Running games.
h. Peeking through legs.
i. Jumping from steps or blocks.
j. Balance on one foot.
k. Hop on both legs together.
1. Hop on each leg separately.
m. Step on cracks.
n. Put rope on floor – child jumps over it.
o. Roll, throw, bounce balls.
p. Sit-ups, push-ups, etc.
q. Walk on a walking rail (an 8 foot 2″ x 4″).
r. Balance on a balance board.
s. Hand and foot tap: 1. RH, RF, LH, LF 2. RH, LF, LH, RF
t. Crawl and creep.
u. Play hop scotch.
v. Tossing and catching balloons.
Building Body Concepts and Self-Imagery
a. Expose child to the concepts of front-back, up-down, big-small, side-side, and one-two, all in the terms of body parts.
b. Using a floor length mirror, have the child watch themselves as they move different body parts on your command.
c. Draw around the child’s hand or foot and make an outline drawing. Have the child match it with their own body parts and point to the big toe, little toe, thumb, etc.
d. Teach child to touch your head, hair, shoulders, stomach, hand, foot, leg, arm, neck, mouth, ears, eyes, chest, back. fingers, etc. on command.
e. Teach child to touch his own body parts on command.
f. Play in sand box – make imprints of body parts (feet, toes, knees, hands).
g. Play game poems such as:
Hold both hands up
open them, shut them
open them, shut them,
give a little clap.
Open them, shut them,
open them, shut them,
put them in your lap.
h. Play”Hokey-Pokey”: “put your left arm in, etc.
i. Play “What” games:
What see ? (eyes)
What hear ? (ears)
What smells ? (nose), etc.
Communicative Ability
a. Trace designs in the air for the child while they try to guess what it is. Have them do the same for you.
b. Follow simple directions: stand up, sit up, close the door, open the door, come here, etc.
c. Imitate sounds: How do we laugh? (Ha, ha, ha) How do we sneeze? (ah-choo) How do we whistle? How do we cough? etc.
d. Pantomime:
1. Pretend you are a soldier, policeman, a cat stretching, circus acrobat, baseball player, elephant swinging his trunk, a dog begging, a baby crying, horse galloping, flower growing up, up, up, then down, down, down, bouncing a ball, sweeping, mopping, peeling potatoes, driving a car, etc.
2. Sing, while a child acts out a song. For example: “This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes. This is the way we wash our clothes, early Monday morning.” Then iron our clothes on Tuesday, mend our clothes, stir a cake, etc.
Auditory Awareness
a. Blindfold child or have them face away from you. Make the following noises and have them identify: crushing paper, whistling, knocking on door, tapping on glass, writing on chalkboard, blowing on harmonica, clapping hands, drum, piano, noise makers, pounding, coughing, running, jumping, snoring, crying, walking, etc.
b. As they progress, have them try to identify money jingling, blowing into a bottle, scratching, rain falling, leaves rustling, paper tearing, paper bag popping, etc.
c. Have them identify whether the sounds they have heard are high or low, near or far, loud or soft.
d. Imitate sounds of animals and have him identify whether it is a bee, dog, cat, bird, horse, pig, duck, etc. Have them imitate these sounds for you.
e. Have the child imitate sounds heard on phonograph records.
f. Sing rhythmical songs such as London Bridge, Mulberry Bush, Ten Little Indians, etc.
g. Have them clap their hands to a beat.
h. Thp to a certain number of beats and have the child repeat them back.
i. Tell stories to the child.
Inter sensory-Motor Discrimination
a. Sort and count objects.
b. Identify coins.
c. Blow different size soap bubbles.
d. Take a quick look at an object – tell what it is.
e. Learn colors – use colored balls or blocks. In stories, emphasize the color of objects (red wheels, blue dress) while pointing to something that has that color. Have them find the red block, yellow crayon, brown belt, green lollipop, etc.
f. Hide a button in one hand. While both hands are closed, ask the child to guess which hand holds the button.
g. Play with shadows on a wall.
h. Make felt puppets for hands and fingers.
i. With child’s eyes closed, place some food or drink in his mouth while he tries to guess what it is.
j. Repeat with various odors.
k. Introduce child to many different objects then, as a game, have them close their eyes and try to distinguish them. Examples: cotton, sandpaper, felt, paste, smooth stone, rough rock, shiny paper, sand, pencil, doll, toothbrush, key, leaf, wood, etc.
1. Teach directions and space relations to the child: have them move arms in and out, up and down, walk to and from something, climb under and over something, go left to the (window) and right to the (door). Plant seeds and watch them grow.
m. Encourage child to learn to discriminate which object is heavier and which is lighter, as well as which makes more noise when dropped. Use paper weight, rock, brick, cotton, paper, feather, book, tin can with and without sand, balloon, stone, etc.
n. Encourage the child to discriminate a small object from a large object (ball, box, etc.) as well as a tall object from a short one (doll, bottle, etc.)
o. Have the child learn the names of objects. As a game, ask: Show me the ____. Where is the ____ ? Give me the ___ ? Put the ____ into the box. (ball, airplane, wagon, chair, table, bed, door, window, coat, apple, etc.)
Distance Oriented Games
a. Throw a ball into a basket or a large box (move it further away as the child achieves).
b. Throw a ball at specific targets across the room.
c. Throw a bean bag at a drawing of an animal with an open mouth.
d. Play “hit the penny” with a large ball.
e. Throw a ball into a hula hoop: 1. Held in the air, 2. Resting on the ground
f. Call child’s attention to and discuss objects that are at a distance. Play “catch” & move further away as child improves.
g. Paste different pictures on a beach size ball. Have youngster roll ball across room and tell what picture is facing him when the ball stops.
