Parenting encompasses more than just building a comfortable life for your children. While it’s essential to ensure they can eat yummy food and play with ornate toys, being physically and emotionally present for your kids can help them grow into well-rounded individuals. The big question is—how can your baby communicate with you? After all, babies are yet to develop sophisticated methods to communicate with us.
Thankfully, that doesn’t mean you can’t decipher what they need! Basic knowledge about their actions, temperament, expressions and personalities can help you understand cues, cries, and smiles.
In other words, we must explore two crucial things—non-verbal cues and uniqueness. Let’s dig a little deeper to understand your baby better.
The Big Communication Challenge
Your baby cries while playing, and you’re bewildered. They may bite their toys or shove food away unexpectedly, or perhaps smile at something that in your opinion, is not amusing – what’s so fun about a leaf and twig or a soft toy anyway?
Well, all of these mean something in a baby’s mind. In their own unique ways, these responses convey their inner worlds. And here’s what you need to learn to navigate through their wonderful little minds:
Observing to non-verbal cues
One of the simplest yet effective ways to understand your baby better is through observation.
It’s paramount to be present, especially when they are engaged in something or respond with different expressions. Observing their actions, facial expressions, and temperament can help you understand how they feel towards a particular element.
Let’s focus on meal time, for example. If you are having trouble figuring out their taste palettes, you may want to observe which food they best respond to. And this means curating your breakfast, lunch, and dinner according to their tastes, while not leaving out the nutrition they need!
If they turn away from grains like oatmeal and rice, chances are, they may not enjoy the texture as much. Try to feed them something softer, such as mashed fruits or vegetables.
Eventually, as long as you serve a variety of meals, you will discover what they like—and still be healthy! Once you understand how they respond to certain things, you will know what to do.
Start observing:
- How they behave and react to certain toys, books or people
- How they use their hands or their posture
- The developmental milestones like the time they start attempting to flip on their tummy, crawl or even walk!
Embracing uniqueness
Babies express themselves through gestures, voice and facial expressions and they express themselves best during play time! Every baby is unique and it can show in very early stages especially when they feel safe in their home environments.
In other words, your child is different from others—unique, and what applies to other children may not necessarily apply to them.
Your role? To encourage what they are drawn to. Research has shown that parents who spend time bonding with their babies is pivotal to their cognitive development, sense of confidence and security.
Your baby will learn to make sense of the world around them when you talk to them, sing to them and read to them! Cuddle them and shower them with praises and kisses to make them feel secure, loved and cared for.
The more they do what they love, the more confident they are in expressing themselves. This shows that your support makes them feel loved and heard — but more importantly, remember to take care of yourselves as parents!
Your positive vibes will make a huge difference in your baby’s well being and trust us when we say that your baby can feel what’s going on! Happy mummy and daddy equals happy baby!
Mommy tip: Not sure how to decipher the baby-talk, or what to sing or read to your baby? Learn Baby Signing in English and Chinese with Josiah Online!
Developed by infant-toddler specialists from one of Singapore’s Best preschool – Josiah Montessori, Josiah Online is a learning companion for parents to bond and engage in purposeful play activities with their children.
Other modules consists of Montessori Moments – seize every moment you spend with your baby with research based sensory activities to develop your baby’s cognitive development, all within the comfort of your home.
Bonding Moments – comfort and secure your baby with your touch and increase their happy hormones and immunity.
Josiah Online’s Baby On-The-Go series is designed specially for infants 0 – 18 months to accelerate your baby’s cognitive skills according to their developmental stages.
Get help and tips from the experts themselves on identifying your baby’s different cries and what they mean! Baby On-The-Go is certainly your best learning companion!
Parting Thoughts
Figuring out what goes on in your child’s mind takes time and effort, hence paying careful attention to their development is necessary to ensure they grow and flourish under an environment of love and care.
It’s important to remember that understanding their behaviors entails work on your end, especially learning how to read their non-verbal cues.
More importantly, you need to embrace their uniqueness. In doing so, you understand how best to nurture them into becoming healthy, loving, and successful adults.
You’re not, and will never be alone in your parenting journey — build an Epic Childhood for your child with Josiah Online.
Josiah Online is available online on a monthly and yearly subscription plan. Lessons for all age groups (0-6 years old) will be made available and new lessons will be uploaded on a monthly basis. Supplement your child’s learning too, with curated materials on their E-Shop.
Subscribe now and checkout with “TAP10” for 10% off your first subscription and/or E-shop purchase!