Brain Builders

Stimulating Activities for Your 4-month-old Baby

By Tammy Morey

Congratulations! Your baby is 4 months old. This month is such an exciting time because the amazement and wonder of the world around your baby begins to unfold.

Baby now begins to realize that he is more than a mere extension of his caregiver and that he is actually a separate person. This process will naturally lead him to begin noticing his world. Other people and objects become part of his focus as he begins to explore how they relate to each other as well as to him.

You probably have noticed that he reaches for objects, and although he may miss his target, he continues to explore and try. He has now realized what his hands are for but hasn't quite yet mastered how to get them to hit the target accurately every time. It may even appear that he believes his palm is the part that does the grasping as he stretches out his fingers and aims with his palm toward the object of his attention.

This is where finger play activities become important. By incorporating exercises that stimulate fine motor control, you can help him to master control over his fingers individually and help him understand the special connection between how long they are, how far he can reach with them and when to close them in order to grasp the object.

Your baby's sense of sight is also developing into binocular vision as he becomes able to focus both eyes on one point in front of him, allowing him to see more of his world. His sense of object permanence increases as he begins to understand that when you are not in his direct vision, you still exist and have not permanently gone away. Spatial awareness also begins to play a significant role in his development because he can now command space by reaching, grasping and bringing objects into his vision and of course, his mouth. You can help him develop spatial awareness by showing him his clothes before you put them on him or by letting him see flowers before letting him smell them.

Now is a great time to incorporate free, unstructured movement and sensory play into your daily routine with Baby. Stacking games are wonderful for conveying how objects relate to each other as well as in space. Use graduated sizes and variations and build towers by placing the smaller cups or blocks onto the larger ones, and then knock them down. Collapsing them or knocking them down emphasizes permanence because they change position while remaining the same objects.

Want to see more?

• Brain Builders: Stimulating Activities for Your 2-month-old Baby
• Brain Builders: Stimulating Activities for Your 1-month-old Baby
• Brain Builders: An Introduction
• Talk about it!