14 Ways to teach your baby in the first year 

1. Smile at your baby

Your baby is always watching you and falling deeper in love. Even your facial expressions are studied very early on. Smiling at your baby triggers happy hormones for both of you. 

2. Talk to your baby

Your baby won’t understand you for many months, but they learn quickly. Talking to your baby will teach them what your sounds mean, such as “No”, “Hi”, “Mama”. Studying your mouth, voice, and tone will help your baby understand more quickly so they can start to mimic you. 

3. Sing to your baby

Singing to your baby is soothing and helps them connect to you in a different way. Have you ever noticed how your baby quiets down during diaper changes or rocking to sleep when you start singing? The softness of your voice and the familiarity of that song will help calm them and relax. 

4. Read to your baby

Reading to your baby is another way to connect to them while looking at pictures. They may not grasp the story but they are getting a visual of something interesting that helps them eventually understand what is happening. Try repeating the same book for a few nights to let your baby get familiar with that book. It becomes a routine that feels comforting. But don’t be afraid to switch it up either. Introducing new books after a few nights keeps things interesting too. 

5. Let them grip your finger

Gripping your finger helps your baby work on those fine motor skills of holding on to objects. Your finger is the perfect start and can help to strengthen those tiny hand muscles. 

6. Let them watch you do tasks 

Watching is the first step to learning. Folding laundry, making dinner, even dusting furniture, your baby is entertained by watching you move around. They will watch your every move, and feel free to talk about what you are doing to add conversation. 

7. Let them explore the house 

Once your baby is on the move with crawling, make sure your house is baby-safe. Basically if your baby wanders into a room, there is nothing accessible that can be dangerous. Allowing your baby explore the room your in, or crawl around the house, helps them practice that skill all day and reach their next milestones. Once your baby can pull themselves up to standing, they will love cruising around holding onto furniture. Allowing these skills to happen will keep your baby moving forward with development. 

8. Let them explore objects 

As long as these objects are safe, allow it. Your baby loves playing with objects that aren’t necessarily “toys”, and it helps your baby understand their world around them. That empty tissue box, the dish towel, a wooden spoon, you will be amazed how exciting these objects are to your baby. Have easy access to your Tupperware cupboard and your baby will continually return to it to play with your plastic containers and lids. 

9. Let them touch and play

Touch is so important for babies. They will take notice how something feels in their hand, something bumpy, smooth, scratchy, squishy. So many new feels to experience! 

10. Show them colourful objects

Colourful objects will lead to learning to their colours. Starting at the very beginning can impact their little minds by the time they start toddler stage. Babies thrive on repetition and routine so the more they see colours, the sooner they learn which is which. 

11. Let them watch you eat

Does your baby stare at you while you eat? Mine does. In fact she wants me to share. Once your baby starts having interest in food and has started with solids, you will notice more and more that they know when a meal is taking place and be ready to eat. The more they watch you eat, the more interest in that particular food they’ll have, because they learn from you first. Try saying, “Mmm mama loves broccoli.” It’s the perfect opportunity to try new foods. 

12. Let them sample your food before serving them something new (ages 6-12mo.)

Like I said, your baby will watch you eat and be interested in food when you are eating, so allow them to sample your food, given that there is no honey or maple syrup in it (babies can’t have these sweeteners until 12 months) and as long as they are able to each bite sized food, they can pretty much eat whatever you have on your plate. They learn different flavours and seeing you eat it rather than randomly on their plate helps make it more appealing. 

13. Let them watch your mouth make sounds 

Making sounds with our mouths makes shapes with our mouth. Watching your mouth will allow your baby to mimic these shapes and make their own sounds. “Mmmaaa”, “ahhhh”, ohhhh”, “lalala”, your baby will study you, and soon copy you. 

14. Clap for your baby

It’s so gratifying when your baby learns a new skill because they copied you! Clap your hands for your baby, and see that they eventually try it themselves. Maybe not right away, but eventually your baby will copy. When this happens, do a little cheer so they know they just learned something new. Babies get so excited when you are too!