Hanging a mobile above a baby's crib will get his attention to a certain degree, but will only provide passive learning. Active learning, however, is much more gratifying for both baby and those watching the wheels turning in the minds of these babies in action!
Recently I have been reading the book, Baby Minds - Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love by Linda Acredolo, Ph. D., and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., who are also authors of Baby Signs. This is a fascinating book! Dr. Carolyn Rovee-Collier of Rutgers University has found that not only infants as young as two to three months are capable of figuring out how to make things move, but that they take enormous pleasure in the opportunity. Hundreds of babies who had been given a way to control the movement of the mobile hanging above their cribs have provided this conclusion.
The technology to do this is extremely simple. All you need are bells or a mobile attached to the infant's foot by a soft ribbon! That's it! Not one battery is needed! And it really works to the delight of baby and his audience, if he has one.
At the beach, while playing with my 4 ½ month old grandson, I didn't have a ribbon, so I pulled out a very long piece of plastic wrap and squeezed it into a long ribbon. I tied about a dozen small colorful balloons and toy rattles to the long strip two to three feet above the floor. I loosely attached one end of the "ribbon" to the light and fan pull cord on the ceiling and gently tied the other end to my grandson's foot.
He immediately loved the colorful balloons and toys and showed his approval as he kicked and waved all four limbs in excitement.
In only a minute it seemed as though he realized that the movement of the toys was contingent to his kicking, which made him step up the kicking even more! His bright eyes, smiles, squeals and longer attention span assured us that he knew what was happening! Later I attached the "ribbon" to Justin's hand, with equal results. What fun it was to watch him entertain himself for quite a long time, even while teething!
At the beach, while playing with my 4 ½ month old grandson, I didn't have a ribbon, so I pulled out a very long piece of plastic wrap and squeezed it into a long ribbon. I tied about a dozen small colorful balloons and toy rattles to the long strip two to three feet above the floor. I loosely attached one end of the "ribbon" to the light and fan pull cord on the ceiling and gently tied the other end to my grandson's foot.
He immediately loved the colorful balloons and toys and showed his approval as he kicked and waved all four limbs in excitement.
In only a minute it seemed as though he realized that the movement of the toys was contingent to his kicking, which made him step up the kicking even more! His bright eyes, smiles, squeals and longer attention span assured us that he knew what was happening! Later I attached the "ribbon" to Justin's hand, with equal results. What fun it was to watch him entertain himself for quite a long time, even while teething!
Dr. Rovee-Collier is convinced after having watched many babies rapidly solve the mystery of the mobile, that they hit the ground running (or at least kicking) when it comes to solving problems. Babies are eager and willing to work very hard to understand how their world works.
It is rewarding to researchers and parents that even Down's syndrome babies will work hard to figure out this specific problem, and are fascinated with controlling the mobile.
It is rewarding to researchers and parents that even Down's syndrome babies will work hard to figure out this specific problem, and are fascinated with controlling the mobile.
Because researchers have been so impressed with the joy generated from this experience, they have used the contingent mobile, where movement of the mobile is contingent upon an infant's own movement, with emotionally disturbed babies.
One eight-month-old emotionally disturbed baby gives testimony to an inborn thirst for figuring things out. This baby was so withdrawn that he rarely moved and no one had ever known him to smile.
After being hooked up to the mobile, within two hours, all that had changed! He was not only kicking vigorously to move the mobile, but he was smiling broadly for the first time in his eight months of life! How rewarding that must have been to see!
One eight-month-old emotionally disturbed baby gives testimony to an inborn thirst for figuring things out. This baby was so withdrawn that he rarely moved and no one had ever known him to smile.
After being hooked up to the mobile, within two hours, all that had changed! He was not only kicking vigorously to move the mobile, but he was smiling broadly for the first time in his eight months of life! How rewarding that must have been to see!
I highly recommend this book to mothers, grandmothers and anyone who works with babies or young children.
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