Child development and sensory integration

When we think about our senses, specific experiences usually come to mind, for example we know that lemon tastes sour. However, apart from the knowledge that we can take one slice of lemon into our mouth and taste it - before taking the slice into our mouths, we are reminded that lemon is sour. After a while, we also realize that it is round, yellow and wet. We acquire all this knowledge because our senses cooperate and are integrated. To live, we need our sensory integration to proceed uninterrupted. 

In this article we will tell you what a baby's sensory development looks like. We will show what this means: a child and sensory integration. We will also tell you what signals in the child's behavior that indicate difficulties in this area should concern us. Together we will consider the issue of developing a child through support from a parent. Should parents, and if so, how can they support the sensory development of an infant or preschool child?

Sensory development: what does it mean??

You may not have heard the term before sensory development. What does it mean?

Sensory integration is the ability of our body to receive information provided by the senses from the environment and our own body. It is thanks to our senses that we get to know the world and build our experiences, which are recorded in our mind and feelings. Sensory experiences sometimes trigger memories. Although sensory integration processes are formed in us from the prenatal period, they develop throughout our lives.

The infancy period is crucial for the formation of well-functioning and harmoniously developing children sensory systems. The nervous system of a small child is initially immature, and the processes related to sensory development will be able to develop in a preschool-age child, until the age of 7. Sensory systems allow us to receive stimuli from the world and it is with their help that the brain learns to process various stimuli using regulation.

Sensory development of the infant

Already in the child's infancy period, possible symptoms can be observed abnormalities related to the infant's sensory development. Therefore, it is a good time to prevent possible disorders. Unfortunately, observing an infant's sensory development is not an easy task for its parents, because only they learn their baby's behavior and reactions. 

The baby itself is also unable to meet its needs on its own. It is the parent who allows the child to give a coherent experience of what is happening to the environment and the child's body through food, touch, closeness and movement.

In children, too many stimuli at once and too much stress on the nervous system, which is still immature, may cause difficulties in self-regulation. When there are too many or too few stimuli, the child may feel discomfort. This may also happen when the infant's nervous system has difficulty processing stimuli.

W classification of mental and developmental disorders DC: 0-5, the authors distinguish sensory processing disorders causing general anxiety, nervousness of the child and lack of well-being, as well as impaired functioning during everyday activities such as sleeping, eating, playing or contacts with loved ones.

Sensory processing disorders may occur when the nervous system improperly receives and processes the stimuli reaching the child and responds incorrectly to them. Many factors can influence whether a child will develop sensory regulation/processing disorders. What we can influence is supporting the child's sensory development in a way that may reduce the risk of developing sensory integration disorders in the future.

The child and sensory integration: regulation hindered by the environment 

How our senses react depends greatly on how they function our environment. More than a hundred years ago, children were not transported in baby carriages, but carried in arms or in scarves. Also until recently, they did not wear shoes, and their feet learned about pebbles, forest undergrowth, and stream water. Nowadays, this type of sensory stimulation is very difficult to obtain.

Nowadays, our children have completely different developmental conditions than we or our parents had. When we often think about the issue: children and sensory integration, the issue itself is very important awareness of the need to support our child's sensory development. 

Sensory development of a preschool child

It is indicated that currently up to one third of small children, including preschool children, may have it difficulties in sensorimotor development! Therapists using the sensory integration method warn that children may be visually and auditorily overstimulated due to the use of electronic devices in everyday life, while they have too little tactile stimuli and those related to the sense of balance, their own body and movement.

Currently, in the vast majority of cases it is considered incorrect sensory development of preschool children may result from the very difficult conditions in which children have to develop: exposure to blue light, street noise, sounds of machines. How can we know that our child has experienced excess stimuli?

The following symptoms should draw our attention:

• problems falling asleep, as well as frequent waking up at night screaming or crying;
• excessive anxiety and fatigue;
• sneezing and hiccups (especially in babies);
• covering ears;
• closing eyes;
• nausea, dizziness in children.

Child and sensory integration: the impact of modern technologies

Report Media and Young Minds issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clearly states that infants and young children under 18 months of age should not be exposed to exhibition of modern technologies. Why? Because their nervous system is not ready to receive light and images from digital displays.

There are scientific studies that clearly show that children whose exposure to e.g. watching television was unmonitored and often too high for the overstimulation capabilities of their nervous system often experienced delayed speech development, disturbed physical development and vision difficulties. (AAP, 2001).

Developing by supporting

The most important role of parents in supporting their children's sensory development is to appropriately respond to the child's needs and behavior. But how to achieve this? We can support the child's sensory integration processes by offering him activities in which he will be able to practice regulating his senses, e.g. by selecting appropriate sensory stimulation.

Below we will present several suggestions for activities supporting other senses to support harmonious sensory development in infants and small children. However, the condition for undertaking the proposed activities with a child is that the child feels safe and accepted in them - you should not force the child to do them if he does not want to try.

Developing through support: the sense of touch

Starting from the neonatal period, neonatologists, midwives and lactation consultants advise mother and baby to have skin-to-skin contact. It is very important that the baby feels safe after birth and feels as safe as he did in the environment when he was still in his mother's womb. A newborn may be particularly sensitive to changes in surrounding stimuli, which is why therapists recommend empathetic care. What is it about?

Empathetic care is primarily: 

• Paying attention to this what and how we touch the baby: the temperature of our hands, the warmth of the towel and its softness.
• It becomes equally important caring for baby's skin: putting on the child airy or warm (depending on the temperature) and soft clothes, without snaps that may press the baby's skin.
• They become another element supporting the sense of touch swimming, which become incredible sensory stimulation. Why? Because a quiet bath can remind your baby of the period of fetal life.
• Also MASÁŽE will help establish and strengthen the bond between parent and child. Massages can teach parents how to react and follow their baby's reactions. Referring to sensory integration, massages combine touch with the child's sense of security and comfort.

Developing through support: sense of balance 

When a baby is restless, we intuitively pick him up. This is a very good attitude, because rocking, rocking and carrying brings back the baby's memories of rocking in its mother's tummy. We also provide the baby with closeness and massage by carrying it in a sling - through skin to skin contact. 

Developing through support: the sense of sight 

It is worth striving for from the first moments of life eye contact with the infant during breastfeeding, as it has a positive impact on the baby's sensory development. The parent's facial expressions attract the child's attention like a magnet and cause incredible brain stimulation. It is worth paying attention to during this activity lighting, which may hurt the baby's eyes. It is worth covering the lampshade with a diaper or placing the lamp on the floor.

When arranging the environment for a child, avoid sharp and intense colors or patterns. Let's choose mats that the child spends time on in plain colors and without patterns. When it comes to the toys you choose, they should stimulate no more than one or two senses at a time. If the toy makes a sound, it should no longer sparkle with a mirror or colors.

Developing by supporting: the sense of hearing 

The best sound stimulation is this one selected intuitively. It is worth speaking to the child in a natural way, without imposing on ourselves that we have to speak too quietly or slowly for the child to understand us. You should also not be excessively quiet when the child falls asleep. On the other hand, do not expose him to background noise when falling asleep, such as the sounds of TV, coffee machine or running water.

If you want to read to your child or tell something before going to sleep, it's worth choosing rhymes and rhythmic poems. It is also worth choosing with a child who is several months old finger games (NP. The magpie weighed porridge and/ or cancer-bad) to combine listening with gentle touching, which will further help your child's sensory development.

Developing through support: the sense of smell

A newborn's sense of smell is very sensitive. Therefore, it is a good idea not to use perfumes or scented cosmetics during the first weeks of your baby's life. It is also valuable air free from pollutants (especially cigarette smoke!).

It is advisable to use air purifiers that eliminate harmful pollutants.

Developing by supporting: the sense of taste 

The mother's diet may be during pregnancy and breastfeeding varied. Therefore, it is not worth avoiding foods just to not harm your baby. If you suspect a food allergy in your child, you should see an allergist who will recommend an appropriate diet.

It is worth remembering to start expanding your child's diet when he or she is ready for it ready. Not because of any top-down recommendations that our child of a certain age should eat certain foods or consistencies.