Cindy McGaha Associate Professor of Child Development,
Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
Published in Focus on Elementary, Fall 2003, Vol.16, #1
The
Importance of the Senses for Infants
Cindy McGaha Associate Professor of Child Development,
Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
Published in Focus on Elementary,
Fall 2003, Vol.16, #1
How do infants begin to make sense out of the world into which they are born? This is a question that philosophers have debated for centuries. We are beginning to discover that babies are born with many abilities that help them begin to organize their world almost immediately. The basis for learning in infants is the sensory systems of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Knowing what babies are capable of can help caregivers begin to structure the environment to support infant learning. So, what can babies do?
Taste
The sense of taste actually begins to develop prenatally. Taste buds emerge at around 7 to 8 weeks' gestation, and the amniotic fluid is rich with different taste experiences. These early experiences set the stage for later taste preferences. Once babies are born, they show a preference for sweet tastes. In fact, sugar in combination with a pacifier has a calming effect on newborns. On the other hand, newborns do not like sour flavors and do not show a reaction to salty substances. Children do not usually show a salt preference until around 4 months of age. All in all, this suggests that babies come into the world with a well-developed sense of taste that can serve as a foundation for infant learning.
Smell
The sense of smell is also well-developed at birth. As with tastes, the amniotic fluid is rich with smells. Within hours after birth, babies respond much like adults to a variety of odors. For example, infants prefer and smile at odors like bananas and vanilla, but they frown at and turn away from smells such as rotten eggs and fish. Infants also quickly begin to develop preferences for certain smells. They prefer the smell of a lactating woman over a nonlactating woman and they prefer the smell of their mother to the smell of other women. The sense of smell is something that infants continue to use throughout infancy. In fact, one study showed that infants selected and manipulated a vanilla scented toy more frequently than ethanol-scented or unscented toys. These preferences for certain smells can be used to make activities and objects more engaging for infants.
Touch
Touch is a very important sense that has been found to affect parent-infant attachment, cognitive development, sociability, ability to withstand stress, and immunological development. Touch and massage therapies for infants have emerged as a popular method of enhancing growth and development, reducing pain, and increasing attentiveness. Infants are born with a fairly well-developed sense of touch. For example, they respond to pain in similar ways as adults. Touching infants can have both positive and negative effects on development, depending on the type of touch. Infants who are stroked, as opposed to tickled or poked, spend a greater proportion of time making eye contact, smiling, and vocalizing and less time crying. In general, preferences for touch vary from infant to infant. It is important for caregivers to explore different types of touch, such as stroking, bouncing, tickling, etc. to see which types of touch an infant prefers. Since touch is such an important foundation for other skills, it is important to provide frequent opportunities to use this sense.
Hearing
Although it was originally believed that infants were born deaf, we now know that infants have a fairly well-developed sense of hearing at birth. In fact, recent research findings indicate that infants are hearing and learning about the world in utero. In fact, infants are born with a preference for their mother's voice. Infant hearing is not as refined as adult hearing, but hearing does develop rapidly throughout the period of infancy. Infants are born with the ability to discriminate between sounds (an important foundation for language), and this ability continues to develop. Exposure to sounds in infancy is critical. In fact, infants soon begin to show a preference for the sounds of their own language. The conversations we have with and around babies contribute to the development of language skills. A sound-rich environment is important for supporting infant learning.
Vision
Vision is the least developed sense at birth. Vision, like hearing, develops rapidly over the early years. Infants are essentially born legally blind, but do have some visual preferences that lay an important foundation. Infants are born with a preference for looking at light/dark contrasts. Fortunately, most environments naturally have contrasts, such as dark furniture against a light wall or light pillows against a dark couch. Even the human face is endowed with such contrasts. The hairline, eyes, and mouth provide such a contrast. Research shows that these are favorite areas of focus for infants. Infants are also born with a preference for looking at human faces. These preferences indicate that infants should have many opportunities for face-to-face interactions with caregivers. These interactions enrich the child's visual environment.
Implications
Research supports the theory that infants are capable of making sense of the world from birth. We, as caregivers, need to provide an enriched environment that uses abilities that children already have and enhances those that are emerging. The senses of taste, smell, touch, and hearing are well-developed at birth and can be used as a foundation for supporting learning, whereas we need to provide stimulation for vision—the least developed sense at birth. Fortunately, many forms of stimulation can be found in our everyday environment. However, we can also enhance the environment by increasing our own awareness. To enhance sensory development, we need to do the following:
Remember, awareness and responsive caregiving are critical in supporting sensory development.