BABIES MAY

• Quiet when comforted.
• Show preference for familiar adults (reaches for mom when she comes home).
• Establish and maintain interactions with adults (cries out and then laughs when adult responds.)
• Imitate familiar adults (smiles when adult smiles).
• Engage in simple back and forth interactions with a familiar adult (Peek-a-Boo, touches face, makes sounds to engage, follows the gaze of an adult to an item).

YOU CAN

• Hold, cuddle, hug, smile, and laughs with infants.
• Respond quickly to baby’s emotional and physical needs.
• Talk with and sing to children frequently, especially during feeding and diaper changes.
• Tell stories, read, and look at books with infants.
• Give children a sense of security when around unfamiliar adults (keeps child close).
• Be consistent (daily schedule, people, places, things).

Attachment

YOU are the most important person in the world to your baby. Babies learn to trust you when you meet their needs, show affection and keep them safe. The safer a baby feels, the more ready they are to explore their world, which in turn creates stronger brain connections. Who knew things like smiling, singing, snuggling and safety could be so powerful? Look for the “sparkle moments” when you make eye contact and talk to your baby in a soothing voice when changing a diaper, feeding, or bathing. You can almost see the brain connections growing as a baby responds to your delight in them.

BABIES MAY

• Show interest in and imitate other babies.
• Recognize children (vocalizes when familiar child enters room).
• Respond positively to other children (smiles and laughs).
• Play near other children (solitary and parallel play.)
• Respond to upset child (becomes upset when another child cries).
• Engages in back and forth interactions (one baby splashes water and the other baby laughs and then splashes water).

YOU CAN

• Respond positively to children’s sounds, cries, and moods.
• Echo baby’s action back to him/her while playing (mimics verbal and facial expressions).
• Offer simple back and forth interactions (places toy in and out of sight).
• Demonstrate appropriate interactions with other children (Let’s use open hands to gently touch.”).
• Place infants face to face for short periods of tummy time play.
• Allow siblings to play and help care for younger siblings.
• Show respect for children and everyone in his/her environment.

BABIES MAY

• Respond by quieting, smiling, cooing at loved ones and others.
• Engage in simple back and forth playful interactions with parent/caregiver.
• Explore face and other body parts of others (touch caregiver ears, hair, hands).
• Vocalize to caregivers for assistance, attention or need for comfort.

YOU CAN

• Play turn-taking games with child (peek-a-boo).
• Provide consistent responses, daily routines, and environments.
• Be aware of his/her responses to child’s behavior.
• Make time to give infant your full attention.
• Use baby’s name during interactions.
• Tell stories and sing songs from child’s home culture.

BABIES MAY

• Look at, reach out, or explore others and shows recognition by smiling, reaching, and/or making sounds.
• Focus briefly on other children and adults in family and community gatherings.

YOU CAN

• Play with child on floor around other children.
• Provide opportunities for child to play in a number of different environments with other children (friend’s home, outside).
• Involve child in family and community gatherings.
• Talk with and describe to child what is taking place (“We’re going to feed you, and then change your diaper.”).

BABIES MAY

• Actively observe surroundings.
• Show recognition of a new setting by changing behavior (look to parent for response).
• Explore new settings with guidance from caregiver.

YOU CAN

• Provide child with a variety of safe environments to explore (put a clean blanket on floor of home, library, relative’s home, yard for non-crawler/walker).
• Reassure child and offer comfort in new settings by staying close.
• Establish family rituals, routines and
  activities.
• Provide extra time for transitions and talks with child about upcoming changes.
• Provide child with familiar objects (blanket, stuffed animal) to help adapt to changes in settings.

BABIES MAY

• Watch and observe adults and children.
• Smile when they see a smiling face.
• May cry when another child cries.
• With assistance begin to notice animals and plants in nature/outdoors.

YOU CAN

• Respond quickly to child’s cries in a gentle and reassuring way.
• Support and stay with child during stressful situations.
• Be aware and respectful of cultural differences in expressions of emotions.
• Provide child with regular opportunities to be outside.

BABIES MAY

• Watch and observe adults and children.
• Smile when they see a smiling face.
• May cry when another child cries.
• With assistance begin to notice animals and plants in nature/outdoors.

YOU CAN

• Respond quickly to child’s cries in a gentle and reassuring way.
• Support and stay with child during stressful situations.
• Be aware and respectful of cultural differences in expressions of emotions.
• Provide child with regular opportunities to be outside.

BABIES MAY

• Vocalize to caregivers for assistance, attention, or need for comfort.
• Explore own body (observes hands, reaches for toes).
• Explore the face and other body parts of others (touches caregivers’ ears, hair, hands).
• Listen and respond by quieting, smiling, cooing, gestures, or vocalizations when name is spoken.
• Show preference for primary caregivers.
• Identify familiar objects (bottle, blanket.)
• Smile at self in mirror.
• Notice and explore hands, eventually
  becoming aware they are attached and they can be controlled to do things.
• Point or moves toward desired people or objects.
• Play with one object more often than others.
• Repeat a motion or noise to see if outcome is the same.
• Indicate preferences by accepting or refusing certain foods.

YOU CAN

• Cuddle, physically nurture, and be responsive to child’s needs.
• Make time to give child full attention.
• Use child’s name during interactions.
• Provide unbreakable mirrors for child to look at self.
• Tell stories and sing songs from child’s home culture.
• Play with child, making eye contact, talking, and gesturing.
• Involve child in family traditions, rituals, and activities.
• Provide a rich variety of experiences and follows child’s lead during play and exploration.
• Watch for and support child’s nonverbal cues that indicate his/her preferences.
• Narrate what child sees, does, and hears.

BABIES MAY

• Repeat a sound or gesture that creates an effect (repeatedly shakes a rattle).
• Recognize that adults respond to his/her needs when expressed (is picked up when arms are raised toward adult).
• Explore environment, at first in close contact with caregiver and then farther away from caregiver as child grows.
• Smile when succeeding in a task/activity.

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Stay near child to provide encouragement.
• Provide a safe environment for child to explore many activities.

BABIES MAY

• Develop increasing consistency in sleeping, waking, and eating patterns.
• Participate in routine interactions (quiet body when picked up, cooperates in dressing).
• Anticipate routine interactions (lift arms toward caregiver to be picked up).

YOU CAN

• Be consistent in interactions with child.
• Be emotionally available and sensitive to child and his or her needs.
• Establish consistent routines for eating, sleeping, diapering and other regular activities.

BABIES MAY

• Signal needs with sounds or motions (cry when hungry or reach for wanted object of comfort).
• Relax or stop crying when comforted (when swaddled or spoken to softly).
• Comfort self by clutching, sucking, or stroking when tired or stressed (calm while stroking or holding soft blanket).
• Communicate need for support or help from adults (hold out arms when tired).

YOU CAN

• Snuggle, cuddle, and physically nurture child in ways that provide comfort (appropriate to their specific sensory needs).
• Respond to child’s signals for attention.
• Provide child with calming materials (soft blanket or toy).
• Check environment for appropriate levels of noise, heat, light, and other stimuli.

BABIES MAY

• Cry, use other vocalizations, facial expressions, or body language to express emotions and to get needs met.
• Frown in response to discomfort or inability to do something.
• Smile, wave, or laugh in response to positive adult interaction.

YOU CAN

• Be aware young children cry to express a range of feelings and respond.
• Comfort a child quickly when he/she cries; this helps him/her feel safe.
• Be aware of environmental factors that might cause distress (noise, light).

BABIES MAY

• Kick legs and squeal when familiar adult appears.
• Initiate contact with caregivers.
• Develop and maintains trusting relationships with primary caregiver.

YOU CAN

• Spend warm, nurturing time with baby.
• Bring baby along to family subsistence activities as appropriate (carry child on back during berry picking, let child watch family cutting up fish from a safe place).

BABIES MAY

• Begin to watch other children.
• Reach out to touch other children or grab their toys.

YOU CAN

• Encourage baby to interact with other people who are in the room.

BABIES MAY

• Look to caregivers for assistance and guidance.

YOU CAN

• Be responsive and nurturing to baby.

BABIES MAY

• Demonstrate an interest in themselves (observing themselves in a mirror, looking at their own hands and feet).
• Use gestures to communicate their interest in objects and people.
• Smile when someone familiar smiles at them.
• Focus their attention on others and engage in interactions.
• Kick their legs or reach with their arms when they see a familiar person.
• Actively explore the similarities and differences among people by feeling their hair, touching their faces, watching their facial expressions, listening to their voices.

YOU CAN

• Clarify with child’s family what is the child’s cultural background.
• Immerse child in his/her own culture as much as possible.