Do Babies Get Bored? 4 Signs of an Understimulated Baby
You've surely heard of babies who become overstimulated, but what you may not have heard is that babies can be understimulated, too! Even though your baby can not yet walk around and get into trouble (thankfully), they still need to be engaged in their environment to help their development. But what can you do to keep them busy?
Because of how limited they are in movement, it can be difficult to come up with ideas on how to keep your baby entertained throughout the day. The last thing you want is a bored baby! If you aren't sure whether or not your baby is understimulated, continue reading.
Signs of an Understimulated Baby
While you definitely don't want an overstimulated baby, you also don't want an understimulated baby. Your baby learns from their environment and can lose interest easily if they don't have enough stimuli to keep them occupied. Here are some things to look out for:
Your baby is less responsive. I'm not talking, just a little unresponsiveness where your baby may ignore you for a minute or two. If your baby has a significant difference in how they respond to you and other stimuli, they may be understimulated. This could be not responding to familiar faces or voices or not showing interest in toys and activities that they usually do.
Your baby is less physically active. We all know that a newborn isn't going to jump up and start running around the house, but as they get older, they are more than happy to wiggle around to practice eventually crawling! If your baby isn't trying to reach out, play with toys, or move around, they may need more stimulation.
Your baby is making less noise. Before your baby talks, they will make noises to practice using their voice. They will only make vocal explorations if they are interested in their environment.
Your baby isn't interested in playing. What child doesn't love to play? If your baby isn't taking an interest in playing with toys or other people, they may need more stimulation. Play is one of the top ways your baby learns.
Signs of an Overstimulated Baby
While an understimulated baby can be a problem on its own, so can an overstimulated baby. Overstimulated babies are notorious for being extra fussy! If you are trying to depict whether or not your baby has been exposed to too many stimuli, check out these few signs:
Your baby is fussy or irritable with too many stimuli. Unlike their understimulated counterparts, overstimulated babies can become fussy and irritable when they are exposed to stimulating sights, sounds, or activities.
Your baby may be restless. If your baby is overstimulated, it may become difficult to relax after too much activity.
Your baby may not go to sleep easily. It's safe to say that plenty of parents have learned this the hard way. If your baby is overstimulated, it may be difficult for them to not only fall asleep for a nap or bedtime, but they may wake up shortly after falling asleep as well.
Your baby is easily upset. If your baby is overstimulated and perhaps overtired as well, they may become easily irritated and are more susceptible to yelling.
Your baby may not learn milestones as they should. If your baby is overstimulated too often, they may be unable to properly concentrate and essentially have difficulty acquiring new skills.
How to Stimulate Your Baby's Senses
Keeping your baby efficiently stimulated is a true juggling act. There is a fine line that separates too much from not enough, and you must walk it each day. If you are looking for some ways to keep your baby busy during the day, here are a few:
Incorporate interactive play into your day: As I mentioned before, play is precisely how your baby learns about themselves and the world around them. Interactive play is a great way to not only keep your baby stimulated but also grow your bond! Some examples of this could be tickling, sound-mimicking, and peek-a-boo.
Expose your baby to different textures: Keeping your baby exposed to a variety of activities and textures helps them sharpen their senses. Soft, hard, scratchy, smooth, etc. Your baby will be sure to love all the different surfaces as well!
Get your baby moving: We want our babies to work towards crawling so that they can eventually stand and then walk. You can do this by putting toys just out of their reach to encourage them to reach out to grab them.
Talk to your baby: Although your baby can not yet answer your questions, talking to them (and especially singing) is a great way to help develop their language skills. Babies love to listen to their parents talk, and it will keep them stimulated. You can talk about anything you'd like!
Invest in colorful toys: Have you ever wondered why kids' toys are so loud and bright? It's because it keeps them stimulated! Bright colors on their books, toys, and mobiles offer excellent visual stimulation. Just keep in mind that there is a thing as too much stimulation, though.
Track Your Baby's Playtime with Baby Connect
Playtime is crucial for your baby's development. After all, this is how they learn about the world! During play, they explore their environment with all five senses and hone their fine and gross motor skills, speech, and socialization.
While playtime is important to keep your baby stimulated, there are many other things that you must keep track of! In the early days of parenthood, days seemingly blur together between frequent feedings, dirty diapers, and crying spells. With Baby Connect, you will never forget a detail about your baby's day again, as you can plug all the information into this one-stop app!
