Child development of the senses: sight, touch and taste

The senses play a fundamental role in children’s learning , since it is through them that they discover the world around them. However, people are not born with the senses developed and prepared for their full activity, it is throughout the first years of life when they are accommodating and forming for their correct functioning.

Currently, few parents know the process and the changes that children will experience as their senses develop. Today, from PregDream, we will delve into the most characteristic milestones that are emerging in the process of development of touch, sight and taste.

HOW DOES THE SENSE OF TOUCH DEVELOP IN CHILDREN?

In the first place we are going to talk about touch , since this is the most developed sense at birth :

• • From 0 months : When the baby is newborn it has a very sensitive and delicate skin. It responds to tactile stimuli through reflexes, that is, it is not capable of making voluntary responses, however through it it perceives the world around it. Unlike adults, these types of perceptions are global, if you feel cold when you touch an ice with your hand, you perceive it globally in your body, that is why you do not know the location of the pain and what it touches.

• • From 1 to 2 months : At this age children are already able to differentiate an object through touch. It should be noted that most of the time they carry out this action with their mouth, using the touch of it and discovering with it the outside world, the textures and the sensations that objects cause them.

• • From 2 to 4 months : It is at this age when children begin to perceive size.

• • From 4 to 6 months : At this moment in the development of touch is when children begin to perceive the sensations in a smaller area of ​​the body, where they are receiving the stimulus, in turn they are already able to perceive levels of roughness, differentiate the weight of the objects and the temperature at which it is.

• • From 6 to 11 months : This is when the little ones begin to truly enjoy touch, playing, manipulating and grasping objects.

• • From 11 to 12 months : At this time the hands begin to coordinate, making it easier for the child to manipulate and he is already able to perfectly recognize objects by their shape, without the help of the rest of the senses.

• • With 15 months : Thanks to the qualities that he discovers through touch, he is already able to categorize them and divide them into groups, differentiating them from each other.

• With 18 months: It is at this time when the touch is almost fully developed, feeling the tactile sensations at a specific point and being aware of them.

HOW DOES THE SENSE OF SIGHT DEVELOP IN CHILDREN?

If we talk about the sense of sight, it is important to mention the following milestones of development, since they are the ones that are given as a general rule and the most significant:

• • From 0 months : When the baby is newborn, he is not able to perceive objects through sight as an adult, in the first month of life, children are only able to perceive spots, movements, brightness and colors, which which for them is very interesting. However, from birth, babies are able to differentiate their mother’s face

• • From 1 to 2 months : Around this age, children begin to focus both eyes on the same side, although it is still difficult for them to follow moving objects. At the same time, each time they manage to differentiate colors better, and they even realize when looking at the face that the movements of the mouth cause sounds

• • From 2 to 4 months : In this period of development , children are already able to move their gaze from one object to another, see objects at a distance and perceive small details. It is also the time when your lens settles down and you can focus on objects without problem.

• • From 4 to 6 months : It is at this age when they acquire depth perception, that is, they know how to differentiate with the naked eye if something is further away or closer.

• • From 6 to 8 months : Children when they reach this stage are able to differentiate different shades of the same color and increase their attention to what they see in the world around them. It is when the ability to give meaning to what they see through their eyes begins, a process which lasts a lifetime.

• • From 8 to 10 months : They are able to understand that an object does not disappear when they stop seeing it, that is why they look for hidden objects or that they can no longer see.

• From 10 to 12 months: They can recognize objects in photographs, their eyesight has already been fully developed.

HOW DOES THE SENSE OF TASTE DEVELOP IN CHILDREN?

If we talk about the sense of taste, we must mention the following important milestones in this development, since they are the most significant and those that most reflect the process:

• • From 0 months : The first taste experiences occur during pregnancy, more specifically when children taste the amniotic fluid in which they are inside the mother. Their next approaches with flavors will be through breastfeeding , this will be very beneficial for this development to be carried out correctly

• • From 1 to 2 months: It is at this age when children begin to be able to differentiate bitter and sour taste, rejecting them as a general rule. They have a preference for sweet flavors as they resemble the taste of breast milk or powdered milk.

• • From 2 to 4 months: They are already able to differentiate salty, sweet , bitter and sour.

• • From 4 to 6 months: At this point in the development of the sense of taste, children begin to feel an interest in discovering new textures and flavors by putting objects in their mouths. His preference for sweet taste changes, becoming interested in salty flavors as well.

• • From 6 to 8 months : At this age it is recommended to start with the baby led weanig , since this is when they begin to be able to eat solid food . However, they continue to reject strong flavors or that they consider different from what they are used to.

• • From 8 to 12 months: The perception of flavors at this age is developed, at this age they are able to differentiate the flavors from before, plus the acid flavor.

• From 12 to 15 months : At this stage it could be said that their taste capacity is similar or similar to that of an adult.

It is important to note that they are not fixed stages, the ages are variable and approximate, based on many studies by professionals. There may be exceptions, each child develops at their own pace and is different from the others. In the case of being concerned, it is recommended that you go to the pediatrician or a specialized doctor.