Encourage the spirit of discovery

The way your child develops is no coincidence. Inherited dispositions play a role, but so does his biological maturation, his own experiences and the stimuli he receives from his environment. In the first years of life, the pace of development is rapid. Right now, you can support your child's individual development in many ways: with targeted stimuli and opportunities for experience.

Parents' faces and voices inspire even infants to imitate them. Your child needs to interact with you in order to learn how to express himself through body language, facial expressions and sounds and to make a difference himself. You can support the linguistic development well from the beginning by talking a lot with your child, reading to him, singing with him and motivating him to speak by praising him and asking him questions.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, this is not about speeding up your child's development. Some parents tend to compare their children and see if their peers can already walk more confidently or speak better. But each child sets his or her own pace. Only when your child has taken one developmental step can the next one follow. The driving force is always innate curiosity.

Even babies seek explanations for what is happening around them and verify them through trial and error. Have you ever watched a toddler repeatedly throw toys or his pacifier out of the stroller? Not only gravity, but also their own abilities are tirelessly tested through trials - for example, pulling themselves up on the bars of the crib under their own power. If this succeeds, the joy is great. If you praise your child from the bottom of your heart, you encourage it to take further steps in its development.

Sometimes you have to curb little explorers in their thirst for action. If your child climbs onto a wobbly chair or wants to taste what soil tastes like, you must of course intervene. However, you should not scold them! Distract your child and give him or her another sense of achievement: Instead of the chair, offer a small sturdy stool to climb on or show him or her how to fill soil into a flowerpot.

It is important that your child can choose for himself what he wants to do. What he or she is interested in depends on his or her interest, stage of development and already acquired skills. Instead of presenting your child with a specific toy, you should observe and wait to see which toy or everyday object he or she reaches for on his or her own and what he or she does with it. If your child is concentrating on this thing, then it corresponds to his current interest. Allow him the freedom to try out the object, even if it may have a different purpose.