Useful Tips for newborn babies!

Both the father and the mother should communicate with the newborn.

The child’s face should not be covered for long periods of time because children need to see in order for their eyesight to develop.

Although common in some places, newborns should not be tightly bound in clothing for long periods, so they can move and touch people and things.

Clean, safe, and colorful things from the household, such as a wooden spoon or plastic bowl, can be given to the child to reach for and touch.

When the baby is one week or older, a simple, homemade toy, like a shaker rattle, can attract the child’s interest by the sounds it makes when you shake it gently.

To make a gourd rattle: Find a small gourd, cut a round hole at the stem and clean out the seeds and flesh. Let it dry out well and put 2 or small rocks or other objects inside. Find a stick the size of the whole and glue it to the gourd.

To make a bottle rattle: Take a plastic bottle or equivalent receptacle. Insert nuts, stones, colorful strips cut from other plastic bottles. Insert wood stick in the bottle, and warp a ring with strips or cloth.

Squeeze toys: Trace and enlarge various patterns on a fabric. Cut out two pieces for each pattern. Sew the edges and stuff with wool, beans or candy wrappers. Sew the ends. You can also cut out the figure of a doll and stuff it.