Bonding, Infants 0-6 Months

To do list from the book Bright from the Start, Jill Stamm, Gotham Books

• Delibarately hold the infant often vs. having infant in an infant carrier seats. Kiss, hug and hold infant routinely throughout the day.

• Encourage skin-to-skin contact. Massage infant on a regular, daily basis (e.g., bath time, bedtime, etc.).

• Hold infant during feeding vs. propping a bottle.

• Respond quickly and predictably to infant’s cries (i.e., come routinely within a few minutes and begin comforting crying infant verbally in a reassuring tone on the way to picking him up).

• Try to interpret the meaning of various types of cries (e.g. hunger, change of diaper, tired, boredom/need of stimulation).

• Establish consistent routines for feeding, bathing and sleeping.

• Deliberately introduce infant to a variaty of new “feels”(i.e., new textures, temperatures, etc.) while verbally labeling for infant.

• Provide a variety of objects to feel and explore with hands, mouth, and feet while verbally labeling for infant.

• Act sooner rather than later in making changes that will improve the quality of care provided for the infant with an emphasis on consistency of the same caregiver (do not delay until more convenient moment in time that may be months, not weeks, away, such as when summer comes, after the holiday period, etc.). This sense of urgency relates to the recognition that there is a limited period of time during early childhood for maximum response (windows of opportunity).