What does the newborn child see, hear and feel?
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021
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If the child is born in the delivery room, where there is a very bright light, he closes his eyes tightly, so as not to go blind. If he is born in a darkened room, he opens his eyes wide and begins to look around. Best of all, the newborn sees objects that are 20 cm away from him. More distant objects, he still barely distinguishes, because he does not know how to adjust his vision to them. The movements of his eyes are not yet coordinated, and it may seem to you that he has a strabismus. This is due to the fact that the muscles that support the movement of the eyes are still not coordinated. But eventually this phenomenon will pass.
Normally, the child has good hearing. Being in the womb, he could distinguish the voices of his mother and other family members. Therefore, after birth, the child immediately recognizes the voice of his mother and calms down, hearing her affectionate words. He can even turn his head in the direction from which her voice is heard. Scientists have found that the child more like high frequencies than low. Apparently, this remains with us on a subconscious level, since almost all of us, speaking to the child, try to speak in a higher voice.
Unlike adults who are guided in the world by sight, the child perfectly recognizes the smells necessary to him. He discerns the smell of milk, recognizes his mother by her specific smell (and unmistakably distinguishes her mother from another, even breast-feeding, woman). It has been experimentally proved that if the toys are washed away from the smell of the child, he loses interest in them.
Taste receptors provide the newborn with a more complete perception of the environment. There are four basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour and bitter, which in combination provide a full range of taste sensations. It has been experimentally proved that children like sweet and much less - salty. Thanks to this, a milk diet is provided (mother's milk is sweet). But scientists also found that if a mother used spices, onions, garlic during her pregnancy, the child will not give up breast if his mom eats these foods and milk will have their smack and smell.