how to engage my child / how to catch her attention?? HELP

hi… i’m a new mom to my lovely bb gal charlene… she’s now 4 months old … I read about brill kids and really interested and enthu to get started with my bb however i find it quite hard to keep her attention focus…

she doesnt seems to be intersted in the toys / rattles that i bought for her… she doesn’t seems to be interested in flash cards that i showed her… the only thing that successfully catch her less than 10mins attention is food… sometimes talking… she only seems to be intersted when we talk to her or just adults chatting beside her… singing sometimes and she also enjoys playing rough with us for awhile…

can anyone help?? i ran out of ideas to play with her… :frowning: it makes me sad sometimes she show me the bored look… i feel very guillty not able to make her day happier and i feel guilty that i wasted one more of her days not learning anything… sigh

Don’t rush things. Just relax and enjoy the baby. They learn best through play. They are absorbing everything going on around them music, talking etc. So even though she may not pay attention to your flashcards, she is learning something. I started with Your Baby Can Read videos and my grandson watched them while sitting in highchair eating in front of TV. Just make sure you expose her to different places. They learn best by doing and playing and watching what you do. They want to do whatever you are doing driving, watching TV, cooking etc. So whatever you want them to do you need to do. If you want them interested in flashcards then maybe your husband and you should play a game with flashcards.

I would show her flashcards and sing to her while she’s eating. Try that.

She is also learning alot in listening to you. Dr Titzer, creater of the Your Baby Can Read system, says that talking to your baby is one of the most important things that you can do. He recommends that you explain everything you see to them. They are little sponges and will just eat up the info and vocabulary. So talk about the colors, shapes, and purpose of household objects. Talk about nature when you are out walking. Talk about her body parts. Once she starts on solids, count her peas before she eats them, etc.

I have also noticed that many of the earliest readers here were taught baby sign language. I started very late when my daughter was 23 months old so I missed that opportunity. You might be able to find a sign language show on regular cable tv. Also I wish I had done more tummy time. It can have a huge impact on her development physically and intellectually. Read some of Glenn Doman’s books now. You might pick up some new ideas of how to stimulate her development.

Don’t get overwhelmed. Any little thing that you do to enrich her learning now will have a big impact. So do what you can. Most parents don’t know about early learning potential. They are just so busy cuddling, burping, feeding, and changing diapers that haven’t even considered their LOs intellect. Me included. You are starting out much early than most. Good job thinking of the baby as a whole developing person. She is going to have a bright future.

Good Luck, Lori

thank you for all your tips and support… :slight_smile:

can you tell me more about the sign language thing? i’ve heard they are very useful and very popular in states … i contacted a school here in singapore that offers this parent - child sign language program but they say they don have enough students to start the course… pity…

can i just teach my bb any sign to refer to any activity i like? for example rubbing tummy to tell that she’s hungry? or is there a specific signs that should be follow like the international sign for alphabets??

Check out the baby signing time and signing time videos. They are absolutely wonderful! http://www.signingtime.com/?gclid=CMmQtZnknqACFRKfnAod7D8fag

thanks! wat about thie brillkids little reader program? is it too young to start her on this? will she get bored of this pgram bfore she can read out??

You can read about it here http://www.brillkids.com/teach-reading/index.php
4 months is a great time to start LR! And you can use it for years. There are many ways to customize it and a lot of files to download to keep it interesting.