When newborns are born, none of their senses are fully developed. Their sight is in fact one of the least developed senses at birth. They can see shapes and high-contrasts, but the neurons in their brain are yet to be fully developed, and therefore their retina is blurred.
Providing your baby with visual stimuli is a way of promoting their visual development, even in those early weeks, and the Montessori mobiles do just that. Read more about WHY Montessori mobiles are so brilliant HERE.
About The Munari Mobile - #1 in the order of progression
The first mobile to introduce to your baby is The Munari Mobile, as it was designed specifically for newborns. It's named after an artist called Bruno Munari and features geometric shapes in high-contrast colours with a clear ball. Due to its black and white colouring, your baby is naturally drawn to look and focus upon it as it is something that they can see. When they concentrate on the mobile, their visual sense is stimulated and those high-contrast colours are sending strong signals to the brain, strengthening those neurons. How it is cleverly hung also provides the mobile with the ability to rotate and move, even with the slightest touch or air movement. This movement of the mobile encourages your baby to track the shapes - an essential milestone that they're working on developing in these first few months.
When and how should I introduce The Munari Mobile?
This mobile can be introduced from birth. Typically babies have very little, if any, awake time in the first 1-2 weeks, and therefore offering this mobile may be something you begin around the 2-3 week mark.
Make sure that when introducing any mobile to your baby, they are content. Often a little after a feed but before they're getting towards needing their next nap is a good time. This means that they will be content and able to concentrate. To further aid this concentration, it's best that baby is in a calm and quiet environment (however this of course isn't always possible if they have a sibling!).
What are the benefits of the Munari Mobile?
The Munari Mobile helps your baby to:
develop their visual skills
practise their focus and attention
begin to learn to concentrate
and it also
promotes their independence and autonomy
So which mobile do you need to introduce next? Read about 'The Octahedron Mobile' HERE, and the full Montessori Mobile Progression HERE.
For more Montessori Newborn content, click HERE. To learn about other ways you can 'play' with your newborn, click HERE.
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