RL.A.5 ATTENDS TO SURROUNDINGS BY LOOKING FROM ONE OBJECT TO ANOTHER

You will remain the most interesting ‘thing’ to look at as far as your child is concerned. But as she grows you will notice that she is paying more attention to other things around her as well. Her early, seemingly unfocused stare will alternate with periods where she is clearly looking from one object to another – first at the window, perhaps, and then at the mobile above her bed.

Your child won’t look about her in a purposeful way all the time, so watch her at her most alert and wakeful times of days when you assess this skill.

How to Assess

Method: Hold your child in a semi-propped position, or watch her when she is supported in her baby chair.

Score plus is your child looks from one object to another in the room – for instance, from a bright picture to the light, or from a mobile to your face.

How to Teach

Provide coloured things for your child to look at, and experiment with different distances. Begin with about a 30 cm distance from her eyes.

Things which make a pleasant sound such as wind chimes are helpful, as are things which move, such as mobiles or curtains blowing in the breeze.

Vary the pictures and mobiles in your child’s room to encourage her interest. This can be done with little expense, using magazine pictures or posters borrowed from a toy library, and mobiles improvised from balloons, bright ribbon and cardboard cut-outs. If you have an older child, he or she will enjoy helping you to decorate the baby’s surroundings.