Child development of the senses: smell, hearing and kinesthetic sense

Currently it is known that the senses have great importance in child development , since it is thanks to them that children learn about the world around them. This is so, because through the senses and the stimuli that they perceive with them, they discover how it works, how it is and how the environment that surrounds them responds. However, not only that, they also discover themselves and their capabilities.

The problem is when parents do not know how the correct development of these senses should be, what are their milestones and how their children are growing in this area. That is why, from PregDream, we leave you in chronological order, the development of three of those senses : smell, hearing and the kinesthetic sense.

HOW DOES THE SENSE OF SMELL DEVELOP IN CHILDREN?

To begin with, we will talk about how smell develops in childhood, from the birth of the baby to its full olfactory development:

• • From birth (zero months): Smell is present from the moment the baby is born, even earlier, since it is known that at 24 weeks, the fetus can absorb the odors present in the amniotic fluid, it is since then , from where professionals begin to talk about the principle of human smell. It is perhaps for this reason that newborns are able to differentiate the smell of their mother.

• • At three months of age: It is in this moment of growth of a child, when it begins to recognize its own smell, differentiating it from that of its mother.

• • At five months: It is at five months from birth when the baby uses the sense of smell to distinguish the people he knows and those he does not know, that is, he is already able to recognize the odors of both parents, as well as people close by and realize that smells are not familiar to him.

• • At seven months: At this age he already has a more developed sense of smell, and differentiates the smells of food, places and objects; This is why he is already able to know whether or not he likes a food by smelling its smell.

• At three years of age : The development of smell remains more or less constant, developing little by little until this age, which is when it is considered that the child has the highest degree of olfactory sensitivity, being able to distinguish small variants in certain smells. It is from the age of 3 when we can begin to speak of an adult sense of smell, so to speak.

HOW DOES THE SENSE OF HEARING DEVELOP IN CHILDREN?

This is one of the most complex ways in terms of its development , since it, is somehow linked the language . Next, we describe its development from the birth of the baby to the full development of the ear:

• • From birth (zero months): With this sense something similar happens as with the previous one, its functioning is present from birth, even before. In this case, six months before delivery, the fetus is able to hear the heartbeat of its mother, including voices from outside, sounds, etc. Once it is born, it is able to distinguish between intensity, tone and timbre, as well as to identify the source of the sound.

• • At one month of age: It is then that the baby discovers nuances in the human voice, being able to differentiate some voices from others, therefore, he begins to be selective and attends to the sounds according to his motivation and interest, generally to the voice of his mother, of her relatives, to soft and pleasant sounds, startling if she hears any loud noise.

• • At three months: At three months the child is able to concentrate on a single sound, omitting the others and focusing all his attention on it.

• • • At five months : At this stage of development, the ear is already much more developed, it is already able to get an idea of ​​the distance it has with objects based on sound, that is, it perceives depth and distance

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• • At seven months: At this age the child already understands his first words, responds to his name, becomes enthusiastic about the sounds that entertain him, such as rattles, is interested in music , and even begins to babble.

• • At fifteen months of age: It is at fifteen months when the child generally begins to say his first words and responds to the names of his favorite toys by pointing to them when asked, as well as distant sounds.

• • At eight months: The little one begins to understand simple commands, to recite two-word phrases, to understand simple questions, and even refers to himself by name.

• • At two years: At this age the child wants to speak to communicate his needs, desires and experiences, he recognizes various everyday sounds, such as the horn of a car, the bell, the ambulance, etc; and understands most of the things that are said to him.

• At five years : His hearing is fully developed, as well as his language, which is why he is able to start a conversation by listening and responding.

HOW DOES THE KINESTHETIC SENSE DEVELOP IN CHILDHOOD?

Before starting to talk about how the kinesthetic sense develops, it is important to explain what it is really about: We could refer to the kinesthetic sense as the one in charge of informing our body about the position that our different body pairs have in relation to movement, that is, to give us balance . It is therefore, that the kinesthetic sense, we could also call it the sense of balance. This is in the ear. It unfolds as follows:

• • At twelve months (one year) : It is at this age when the kinesthetic sense begins, since it is when movement and posture begin to be present in childhood. Specifically at 12 months is when the static balance begins with both feet. Once the child begins to walk, the dynamic balance begins.

• • At three years of age: At this stage of development, an improvement in this ability of both movement and balance is noticeable, as the child begins to master certain basic skills.

• • At four years: The balance is much more developed, it is even able to remain immobile for a minimum of ten seconds on tiptoe and with the feet together.

• At five years: Self-control of dynamic balance begins, this process will last until 9 or 10 years, in turn self-control of static balance begins, but this can last until 12 or 13 years. It is then that we can speak of a fully developed balance.