6 Benefits of Playing with Your Baby in Front of a Mirror
Playing with your baby in front of a mirror is beneficial in many ways. The myth that says that placing your child in front of a mirror will delay his speech couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The activities we carry out with our little one when he can see himself in the mirror are helpful for his development. In this article we will address this subject.
The benefits of playing with your baby in front of a mirror
It helps him learn about his own body
To help your baby learn about his own body, place him for a while in front of a mirror where he can see himself from head to toe. The mirror will teach your child about body language and about how he looks .
Even though at 8 months of age, it’s still too early for your baby to know that the person in the mirror is his own self, as your baby grows, he will get used to seeing himself and he will begin relating his own gestures and movements with those that he observes in others, and will start to realize that he is seeing his own reflection.
Empathy
When you place your little one in front of a mirror to play, you are helping her to be empathetic.
Your child will look at herself, smile, and find a response to her happiness. In doing so, she learns to feel empathy towards others.
It is beneficial for the development of the brain
As often as you can, join your child while playing in front of the mirror. Besides seeing how your image interacts with her own, simply seeing the image of you carrying her and cuddling her will give her a great sense of satisfaction.
Even though we emphasize the fact that your little baby is not completely conscious that she is seeing herself in the mirror, seeing the gestures of that “other” mom that looks just like you, and the relationship you establish with the baby in your arms, will still produce pleasant emotions in your baby.
Any positive stimulation that you give your baby will be beneficial for the development of her brain .
This helps your baby get to know his surroundings
From a very young age, your child will pay attention to everything he sees and to everything that occurs around him.
Each baby represents a unique opportunity for the future that we have to be even better than our present.
-Anonimous-
If you change any detail in the room where you are, your baby will notice right away, as if she were an expert in interior design. That’s her objective and her hobby: observing absolutely everything in order to understand the world around her.
A mirror hung in the baby’s room will also help her focus her vision on those places that are located behind her or at a different angle than what she can see from where she is. This also helps to reinforce the knowledge she already has of her space.
Your baby’s image in the mirror will calm him, entertain him and make him feel safe
Children feel safe and confident when they are with other children.
When your baby sees another infant smile, play, or kick his legs, the effect is the same: calming and relaxing.
The body movements and other gestures that the “other” baby in the mirror makes will keep your child child company and entertain him immensely. In fact, more than any stuffed animal or doll.
If you want to achieve this effect with our baby, place a mirror in his room or in any other space where you take him to play. You will see that the “other” baby your child sees in the mirror fascinates him like nothing else.
The mirror promotes psychomotor development
Take advantage of the opportunity to play in front of the mirror to reinforce your baby’s motor skills.
Lay a blanket on the floor and set your child on the blanket. Place a mirror against the wall, at some distance from your baby.
If your child is very small, place her face down, taking advantage of the opportunity to strengthen her muscles and promote her cephalic control.
Through this exercise, your child will exercise his body and will make an effort to crawl forward.
As you have surely seen, allowing your child to play in front of a mirror has many benefits. However, keep this one important detail in mind: babies and mirrors don’t mix well directly, so remember to always maintain your baby at a certain distance from this object of decoration and beauty.