A–Z Glossary

Sensory Exploration

Sensory exploration is learning through noticing and responding to sensations such as movement, sound, temperature, texture, and touch.

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Repeated Food Exposure After Baby Refuses a Food

Repeated Food Exposure After Baby Refuses a Food

A refusal is information, not a final decision Infant food acceptance is influenced by more than flavor. Babies are learning how to manage new oral sensations, coordinate chewing or gum-based mashing, move food through the mouth, and swallow. A food that seems simple to an adult may be difficult because it is fibrous, sticky, grainy, […]

Baby recognizing parents behavior

Baby recognizing parents behavior

Recognition begins as multisensory learning When babies recognize caregivers, they are not relying on one single skill. Recognition is usually multisensory. A newborn may respond to a familiar voice, settle when held in a familiar way, orient toward a caregiver’s smell, or show feeding-related cues when placed close to the chest. These early responses are […]

Water Play for Sensory Exploration

Water Play for Sensory Exploration

Why Water Is a Rich Sensory Medium Water is unusually responsive to a baby’s actions. A hand moving through it produces resistance, ripples, sound, droplets, and visible motion at the same time. This gives infants repeated opportunities to notice a basic cause-and-effect relationship: a reach, kick, squeeze, or splash changes what they see and hear. […]