Focus is an executive function skill your baby can practice now

“We can measure how babies pay attention by how long they look at things, and those seem to be predictive of later executive function.” says Dr. Melissa Clearfield, infant brain researcher and psychologist. Help your baby focus longer by playing together with simple toys—no flashing lights or manufactured sounds.

In this post:

• Activity: Build your baby’s focus
• Article: Your 4-month-old’s cognitive development
• Ask & Learn: What are some activities to boost my baby’s executive brain function?

Build your baby’s focus

Executive function is a hot topic in brain research because of its link to success later in life. Researchers have found early evidence that babies exhibit it in the form of focus and problem-solving, and that this can be measured.

Dr. Melissa Clearfield, professor of psychology at Whitman College, has designed a simple activity to boost executive function. All you have to do is focus with your baby on a toy—”not one where you press a button and Mozart comes out, just a really simple rattle where a baby’s own movements create sound,” Clearfield notes.

“I ask parents to show their baby how to explore this toy—grasping, turning, shaking it hand-over-hand—then give it to their baby and focus together on the rattle for 10 minutes a day, every day, for two weeks.”

“Our early pilot study found that babies who did this with their parents showed increased attention over time—even a month after the parents stopped.”

Your 4-month-old’s cognitive development

At 4 months, your baby is learning how to interact with the people and objects around them. When they see something they want, they can start using their hands and eyes together to reach for it, and their new neck strength allows them to lift their head and see more than before. Increasing mobility gives them new opportunities to explore and experiment ❤️

“Cognitive development” is a wide-ranging term used to describe how people learn to think, solve problems, and process information. This is how your baby learns and applies the knowledge they’re gaining.

Cognitive skills you may notice

Here’s what child development experts say is happening in your child’s brain at this stage. Note that the age ranges below indicate when a skill typically begins, not when it ends—and remember that every baby’s developmental journey is different.

Your baby may:

Show visible excitement toward something they’re anticipating, like being picked up or offered a bottle. (1.5 to 4 months)

Begin to play with a rattle. Try rattle toys with easy-to-grasp handles, and help your baby discover the sounds they can make when they shake the rattle. (2.5 to 4 months)

Love repeating new activities. You may see them hit a toy, then do it again several more times. (3 to 4 months)

Play with their hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Often without looking at what they’re doing, your baby will grasp, grab, suck, and pull. You can support their interest in their body by giving them colorful mittens or socks with bells on them. (3 to 5 months) 

Turn their eyes and head toward the sound of a hidden voice. Try this: walk up to your baby when they can’t see you, and start talking to them. Pretty soon, they may start turning to try to find you—and keep searching when you’re not yet visible to them. (3 to 7 months) 

Recognize familiar people and objects by sight from a greater distance. (4 to 5 months)

Touch the spot where they were just touched. Your baby’s learning so much about their body, and may soon try to touch a place on their body where you just rubbed, tickled, or playfully poked them. (4 to 5 months)

Find a partially hidden object. There are many fun lessons your baby can learn using a blanket. Try taking a favorite toy—something your baby knows well by sight—and covering it partially with a blanket or cloth. If your baby doesn’t react, pull away the blanket to reveal the rest of the toy, then replace the blanket. Your child is in the very early stages of understanding object permanence (the idea that things continue to exist even when you can’t see them) and simple activities like this can help them learn. Additionally, Lovevery’s Ball Drop Box was designed for slightly older babies to support this important brain development milestone. (4 to 6 months)

Learn more about your baby’s developing skills and behaviors in our complete guide to baby development milestones.

What parents are asking our experts…

“What are some activities to boost my baby’s executive brain function?”

Answer:
For a baby this young, most life experience has a direct impact on executive brain function. All of a baby’s developmental domains are integrated, and growth in one area impacts growth in another. It’s important to remember that your baby’s attention span may last only a few minutes at this age. Your child’s ability to try an activity or engage again after a break is more important now than the length of time they spend doing it. Activities that support the categories that follow contribute to the development of executive function.

Exposure to Language

Talking, reading, singing, and responding to your baby’s communications are all incredibly beneficial for language, social, and cognitive development. Research shows that the more words a child hears, starting in early infancy, the more their language synapses fire. However, try not to overthink this or put too much pressure on yourself to talk to your baby all day long. Here are a few strategies for incorporating language into the day without it feeling like a job:

• Narrate activities of daily living for your child, such as diaper changes, bath time, and mealtimes.

• Pick one or two play sessions a day in which to read a book, sing a song, or engage in conversation with your baby.

• Play music in the background when your baby is playing independently.

• Let your baby sit in on adult talk and be “part of the conversation.”

• Speak in “parentese,” the high-pitched, singsong speech pattern that attracts babies’ attention.

Multisensory Experience

Bath time is the best time—that’s the motto in my home! My daughters are 3 and 6, and they still love baths. Most babies love the bath because it’s a multisensory experience (they can hear, see, and feel it) and it’s very soothing, which promotes self-regulation in young children. Water also gives a lot of feedback. If a baby moves their hands or feet, they get rewarded with a splash. Try these ideas for bath-time fun at this age:

• Introduce a waterproof plaything. Give your baby a teether, toy duck, or washcloth to hold onto while in the bath.

• Hang the Framed Mirror from The Charmer Play Kit on the wall beside the tub to add a social element to bathing.

• Float a bath book in the water and turn the pages for your child.

• Launch a toy boat in the tub and sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” as you bathe your baby.

• Blow bubbles and point to them when they settle on the surface of the water and pop.

• Pour water over your child’s belly and toes.

• Model splashing for your baby.

Immersion in New Surroundings

Playing outside with your baby is such a nice way to give them new sensory experiences, help them connect to nature, and get some fresh air. At this age, all you really need is sun protection (protective clothing and a hat—no sunscreen until 6 months) and a blanket. Give a whole new context to things you and your baby do together indoors by relocating them outdoors:

• Take The Play Gym outside and give your baby new perspectives on floor time as you let them take in the sights and sounds of the outside world on their back, tummy, and side.

• Read a book to your little outdoor explorer.

• Sing apropos songs, like “Mr. Golden Sun” or “The Green Grass Grows All Around.”

• Blow bubbles and point out to your baby how they float on the breeze and disappear. 

Musical Awareneness

Singing and playing a variety of music introduces your baby to different instruments, beats, rhythms, melodies, tempos, and voices. An increasing number of studies show that strong rhythm awareness is closely tied to strong phonological awareness, the ability to notice individual sounds that comprise spoken language. This is an important skill in early language and literacy.

Your 4-month-old doesn’t yet understand what you say to them, but by about 6 months of age, babies start to build receptive language, an ability to understand words.

To determine the best times to sing and play music with your baby, follow their cues. When they are alert, well fed and looking to play, incorporate more upbeat music, finger plays, and dancing. Before sleep, soft, relaxing selections are best.

Like language, exposing children to music and making it a part of their everyday life helps them absorb it. Here are some ways to incorporate musical concepts into your baby’s day-to-day experience:

• While holding your child, bounce to the pulse of a song, whether it’s fast or slow, to help them feel the beat.

• Draw your baby’s attention to the beat by tapping them, swaying with them, or playing an instrument while singing or listening to music.

• Sing a song about what you’re doing during a daily routine, such as a diaper change or a bath.

• Calmly and slowly croon a tune as part of your child’s nap- or bedtime routine.

• Offer a plaything that makes sound, like the Rolling Bell or Wooden Rattle (both from The Charmer Play Kit) for your baby to grasp. As they learn to move their arm while holding it, they’ll make noise. These rattles and bells will be your baby’s first musical instruments.

Face-to-Face Engagement

You’re likely to be most successful in engaging your 4-month-old in a face-to-interaction when they’re well-rested, fed, burped, and not already overstimulated. These windows of time may be short. Follow your baby’s lead. If after a few minutes they look away, fuss, yawn, or fall asleep, you’ll know they’re ready for a break.

Attempt to hold your child’s gaze briefly several times each day. Garner their attention with actions like these:

• As you talk to and look at your baby, bring their hands to your face.

• When you speak to your child, kiss their hands.

• Put your baby in various positions—on their tummy, side, and seated with your support on your lap—and look them in the eye.

• When your baby’s eyes meet yours, make different facial expressions. Pause and see if your child imitates or responds to them.

• Smile and meet your child’s eyes as you narrate their daytime feedings and diaper changes.

• Lie down next to your baby on a blanket on the floor and prop up the Framed Mirror (The Charmer Play Kit) beside the two of you. Although your baby won’t know who the baby in the mirror is, they may enjoy looking at themselves and you in the reflection.

Visual Stimulation

While younger babies continue to be most interested in high-contrast images, between 2 and 4 months, they begin to perceive more color, particularly red. You may notice that bold, bright colors are capturing your child’s attention. 

However, their focus may be fleeting. You can expect that between 4 and 6 months your baby will focus their attention for up to a minute several times a day. These short, intense moments are valuable.

For many babies, a caregiver’s participation in their observation can extend their focus. Try interacting with your baby as they look at one of the cards from the Black and White Card Set or the colorful side of The Mobile (The Looker Play Kit):

• Point at it.

• Gently comment on the shapes and colors your baby sees.

• Respond to sounds and movements your baby makes, as though the two of you are having a conversation.

Answered by:

Keep Exploring:

• The secret sauce for back-to-belly rolling
• Learning to sit (hint: it doesn’t happen in a baby seat)
• Tips for introducing solid foods