After birth, parents start to face another phase: caring for the child. Children are beautiful, and we want them to be healthy, especially neurologically. However, parents do not know how to identify if their infants are growing fine, so I will help you know if your baby is doing well.
First, if your baby can focus and pay attention early, then it is a good sign. Most new parents sometimes see this as a worrying sign, but in reality, when babies can stare at objects or faces for a long period, it shows high cognitive development. Studies show that babies who can focus as early as 5 months old are more likely to show higher memory, flexibility, and self-control by age 3.
While gazing might look worrying, your infant reaching out to touch things and arrange things shouldn't be something to worry about. This is because they are just trying to solve problems in their smallest way. Studies have shown that children who can explore things are more likely to have higher IQ and vocabulary by age 3. Interestingly enough, if your baby can get your attention to join them in seeing what catches their attention, then their cognition is working perfectly fine or even improved.
If as they are growing up, they are not showing emotional signs like laughing, making you smile, and so on, then it becomes a thing of worry. Because their emotional sensitivity could be tampered with. A study from Harvard shows that your baby's ability to laugh and even react to your own emotions is are great emotional and social skill that is built into the brain’s architecture which will be important in long-term success, language, and memory.
As infants grow, they begin to recognize patterns, go to the toilet when they intend to go there, know the next thing to do, and so on. When your babies are like this, then they are growing well because their ability to spot patterns will help them with problem-solving, memory, and learning skills as they grow up.
Now, let me talk about things you shouldn't worry about as parents and the first is early talking. Unless your child is having difficulty making any speech, you shouldn't worry about them not talking clearly early and the belief that a child who talks early is gifted is a myth. Albert Einstein didn't talk early, yet he was a genius. Intelligence can show up as verbal or nonverbal. So when your child is growing, just watch them grow and enjoy the process. Unless it is a thing of concern, do not worry yourself.
REFRENCE
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5991261/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6430162/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2654237/
https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Childrens-Emotional
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10723638/
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/3/e20182058/38649