Banging, shaking, mouthing

One the baby is able to reach, banging, shaking and mouthing provides combined information about the physical and sensory properties of the object.

• Hand over hand demonstration or modelling may help the infant to explore the toy.
• Finding a suitable toy (one that is light, easy to grasp and interesting) is often a challenge.
• Mouthing of toys gives the infant better sensory information than the hands for much of the first year.
• Shaking is important for developing agonist-antagonist control in the upper limb.