futher information on 'BabyShapes'

The Children's Project's Black and White visual material has been specially created to be suitable for the visual capabilities of your baby. Your baby's readiness and ability to engage with the 'BabyShapes' images as well as the amount of time spent looking at them will depend on various factors:

Age and Maturity - Newborn babies can be very alert, but they can also tire quickly. Your baby may seem interested at first but then quickly lose interest. This is completely normal. At a few days old, all activities require a great effort by baby. Older babies may look intently for quite long periods. We have reports of babies spending 45 minutes looking at our 'BabyShapes' books or mobile, and some continue to look at the books until they are as old as 18 months!

Alertness - Is your baby fully awake and looking around? If you are changing after a nap, your baby may be in a sleepy state, and prefer to lie quietly, enjoying the sound of your voice. If your baby turns away from the image, he or she is letting you know the image is not of interest at this moment. Don't be concerned, your baby has just communicated with you! Try again when your baby appears more interested in the surroundings.

The Environment - What else is going on around you both? If you have lots of activity, noises, visitors, chatting etc., your baby is already having a great deal to cope with at the same time, and may be distracted. Be aware of the signals your baby can show you that enough is enough for now: turning away, looking down, closing or covering the eyes.

Use of 'BabyShapes' - When your baby is delivered and until the age of around 3 months, he or she will have a visual range of about 23-25 cms (9-10ins) which is about the distance from the breast to eyes - a perfect distance to study mum's face during a breast feed.

All of this plays an important part in helping you to learn about and start to understand your baby. As if you needed telling, your baby is a unique individual! No-one else has a baby like yours, and right from the start your baby is working hard to let you know his or her likes and dislikes.

'BabyShapes' books play an important role in establishing the principles of sharing time together whilst reading books from the earliest age. It is well documented that appropriate stimulation from an early age has a significant impact on a child's ability to socialise, learn, and process information when they begin school.

on contacting the children's project

To see a full range of products available from
The Children's Project and to buy goods, be sure to visit www.cpshopping.co.uk

To learn more about The Children's Project and its work visit www.childrensproject.co.uk Alternatively, you can write to: The Children's Project, PO Box 2,
Richmond, TW10 7FL

The Children's Project helps to show why babies and children behave the way they do, so that parents and carers will be better able to understand them and
respond appropriately. More tips and information on interacting with your baby can be found in The Social Baby, The Social Toddler and 'BabyShapes'books.

You can get a discount on all these products through Nappy Sacks. Click here for more details.