Positive attention

Your reactions to your child's behavior from the first days of his/her life are an important source of learning for the child. So, from the beginning, try to react with positive attention. Positive attention is the way you show warmth and enjoyment you get from your baby and your relationship with him/her. It is an important motivator and a clear encouragement for the child.

How to give positive attention to the child:

Give the baby a smile when he/she looks at you. The baby will enjoy your smile, and also learn that he/she must mean a lot to you if he/she can make you smile. Your smile is a kind of "reward" and the baby will soon enjoy his/her skill making you smile by turning to you when you call him/her speak. This will, in turn, strengthen his/her skill of maintaining contact with you, keeping your attention and learning in the relationship with you. Something similar will happen when you look into the baby's eyes with a facial expression that shows interest and tenderness (wide eyes, smile and warm voice).
Touch, cuddle and physically express tenderness in other ways. For a baby, especially in the first days of life, touch is an inexhaustible source of learning about security and an indispensable channel for connecting with people he/she will trust, with whom he/she will calm down and learn about him/herself and the world. Giving a child the opportunity to be hugged, cuddled, gently touched - means sending him/her a clear message that he/she is loved, safe, protected.
Tell the baby words that speak well of the child. And until he/she understands the meanings of words, the child will be able to recognize the tone of your voice and how you speak. With a smile, words that describe the child through positive attributes will develop in the child a strong sense of acceptance, belonging and experience of self-worth.
Show interest in what the child is interested in (for example, what the baby looks, points, tries to reach...), in his/her activities and achievements. You can do that, in particular, by naming the action ("Well, you are looking at a bird!"), and then participating in that activity together with the baby for a while. Try to develop the skill of "waiting" - to give the baby time to respond to your words, smile, call and the like. He/she will look at you, point again or try to do what he/she wants, seek your gaze and words as he/she engages in the activity, smile or make sounds and motions. Complement this experience with words that speak well of the child and his/her interests. For a child, this kind of exchange, no matter how short it may have been for you or was related to something seemingly unimportant and small, is a great source of learning about self-worth.

Positive attention teaches the baby from the first day that he/she is important, skilled, that others get enjoyment from and with him/her. This builds a positive self-image, which is the foundation of self-esteem, well-being, good relationships with others (later in life - with peers, educators, close persons) and readiness to learn and discover the world.