Babies outdoors : play, learning and development

Summary: The outdoors is as valuable for babies as it is for older children and this film shows how the close adult can bring the outside world alive for them. Babies are sensory motor learners and outside all their senses are stimulated by the rich source of sensory experiences. Their physical development is advanced because the rich and varied environment motivates them to move their bodies in many ways. The film details development of vision, hearing and touch as well as physical development as the babies learn to reach, grasp, sit, crawl and in some cases walk. This is the brain building stuff. Alongside this we see attachments developing. It shows interactions with parents and key people in the nursery as they remain close for all important communication. The commentary brings out developmental points about communication and emotional development as well as key stages in cognitive development such as object permanence. Complex theories like 'joint attention' are made clear as we see it in action. Made in conjunction with Jan White an early years outdoors specialist.