At this age, babies learn primarily through play with their parents or other caregivers. The newborn seeks out faces and responds to the calming effects of parents’ voices and smiles.

Parents can begin to introduce simple toys into the child’s life. These include rattles, textured toys, musical toys and unbreakable crib mirrors. Toys that have contrasting colors and patterns and features such as curves can stimulate the child’s vision, which will lead to increased interaction with the environment.

Parents can also take an active role in teaching their child through play. Making funny faces at an infant and smiling can help the child to learn to express similar emotions through imitation. Parents can also shake a rattle in front of their child and encourage the newborn to focus on and follow the toy.

Placing the baby on his or her stomach can help strengthen the neck and shoulders. However, this should only be done for short periods of time, and babies should always be placed on their backs during sleep to decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).