Children are naturally curious about the world around them. Because the senses constantly guide and stimulate them, they use their senses to get acquainted with their environment. It is their nervous system that scans for information and determines which sensations are important for self-organization and for acting on the environment. Children will learn that their bodies have many different parts, each with special functions. They are eager to hear, touch, see, smell and taste to help them make sense of and be a part of the world.
Hearing
(Auditory) Sounds in our environment
Children use their ears to take in information about things around them. Our ability to listen and hear sounds influences social relationships, safety awareness, cognitive and language development.
Sight
(Vision) Seeing the world around us
From the moment we are born, the eyes bring light and important sensory information into the brain to begin making sense of the world. Our sense of sight allows us to begin forming social and emotional ties to caregivers through facial recognition, directs our motor development, and eventually allows us to explore our environment through mobility.
Smell
(Olfactory) Scents in the air around us.
Children will recognize certain smells as comforting, yummy, scary, exciting, etc. Experiment with the scents and smells that the child recognizes and those that are more unfamiliar.
Taste
(Gustatory) The flavor of foods
The sense of taste uses sensory receptors in our mouth to process flavor through in foods. Children develop taste preferences based on what they are fed.
Touch
(Tactile) Textures and touches on our skin
The tactile system, which is controlled by the body’s largest organ: the skin! This makes our sense of touch the largest sensory system of the body. Children learn about their bodies and how to communicate with others through touch.
Examples of Sensory Issues
Hypersensitive or sensory avoiding kids may struggle with:
- Bright lights and loud noises
- Clothing felling scratchy or uncomfortable
- Shoes feeling too tight
- Background noises that other don’t notice
- Being touched, even by people they know and like
Hyposensitive or sensory seeking kids may:
- Always want to touch people or texture
- Get too close to people, even when other kids their age understand personal space
- Not be upset by injuries that are painful to other kids
- Not know their own strength
- Make a lot of noise – the louder the better
Resources
Call Pennsylvania’s CONNECT Helpline at 1-800-692-7288 for information about your child’s development and connecting to Early Intervention Services in Pennsylvania.
Get information about the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Project.
Click here to print the infographic: The 5 Basic Human Senses.