Using my senses to understand where I am

These activities are suitable for children aged 4-12months and align with stage 1b of the Developmental Journal Babies Visual Impairment (DJVI).

On this page

Safety first

These activities are designed for children who are blind or partially sighted.

Please supervise your child at all times during the activity.

Please ensure the floor is clean and clutter free, checking the room for trip, slip or fall hazards.

Please ensure you have adequate space to carry out the activities.

Please regularly check any equipment used for wear and tear and follow manufactures instruction.

Please use materials, equipment or toys as per manufacturers guidelines.

Please be aware that any items named in the activities are suggestions only and if you deem these items not suitable for your child’s age, stage or safety, then do not use it.

Please stop any activity if your child becomes unwell, upset or you’re unsure whether the activity is being completed correctly.

For additional advice on making your home safer for your child, please see our home safety advice.

What you'll need

No additional resources needed.

Tips

When you’re caring for your child with a vision impairment, you may find that they often use their hearing together with their sense of touch to find, learn about and recognise objects. Helping your child to develop their listening skills will help them to understand the objects in their immediate surroundings and learn in a different way.

Activity

Let your child spend time in different rooms of the house so that they get used to the changing sounds around them. For example, the bath taps running for bath time, the washing machine in the kitchen combined with the smell of food cooking.
In a carpeted room the sounds will be more muted than in an area where most surfaces are hard. Exposing your child to multiple sound sources helps them to build an awareness of their surroundings, as well as encouraging listening skills linked to specific items. For example, the washing machine spinning or your cat meowing.
Actively engaging in listening activities encourages your child to form an understanding of the world around them through sound.
Sounds clues can help your child to create a map of the house and link areas together, supporting their orientation skills for later independence.

Please supervise your child at all times while completing any of these activities.