This week the Blog is on infant development, and what parents and families can do to help babies develop mentally and socially. A baby can learn “cause and effect” during the first six months to a year, and this one basis skil is a key to developing thinking skills later on. When your baby drops your keys, he wants to see how you will respond. This is a learning mechanism. Pick them up and say, “I’m picking up my keys.” Play along, over and over, to encourage your baby to learn and explore. Don’t scream or berate your baby for dropping the keys. Know that he or she is trying to learn. Patience, developing a routine, and talking to your infant is what will make this work. Choose several activities like this, encourage your infant to take an action, and then you explain what happened. You’ll be surprised at the results down the road.