Les Ti Doudous

It is hard to imagine just how much an infant learns in his first months of life. During this period, an infant stores information, observes, assimilates a routine, and begins to socialize. All of this learning, however, happens as two fundamental milestones are reached: mobility and separation from the mother. An infant’s behaviour, comprehension, self-confidence and attitude toward those around him will radically evolve after this move forward. 

Infants have a vital need for affection and tenderness. Separation from the mother is as painful a stage as birth. It must therefore be approached with delicacy and respect for the infant’s needs. This is the main reason why we encourage the progressive transition of an infant, as mentioned previously. This period is crucial for the emotional development of a child: knowing how to love, accept, adore, and admire himself will allow a child to go forward and accept the separation. And even if infants are different and react differently to separation, the only common factor – and it dominates over everything – is that a baby needs tenderness, affection and a warm touch. And this is where we stand in: to fulfill this vital need in your absence and to answer any of your questions or concerns. 

As your infant tries to adapt to his new environment and create new emotional attachments, he will also be trying to move around. These two fundamental steps in development are interdependent: one cannot take place without the other. An infant will search for what he needs instinctively (someone’s embrace, an object, his stuffed animal, etc.) and this need alone will drive him to crawl and eventually walk.

The space we have reserved for infants will be where they discover their bodies and their ability to move them as they wish. Our focus will be on developing your infant’s motor skills: trained early childhood educators will help them move, crawl and climb on foam mats, put big blocks together, handle increasingly smaller objects, touch, knead, model, etc. Being able to control their bodies is a great source of pride for infants. Who cannot remember seeing a child clap for himself after accomplishing something that seemed important to him? Who cannot remember admiring the bursting smile of a child who takes his first steps and discovers his autonomy thanks to this newly acquired mobility?