S.. T.. S.. T.. S..

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah..

kaifahalukum jamia'an..^,^

Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim…

Have we today taken a look at a child or an infant? Be it at the house, across the street, in the train or wherever, I always thought children is one of the most interesting subjects to discuss upon. Moreover, at most of the times, they can be the source of happiness. They can be the reason we are craving a smile. They could be the flesh and blood that we would do anything for their comfort. However, perhaps many of us are neglecting the fact that they can be an inspiration, a great reminder for us to re-evaluate ourselves time and again.
They are the ones who came from the heaven, and truly it is their destiny if death comes by at such an early stage. How did we overlook this very fact?

The most familiar term when it comes to infants is CARE. Parents are nurturing their sons and daughters, but through this process, they are actually the one incorporating this value in us. We care because the children taught us so. They “trained” us so that we are able to care for one another, love each another, and guide us through the path of peace and harmony. Engage with children, especially your own if you have yours, and you’ll find all the good in the world coming from the “Raheem” of women. Simply, they are GIFTS from God Almighty.

But how often did we come across stories and news of abandoned or abused children? I can come to the level of crying knowing half of the truth in the country.

~Fine Men~

No mother would want their children to grow up being a disgrace to the human race. When the kids develop not to justify themselves as worthy to be called human, it is just unacceptable.

But how many of us are putting the blame on them?

On the other hand, how many are putting the blame on the parents?

Do you think it is justified to point to the Government for the failure of their policies, even with the establishment of a ministry to specifically look over this matter?

NO and NO and NO. Indeed, this is not the time to point fingers. For goodness’ sake, there was never a time worthy of use to start blaming. We need RESPONSIBILITIES and it cannot be asked from those who cannot offer that to the society. So who does?

Tell yourself this answer. One word, a defining letter; “I”. And responsibility starts with having concern and to acquire knowledge.

S... T... S... T... S...

What is this “S... T... S... T... S...”? Is it a mantra with no ending?
No, this is a formula. And this is the thing I said about acquiring knowledge.
Surely one of the ways to help the development of a child is to get it right for them, right from the beginning. And the beginning that we are looking at is not the birth, but rather the development in a female’s womb. Islam goes further before this to explain the need of extra care even before marriage.

Physiologically, the period before week 8 is vital. This is the period where major abnormality occurs. Once this embryonic period ends, the baby starts to develop more of their cognitive and neurological functions. By the 38th week, they are ready to take the burden of living as a human.

After the birth, then the “S.. T.. S.. T.. S..” kicks in. Those are the initials of the 5 sensory abilities of a normal infant, all the mean of interacting with them, of taking care and to develop what could be the next world leader.

+ S – Sight +

After about 4 weeks into embryonic period, the eyes started to form. it is one of the earliest organs formed and certainly, as they come into this world, eyesight remains as one of the important means of interacting with the world. With eyesight, a baby begins to imitate the expression of emotions as early as 3 days-old. Their focal point would remain around 14 cm thus cannot see clearly the mother who could be lying on the bed next to him. Thus the need to keep in close proximity is crucial.

We will learn that keeping close to your baby at the early stages is important, so much so that one should not compromise that with anything.

+ T – Touch +

Newborns are highly sensitive of the change in temperature although the reaction towards pain is still controversially debatable. Crying out loud, according to some school of thoughts, is just an evident of physiological response where they believe that the feeling of pain needs a cognitive ability defining it. Massage is a known form of interacting with the child through touches and some studies showed that massage helps in reducing the stress indicated by crying.

+ S – Sound +

Women would certainly want their children to be able to tell that it is their mothers coming and not someone else. And much to the like of the mother, babies can discriminate the mom’s voices from other strangers after about 7 months where they used this period to identify all the sound. In fact, at such an early stage, they would be able to discriminate it if the mum is telling him the same story, indicated by more attention given when a new story is read for them.

After about 6 months-old, they would also start to develop the language and would be more attentive in learning the first language.

+ T – Taste +

An important thing to note is babies do not taste like adults do. They develop a certain chemistry throughout the childhood and would be reaching the level adults do at about adolescence. For instance, adults might not consume salty fluids but infants will ingest such intake.

+ S – Smell +

As much like discriminating the mother’s voice, infants do discriminate the mother’s smell. In a study, breastfed infants showed signs of preference when were fed by the mother than a lactating stranger. The very presence of the smell also would make them eager to turn towards the mother or lactating females than when were given bottles.

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These are the 5 sensory abilities God has given them at birth so that they could interact with the world. It is thrilling to learn that babies are actually born with reflexes most suiting to be a participant in this world. This sense and reflexes allow them to understand the world right from the birth, activating the neuropsychological elements crucial in the development at the later stage. More on the concept of these some other time.

Relating back to our initial cause, which is to hold responsibilities, knowing in which way we can interact with them is fairly important. These are the means of developing them. As far as the action is concerned, I leave that for each of us to make full use of our human dynamics. We have our own way of doing things, and as long as they are ethically justified, I am more than happy to know that.

After all, I just want to stop crying from hearing the news. Wallahu a’lam.

~Ctr Muhammad Asyraf~