Canadian researchers found that physical activity benefits cognitive development, especially executive functions and language skills, in children from birth through age 5. Keep the back-and-forth going for as long as your baby stays interested. Exposing babies to music introduces the concept of rhythm, which benefits mathematical skills, says Lytle. Encourage this learning with mini dance sessions as early as the newborn stage holding your baby, of course , spending 5—10 minutes bouncing and swaying to the beat of songs you know and love.
And we tend to get into verbal ruts and use the same words over and over again. Books expose babies to words and rhymes you might not normally use. Just hours after birth, babies show a preference for gazing at faces. Stanford researchers found that by 4 months of age, babies have facial recognition skills that are on par with those of adults, and those skills are more highly developed than other cognitive abilities.
That shape-sorting toy you may have received at your baby shower is great for developing spatial awareness and mathematical ability, says Lytle. Once babies get a bit older, building blocks can help continue that development. The sillier the better, since babies are often delighted by these responses and more interested in keeping the interaction going. Playing together provides opportunities to boost social and emotional skills by helping your baby understand and process emotions, says Lytle.
Focused, attentive interactions with loving caregivers are the best brain builders, says Lytle. You can play that your baby is in an elevator, which advances up floor by floor before sinking quickly to the bottom my husband likes to bump noses with our baby and say "Ding! Or pretend that your baby's doing a helicopter traffic report. Your baby's becoming an expert at sitting and may soon be crawling as well.
Encourage these physical feats by celebrating each new milestone with claps and a cheer: "Yay, you sat up! Amazing baby! The ability to transfer objects from hand to hand and the fabled pincer grasp are part of your baby's increasing hand control which means you'll be forced to carry a container of O-shaped cereal with you at all times for the next year.
Your baby also begins to understand that when an object moves out of sight, it hasn't disappeared from the face of the earth. This discovery makes games like peek-a-boo a favorite. If your baby has one object, she'll bang it on the table.
If she has two objects, she'll bang them together, hold them up to the light, squint at them, bang them separately on the table, hit the table with both at the same time, see if the object sounds different when hit using the left hand rather than the right hand, and on and on.
Help her out by handing over objects that make interesting sounds: hollow containers, metal spoons, bells. Pay attention to tactile sensations as well: Your baby will be fascinated by an embossed greeting card or the slickness of Mom's enameled jewelry box.
A baby with strands of cooked spaghetti to play with will be thoroughly entranced. Babies love cause and effect at this age, as in: I do this, the light comes on. I do that, the light goes off. Showing your baby how to work light switches, faucets, doorbells, and more will thrill him — but can make life more difficult for you when he insists on being held up to work the lights yet again. Instead, you may want to offer a other dangers dressers with drawers pulled out can turn over on a child and then let your baby go to town.
If your baby's crawling , scooting, or walking , she may enjoy the challenge of having to move over things. This is great for developing her motor skills , too. Pillows, tired parents, and laundry make good obstacles. Sleeping cats do not. The classic: Hold up a towel between your face and your baby's and ask, "Where's Sam? There's Sam! You can vary this game in a million ways. Hide behind a door and make your baby push it open to see you.
Hide behind a chair and pop out first from above then from the sides. Go behind a corner with another person and alternate who jumps out and yells "Boo! Keep a selection of hats behind the couch and pop up wearing a different one each time.
A surefire laugh-getter is to put a hat on your head, low enough to cover your eyes, and let your baby take it off, saying "Oh! This will also guarantee that you'll never wear a hat in peace again. Babies are fascinated by balls and how they move. You'll get a big laugh by juggling or tossing balls up in the air and letting them hit the floor while you make a silly sound effect: "Whoops!
Eventually, with encouragement, she'll roll the ball back toward you. And someday she'll be able to kick and toss the ball or drop it into a big bowl or bucket. For now, bounce and roll. Developmentally, your baby has suddenly morphed into an almost-toddler. Games that allow him to practice so-called gross motor skills such as standing , pulling up, and climbing are important for him now.
Your baby will also like to work on his fine motor skills by fiddling with the tag on your shirt or the pages of a book — and maybe your breasts or bra if he's still nursing. Your baby is figuring out the connections between objects in the world. She'll love to stack and arrange objects, as well as fill and empty them. Give your baby a box that's easy to open like a shoe box and show her how to put things inside and take them out.
At our house, this game quickly evolves into "Take everything out of Mommy's purse and fling it wildly around the living room," which is why I no longer carry change or pens. Another way to play this game: Get a bunch of cups maybe even stackable measuring cups — ooh, two toys in one!
Once your baby is up on his feet, you can encourage cruising by placing a favorite toy at the far end of the couch or over on the coffee table. Try enticing your baby by putting one of your toys, such as your or sunglasses, a distance away and cruising on your knees toward it. Your baby may find this amusing and attempt to join you. Encourage your baby to push an object around the room.
Push toys and large empty boxes work well. Avoid folding chairs, which can fold up unexpectedly. Babies this age love to imitate. Encourage this behavior by making a ridiculous noise and then nodding at your baby to go ahead and try a noise.
She may imitate you or make her own noise, which you can imitate. Or you can make up a new noise of your own. You can also play this game with faces or movements — our kid likes to raise her arms in a V shape and wave them around. When we do it back, her expression is of someone witnessing magic.
No longer is your baby content to sit in the tub and be washed. Older babies want to stand up, splash, grab your hair, pat the shower curtain, and so on. Note: Never leave a baby unattended in the bath , not even for a minute.
Encourage the fun by adding lots of toys to the tub. Plenty of stuff around the house can be endlessly filled, drained, poured from or into, and floated. Pile up some plastic cups, yogurt containers, funnels, and squeeze bottles, and bring them into the bath along with any of your baby's plastic toys. Poke holes in the top of a plastic bottle with a flat cap to make a homemade watering can. Let your baby feel the sensation of the water dripping onto him and show him how to cut off the flow by blocking it with his hand.
Use your homemade toy to give his rubber ducky a shower. At the end of the bath, drain the toys in a plastic colander or a net bag suction-cupped to the side of the tub. Hopefully your baby is clean, happy, and ready to sleep. Doing this gives babies a sense of what their world is made of, instead of just what they see, Blaxall explains. Vroom, vroom! Hold her securely on top of the ball with both your hands and roll her very slightly in different directions. Peekaboo 2. Let her explore homemade fingerpaint, or playdough made with ingredients from your cupboard, or simply put blobs of thick pudding or Jell-O on the tray so she can slide her hands around in mess-making bliss.
Tuesday a. Under cover Fort fun starts young! Put a big blanket over a table and sit underneath with your young baby on your lap and a few special toys for a new perspective on the world. Roll a ball out of your fort, and then find out where it went. She swings her fist, grabs for it and — hurray!
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