11 Simple Activities for Babies 0 to 6 Months Old
Boost your infant’s development with these enjoyable and easy activities for newborns to 6-month-olds.
The first six months of a baby’s life are wonderful, as they develop from a floppy-headed newborn to a small person who can sit and play. While your kid will develop at their own pace, there are techniques and compelling reasons to stimulate their growth.
Engaging your child’s brain during this period and providing opportunities for exploration helps them learn things that connect them to their surroundings.
Performing developmental activities with them also binds parents to their baby and makes them better observers, so that when they go to the pediatrician, they can provide the doctor with accurate information about the child’s developmental status.
We’ve compiled a list of basic, development-promoting exercises to get your creative juices flowing.
1. Listening
What to do: Sing, speak and read aloud to your child in exaggerated voice tones. Examine your baby’s facial expressions and how they react to various pitches.
Skills learned: Language development
2. Tracking
Materials required: a small, soft, colorful toy, such as a sponge ball or stuffed animal.
What to do: Hold the toy in front of your baby’s face and, if necessary, move it slowly or gently touch them with it to get their attention. Then, as they follow along with their gaze, move the toy from side to side.
Skills learned: Visual tracking and visual development.
3. Dancing
Materials needed: Music
What to do: Play one of your favorite songs while securely holding your baby to your chest and gently moving around in sync with the music.
Skills learned: Listening.
4. Singing
What to do: The next time your child has a meltdown or refuses to nap, sing them a lullaby in a calming manner. Have you forgotten any of the classics? No problem — you can look for song lyrics online or compose your own.
Skills learned: Listening, emotional regulation
5. Reflections
Materials needed: Baby-safe mirror
What you should do: show the kid their reflection in the mirror and ask, “Who is that?” Interact with your reflection and that of a sibling or stuffed animal.
Skills learned: Visual, social, and emotional development
6. Baby Sit-Ups
What to do: If your baby has good head control, put them on their back, place your hands under their arms, and gently guide them into a sitting posture. Hold their hands and slowly raise them up to a sitting position as they acquire muscle tone and strength.
Skills learned: Motor skills, head control
7. Baby Massage
What to do: When your baby is calm and alert, remove them to their diaper and place them face up on a soft towel or blanket in a warm, quiet environment. Gently yet firmly stroke their legs, arms, and tummy in sections as their tolerance allows. We want to ensure that newborns are touched frequently and softly because touch is how babies flourish.
Skills learned: Body awareness and bonding.
Baby Massage — Benefits and Techniques
8. Follow the Leader
What to do: Tap the table, open and close your hands, clap, and wave to see how many motions your youngster can duplicate in a row. Start with something your kid is already doing, such as hitting his or her fist on the table.
Variations: Raise the difficulty by introducing additional and more complex movements, but keep an eye on your baby’s reactions. If they appear to be frustrated, back off — the activity should be enjoyable.
Skills learned: Imitation, back-and-forth conversation and memory.
9. Flying
What to do: Place your baby on your lap, tummy down, and wrap your hands around their torso to firmly support them. Then gently lift them and move them up, down, back and forth, as if they were a rocket blasting into space.
Add sound effects for even more laughs. Infants enjoy the element of surprise and learn from it. They are also perceiving the world from a different viewpoint, which is a joyful component.
Skills learned: Body movement and stimulation
10. Kicking
Materials needed: Tissue paper
What you should do: Insert one or two sheets of new tissue paper beneath the cushion of a couch or upholstered chair so that it hangs like a curtain to the floor. Take off the baby’s socks and position them on their back, feet against the tissue, knees slightly bent.
Skills learned: Body awareness, cause and effect, sensory integration, chin tucking
11. Grabbing Basket
Empty paper towels or toilet paper tubes cut into 1- to 2-inch rings, a low basket, or a shallow pan are required.
What you should do: Place the basket or pan in front of your baby when they are doing tummy time, propped up on a pillow, or sitting on your lap with their hands-free to play. Urge them to push their hands up against the rings or use the container’s wall to assist them to grab them.
Variations: Replace the chopped tubes with ribbon strips or bath puffs for a varied tactile experience. (While using ribbons, always keep an eye on your baby and keep them within arm’s length.) Golf balls are another entertaining filler since they make a loud noise when dropped in a metal pan.
Learned skills include grasp and release, tactile stimulation, and hand-eye coordination.
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