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You did it! You're finally home with your newborn baby. During those magical and sleep-deprived first few weeks you will spend countless hours marveling at this tiny miracle. Your baby will be comforted by your presence. Your constant gaze, warm arms and gentle touches are building up his sense of security bit by bit. You'll bond, get to know each other and, little by little, begin to play.
While it may not look like your baby can do much in these early weeks, he's busy taking it all in. Playing with your baby from the start is a healthy—and necessary—part of your routine. In fact, play helps build the foundation for all future learning.
Interesting Links:
www.disneybaby.com
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Learn more about:
DEVELOPING PLAY SKILLS
At this age, it's not too early to encourage that closeness by reading or making up stories. Your child won't understand what you say just yet, but he'll respond to the tone of your voice. As early as 3 months, your baby may even begin to respond and participate in babbling conversations with you, stopping when you talk, and starting again when you stop. Laughing and repeating certain sounds becomes the norm between 4 and 6 months.
P.S. Be sure to talk to your baby frequently from birth; he prefers your voice right from the start, even if he doesn't yet understand what you're saying.In young babies, fine motor skill development includes grasping and letting things go (newborns are born with this ability, called the Palmer reflex). By 8 weeks, he'll begin opening and closing his fist on purpose, and soon after may attempt to bat at toys. Finger dexterity continues to develop over the next several months. As he grows, place toys in his hand, and later encourage him to hold toys that are easy to grasp, such as rattles, teethers and small toys.
P.S. Baby's softest blanket may go from being a source of tactile and finger play in infancy to becoming his favorite comfort item down the road. If you can, get a few extras now and swap them often, just in case the original gets destroyed or misplaced.
By the time your baby is 3 months old, he will have sufficient strength in his upper body and the ability to lock his elbows, allowing you to pull him up to a supported seated position without his head lagging behind. In months 4 and 5, he learns to roll from his back to his front and continues to gain head control. Around 6 months, he is becoming stronger and will soon be able to push himself from all fours to sitting on his own.
P.S. Once your baby is able to sit, his whole world gets bigger. That triggers bigger interest in the objects and people around him, and inspires even more movement.
Around 3 months, your baby is beginning to realize that his cooing is getting a response from you. Baby-friendly toys that light up or make sounds when he touches them will give him plenty of opportunity to increase his understanding of cause and effect.
Mirroring is important at this stage, and may be the earliest form of communication and play. Your baby is beginning to mirror the face you're making and smile when you smile.
P.S. Mirroring each other's expression is also a great way to bond with your little one anywhere you are. Have fun with it!
FAVORITE PLAYTHINGS
1 to 3 months
- Toys that help build gross motor skills: Rattles; play mats; toy arches (that attach to a car seat, bouncer or swing seat); tummy-time toys; toys with bold, symmetrical character faces
- Toys that help build fine motor skills: Soft blocks, activity blankets
- Toys that help promote eye tracking: Mobiles, fold-out books with high-contrast black and white patterns, baby mirror, tummy-time toys
4 to 6 months
- Toys that help build gross motor skills: Seated and floor-based activity centers
- Toys that help build fine motor skills: Toy keys, stacking ring toys, toys your baby can swap from hand to hand
- Toys that help develop hand-eye coordination: Seated and floor-based activity centers and music tables
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
"Your child learns from play, right from the moment he first tries to reach out to touch the rattle dangled in front of him. Play is the means through which he engages with the world, whether it is creative play (using art and craft materials), exploratory play (as he investigates the cupboard), physical play (when he rolls, crawls, walks, or climbs), or imaginative play (when he pretends to be someone else)…. Your young baby should have toys that stimulate all his senses. They should be of different textures, colors, and shapes, and make interesting noises—especially when he holds or shakes them."
—American Academy of Pediatrics, Tanya Remer Altmann, M.D., F.A.A.P., The Wonder Years: Helping Your Baby and Young Child Successfully Negotiate the Major Developmental Milestones
"Play is not just fun. It stimulates a child's senses, especially vision, touch, and hearing. It hones his powers of observation and helps him develop and practice coordination and other skills."
—Dr. Carol Cooper, The Baby and Child Question and Answer Book
"Neuroscience tells us that play is critical in helping the brain to work and learn. It's not the play activity itself that causes learning, though. It's the repetition that play encourages. Repetitive activity results in patterned neural activity that changes the brain. And the critical link between play and learning—the reason we keep repeating something and therefore learn from it—is pleasure."
—Jill Stamm, Ph.D., Bright From the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3
PLAY STARTERS
You are your infant's best toy:
Playful interactions should happen early and often.
- From the time your baby is born, speak, read or sing softly to him.
- Rock him in your arms and play "clown" by making exaggerated facial expressions to encourage visual skill development.
- Encourage your baby to hold your gaze for a short time.
- Make a noise when your baby touches your nose. Blow raspberries on his stomach. Make playtime a multi-sensory experience.
Make tummy time engaging:
Tummy time is important because it helps develop different muscles that prepare baby to roll over and crawl. Once he's ready for tummy time (after about 4 weeks), try these ideas to get him going.
- Place a brightly colored or patterned toy in front of him and raise it slightly to encourage baby to look up.
- As he grows stronger, move a toy in front of him slowly from side to side to help him develop movement. Hold a toy mirror in front of him and let him explore his face.
- Massage and stroke him gently while he is lying on his tummy.
- Lay him across your knee while gently stroking or patting his back.
- Hold and support him on his tummy while you dance slowly to music.
- Blow bubbles around him while he lies on his tummy. This encourages him to push up on his arms and strengthen upper body development.
Play roly poly, bicycle and airplane:
It's never too early to work on motor skills and muscle control.
- Once your baby is 3 months old, lie on your side next to him to encourage him to roll toward you.
- Let him grasp your fingers and alternate raising his arms over his head, then crossing his arms over his chest.
- "Cycle" his legs by holding his feet and "pedaling" forward and back.
- Between 3 and 4 months is also a great time to start playing "airplane," laying baby on your knees as you lie on your back on the floor and slowly move your legs forward and back and side-to-side, holding his hands as he gently sways
Start a band:
Making music together not only teaches baby about cause and effect, encourages your baby to move, and helps him learn to recognize different sounds, but it's also a whole lot of fun and has been linked to literacy.
- Play the drums, tapping and banging to demonstrate rhythm and tone.
- Give your baby a rattle, turn on lively music and encourage him to shake along.
- Sing simple songs and nursery rhymes and he'll naturally try to join you.
- Make up songs while you bathe and dress him, such as: "I am washing your elbow, now your knee, let's count our toes, '1, 2, 3'!" Naming each adorable part helps him begin to become more aware of his body.
Peek-a-boo, I see you! And bounce-a-roo, too:
Babies that are 4 to 6 months are ready for fun games such as peek-a-boo with a blanket and the human bouncer (you).
- Gently bounce him up and down and side to side; try doing this while you both sit on a large exercise ball for even more bounce.
- Play hide-and-seek with small toys. Make them disappear by holding them behind your back or under the table, then make them reappear. This is one way baby begins to understand object permanence, or the idea that just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's gone forever.
Crawl, baby, crawl:
By the time your baby nears 6 months, he may begin to kneel on his hands and knees, so it's time to encourage crawling.
- Place a toy slightly in front of him where he can easily see it, and beckon him to come toward the toy by sitting behind it. Help him by holding the bottom of his feet so he has something to push off of. At this age he will automatically push down when the bottom of his foot is touched; this is called the Babinski reflex.
- Toys that light up or make noise (such as a toy cell phone or remote control) when he touches them are especially enticing and also help teach cause and effect.
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Around 6 months, she may start pulling herself along on her belly; however, some babies skip this stage and start rocking on all fours in readiness to crawl. She'll also be babbling, squealing and joining in your conversations. It's also the time to graduate from the baby bath to the big bathtub, where the water will be an endless source of fun.
Your 7- and 8-month-old may be able to feed herself crackers and express her opinion if you take away something that she wants. If she is crawling, she may begin to pull herself to standing and cruise the furniture. Don't be surprised if she becomes a flirt, now that she is beginning to wave, clap and respond when her name is called.
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Learn more about:
DEVELOPING PLAY SKILLS
Language:
Between 6 and 12 months, your little one's language skills are rapidly developing, and babbling vowel-consonant combinations like "ba-ba-ba" eventually give way to the milestone moment: baby's first word. Soon you may even think you hear a "Mama" or "Dada," and around the middle of this phase, she'll inevitably understand the meaning of the word "no." Children closer to a year can generally respond to your commands, such as "Put that down." Around her first birthday, you'll likely be hearing "Mama" and "Dada," and she may even surprise you with one or two other words.
P.S. The first time your child says "Mama" or "Dada" it will be at random. Your excitement about hearing it will make your child realize quickly that it's your name.
Fine Motor Skills:
Now is the time when your baby is fine-tuning her pincer grip (using her thumb and first finger to grasp things), and picking up blocks, and small balls and toys, becomes routine. (This means your baby can even pick up small objects left lying on the floor, so be careful.) Reaching and grabbing continues to be refined, and by 12 months, she may be able to hold a cup, wave and clap. At meal times, perched in her highchair, her favorite game might be, "I drop it and Mommy picks it up!"
P.S. This is a good time to create a "busy box," filled with an assortment of safe items to squeeze, touch and grasp and for her fingers to explore.
Gross Motor Skills:
From crawling to sitting to cruising, your baby's gross motor skills go through a major evolution during this time. Walking is the next step!
P.S. By the end of this phase, many children are on the edge of walking. Some kids seem to focus on language first, and some focus on walking first. Don't feel bad if only one is happening.
Social and Emotional Development:
Now she can respond with coos and babble when she hears her name, and she'll enjoy interacting with everyone around her. Waving hi and goodbye is a newfound skill, and she'll enjoy playing side-by-side with other babies of a similar age. Stranger anxiety may become noticeable.
P.S. Stranger anxiety can be a difficult stage for you, but it is a sign of cognitive development. Previously people were interchangeable to your baby. Over time, she has learned to trust and become attached to the people who are her primary caregivers. She's also beginning to understand when you are there and when you are not. The fact that she is experiencing anxiety shows that she is learning to differentiate humans.
FAVORITE PLAYTHINGS
- Toys that help build gross motor skills: Seated activity centers that slowly spin, self-propelled toys that encourage crawling, stacking toys, push-and-walk toys (such as a toy lawnmower), walk-and-ride toys, press-and-pop toys
- Toys that help build fine motor skills: Large, soft interlocking blocks; floor-based activity mats; activity balls with lots of things to grab; toys with tags; bouncy seats, stroller or swing toy bars; bath toys; baby musical instruments; shape sorters; wood puzzles with large pieces
- Toys that promote bonding and attachment: Small stuffed animals, dolls and blanket dolls
- Toys that promote hand-eye coordination: Rattles, press-and-pop toys, shape sorters, stacking toys, nesting toys, finger puppets, soft and board books, pop-up books
- Toys that help build fine motor skills: Toy keys, stacking ring toys, toys your baby can swap from hand to hand
- Toys that help develop hand-eye coordination: Seated and floor-based activity centers and music tables
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
"Use your imagination. Don't be afraid to make up activities of your own if an idea occurs to you. Use different toys that will best suit your own child."
—Dr. Richard C. Woolfson, Bright Toddler: Understand and Stimulate Your Child's Development
"Time-honored as any heirloom, the peek-a-boos and this-little-piggies that brought squeals of delight to your great-grandmother's baby are guaranteed to do the same for yours. But such games do more than entertain; they improve socialization skills, teach such concepts as object permanence (peek-a-boo), coordination of words and actions (the itsy-bitsy spider), counting skills (one, two, buckle my shoe), and language skills (eyes, nose, mouth).
—Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N., What to Expect the First Year
"For yourself and your child, don't lose your inner artist. If you reach for a set of colored pencils and some recycled computer paper, or sit down at the piano for 15 minutes while the lasagna is baking, your kids will likely do something similar. They won't end up doing just what you do, but they'll get the pattern."
—Robyn Spizman and Evelyn Sacks, Eat, Nap, Play: How to Get Even More Out of Your Child's Day For Less
PLAY STARTERS
Play "jumping bean":
Bouncing exercises strengthen little legs and boost gross motor skill development.· Hold your baby under her arms and let her feet touch your legs.
- Take turns lowering and lifting her into the air so she "jumps."
- Encourage your baby to hold your gaze for a short time.
Create an obstacle course:
Foster gross motor skills and problem-solving by putting a few obstacles in your little one's path.· Once you have a confident crawler, you can design an easy obstacle course.
- Put out cushions, pillows or stacked blankets that she can navigate around or over.
Roll a ball around:
Babies love balls, and now that she can sit up, she's ready to play this precursor to "catch" that helps teach early hand-eye coordination, catching and throwing.· Roll or pass a ball to baby.
- Encourage her to push it back toward you.
- Bonus: Make your own silly sound effects.
- Sit baby between your legs. Have someone roll the ball to you both and catch the ball with baby's legs as it rolls toward you.
Read to your baby:
Even though she can't understand everything you're saying just yet, babies 6 to 12 months are beginning to comprehend language, and they love hearing your voice.· She's starting to understand that books have pages that go in order, that there's a right-side-up and that stories have a beginning, middle and end.
- She'll love the comfort she feels during your special reading times, and it's a great way to help your child develop a love of books.
- Encourage her to point things out to you.
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