Did you know that playing is an essential part of a baby’s development? In fact, parents are encouraged to make time for some recreational activities for their little ones. Playing allows them to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength at an early age. Other than that, playing also helps to level up the bonding in the relationship between parents and children as both parties will find joy, vitality, and resilience through interactions!
Here are five fun games to try out with your baby today!
Nursery rhymes
During the early days of your newborn, there is no need for you to try to expose your baby to so many things at once. This stage serves merely as an introductory course to your baby’s life. And what this means is that everything is new and interesting for your baby!
With that in mind, why not start with nursery rhymes? Feel free to sing, chat, tickle, and count things even though they might seem silly. Babies love nursery rhymes as they come off as catchy tunes that never fail to make them laugh (see Baby Shark). More than their entertainment values, nursery rhymes can help introduce newborns to the idea of storytelling, promote social skills, and boost language development. Not only that, but they also lay the foundation for learning to read and spell.
Read aloud
Once your little one has reached the age of four to six months, this is your time to show off that perfect pitch! Reading aloud can help with the development of a baby’s brain. So, when you want to buy books for your little one, other than choosing one with bright and attractive colours, keep in mind to choose books with repetitive, familiar, and rhyming texts.
Like nursery rhymes, you do not need to hold back on reading with expressions. The key is to provide a familiar voice to your baby to educate them on some basic skills. Science says reading aloud teaches infants about communication where you introduce them to concepts such as numbers, letters, colours, and shapes in an entertaining way. Moreover, it also builds a baby’s listening, memory, and vocabulary skills, all of which can help them to learn to read faster.
Blocks play
At the age of seven to nine months, your baby is now rolling back and forth as they are likely to find themselves trying to sit up and crawl. Unsurprisingly, babies at this stage will look for more mischief with lots of playing, exploring, and discovering involved. To seize the day, it is time to get your baby something to get their hands on!
While playing blocks might be the most basic kind of toys, they are anything but boring for babies at this stage. Playing blocks makes a great window to the world as it is an activity that starts honing a baby’s motor skills. Even the simplest blocks serve their purposes well as they are the seeds of imagination, creation, and destruction. Your baby will enjoy stacking these blocks as high as possible and watch as the tower-tall blocks fall into individual pieces.
In addition to honing motor skills, playing with blocks also helps develop problem-solving skills as babies will get an idea of the concept of early math, geometry, and cause and effect.
Drawing
As your baby approaches the ten-month to one year mark, their motor skills are steadily improving and they are now ready to start picking up items daily. What you can do as a parent is to hand them some colour pencils or crayons!
Drawing is an ideal activity for both parents and babies. Just provide your little one with a sheet of paper and drawing tools for them to start working their magic. While they may not be able to draw properly just yet, and the results may turn out to be some scribbles or unrecognisable caricatures, your little one will enjoy the thrill of spilling bright colours on paper! However, keep in mind to only use non-toxic crayons and keep a watchful eye on your little one to avoid them from putting the crayons in their mouth.
Bathtub play
At one year old, it is safe to say your baby is no longer content to sit and be washed in the bathtub with nothing else but water. Thus, it is time to spice things up and fill that bathtub with toys! From blowing bubbles to playing with water balloons or rubber ducks, there are just so many items that can make bath time a fun time!
This way, your little one can develop fine motor skills, hand, and finger strength as well as improve hand-eye coordination as they play with their toys. Just remember to never leave your baby unattended in the bathtub, after all, these are fun games meant to be enjoyed with parents together!
Are you excited to start playing games with your little one? Lucky for you, we are currently having our Kiddy Palace Campaign and you are more than welcome to join us! All you need to do is to get in touch with us and you will receive a $15 voucher for Kiddy Palace! Very useful the next time you want to get a toy for your child.
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