Baby and Toddler Activities

As promised, this is the first in a series of baby/toddler activities that I received from our county. These are not my ideas, and, of course, may not be appropriate for all babies. Please use care when trying any new activity with your child, taking into consideration their own abilities and temperaments. All activities should be properly supervised. Follow all safety guidelines.

I will put a shortcut to this on the sidebar in a few days.

Activities for Infants Birth - 6 months old

• Sing lullabies and tell your baby nursery rhymes
• Place interesting objects on the wall close to your baby's bed or close to her line of vision. Simple pictures from magazines are great.
• When your baby is a newborn, show her black and white pictures. Place them 8-10 inches from her.
• Talk to your baby about things that he is seeing, hearing, and feeling.
• Read books.
• Let your baby hear new, gentle sounds. Quiet musical toys or soft bells will be interesting to him.
• Talk to your baby about things she seems to like or dislike. "You don't like that big noise, do you?"
• Begin to play simple games with your baby such as Peekaboo.
• Let your baby lie on a blanket on the floor and get down on the floor with him. See the world from his point of view.
• Introduce new, safe objects for your baby to explore. Simple objects such as plastic cups and big wooden spoons are all new to her.
• Gently rock your baby and dance with him to music.

Activities for Infants 6 Months Old

• Play Peekaboo and Pat-a-Cake with your baby.
• Let your baby begin to feed himself bits of food and help feed himself with a spoon and cup.
• Sing to your baby. Make up songs about your baby using her name.
• Use your baby's name when you dress, feed, and diaper her: "Here is Chaos' finger," "Here is Pinky's foot."
• Bath time is a wonderful time to have fun and be close with your baby. Sponges, plastic cups, and washcloths make simple, inexpensive tub toys.
• Get down on the floor and play with him at his level. Look at toys, books, or objects together.
• Bring your baby to new places to see new things. Go on a walk to a park or in the mall, or just bring her shopping. She will love to see new things.
• When you are working in your home, place your baby in new areas or new positions. the world looks very different from new spot!
• "Talk" with your baby. When your baby makes a sound, imitate the sound back to her. Go back and forth as long as possible.
• Go over and visit a friend who has a baby or young child.