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What to do with a baby all day? How do you keep the baby occupied? Is the baby getting bored? We hear these questions all the time! So today we are sharing 33 Awesome baby activities to keep your baby occupied and engaged.
The first few weeks and perhaps even the first month of your baby's life, is devoted to nursing the baby, changing diapers and then catching up on sleep while the baby sleeps. Look at this schedule we shared in a previous post.
As the weeks pass, your baby will be awake for longer periods of time during the day. When the baby is awake, they'll be more alert and absorb things around them. Continue skin to skin contact with the baby, baby wearing and of course holding the baby close to you. And if you find there's free time and wondering what to do with a baby all day, try doing some of these activities we are sharing.
These activities will not only help keep your baby occupied but will also help in baby's development from building connections to making associations and strengthening the motor skills.
33 THINGS TO DO WITH A BABY TO ENTERTAIN AND HELP IN BABY'S DEVELOPMENT
1.Tummy time
Spend time every day placing the baby on his tummy, when the baby is awake and be sure to supervise the baby at all times. Placing baby on his tummy encourages him to lift his head, which will help strengthen his head, neck and shoulder muscles and boost motor skills.
2. Nursery rhymes
Introduce your baby to nursery rhymes whether you are singing them to the baby or playing it on your Alexa. Listening to different sounds in the environment as well as nursery rhymes will help the baby develop an ear for our language.
3.Dance WITH THE BABY
Babies apparently are born to dance and respond to rhythm and tempo. So mama, start dancing with the baby. Here's a fabulous video of a baby wearing dance flash mob
4.Rocking on a beach ball
Lie baby over the ball on her tummy and rock the ball forwards and back, and side to side gently. This helps to strengthen the neck and back muscles and improve head control.
5.listen to classical music
Though there are conflicting views on whether listening to classical music helps a baby get smarter, it can still help soothe the baby.
6.play with tissue paper
Playing with tissue paper is a great sensory activity for the baby. The wrinkling of the tissue paper provides something new to touch while the crinkling of the tissue paper provides something new to hear.
7.MAKE A splash
Babies will love playing with water especially during the summer. Put a little bit of water in a container and have baby put his feet and splash. You never want to leave a baby unattended with water play.
8.Sing with Hand Gestures
Hand gestures help support your baby’s ability to understand language. So sing songs with hand gestures to reinforce language learning such as when singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.
9.mirrors
Babies love looking at themselves in the mirror. So incorporate mirror play in to your daily schedule with your baby.
10.Supported Tummy Time
Supported tummy time is another activity that's very beneficial for baby's development. Use a breastfeeding pillow and place the baby on her belly over the pillow, with her arms and shoulders propped on top.
11.PLAY WITH THE RATTLE
Babies love to shake a rattle. Rattles will help babies with developing dexterity and teaching them cause and effect
12.PLAY WITH finger puppets
Keep your little one entertained and build curiosity by putting on a little show with finger puppets.
13.play peek-a-boo
Peekaboo is the most popular way to make babies laugh the world over. Cover your face (with your hands, a blanket or a cloth ), and ask the baby, "Where's Mommy? In the first six months, babies are genuinely surprised by your return; then they learn to anticipate it and are pleased that their predictions come true.
14.PLAY WITH A cloth BALL
Play with one of these soft balls. Your little one will enjoy rolling, tossing and of course, chewing the ball.
15.play patty cake
Clap baby's hands together as you recite, "Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man! Bake me a cake as fast as you can." Help the baby "pat" and "roll" as you continue the song.
16.blow bubbles
Babies love playing with bubbles. Bubbles are a fun way to help develop visual skills since they are eye-catching and slow moving as well. Your little one will learn to use her eyes to fix, focus and track.
17.Make silly faces
Spend time cuddling up with the baby and making silly faces. The bright smiles will warm you up.
18. Kicking objects
Encourage your baby to kick objects such as a soft ball or tissue paper. Kicking is important for strengthening the trunk and leg muscles and also for early development of trunk postural control.
19.go for a walk
Take the baby out for a walk to get fresh air and calm the baby. It will do wonders for both baby and mom.
20.enjoy the outdoors
If weather permits, put the baby in a carrier and take the baby outdoors to listen to nature sounds.
21.read books
It's never too early to introduce baby to books. Choose fabric books with bright colors, repetitive and rhyming texts.
22.facetime grandma
Don't forget to face time grandma or grandpa! It will be good for both mom and baby to see the familiar faces.
23. play with puzzles
The “pincer” grasp is when the baby uses the pointer finger and thumb to pick up very small objects. This takes a lot of muscle coordination in the fingers! But it allows babies to begin picking up smaller objects. Use baby jumbo puzzles with knobs to help baby practice this skill.
24.play with friends
Plan and schedule regular play dates with other babies so your baby can build social skills. Besides, you'll enjoy catching up with other moms as well.
25.go to the library
Take the baby to the library for story time and playtime. Check with your local library because most have story times for babies and even playgroups. It's also a great place to meet other moms with babies.
26.Imitate BABY'S NOISES AND facial expressions
Babies will begin experimenting with the sounds they can make with their mouths. They'll spend more time babbling and learning to imitate sounds. The baby will love it, when you copy his coos and babbles.
27.talk to your baby
Your baby starts to understand speech even before they begin to speak. From a very early age, they will be interested in looking at your face and listening to your voice. At about two to four months, your baby will begin to respond to the different tones that you may use.
28.play with towers
Let your baby repeat fun activities such as knocking down towers. If your baby knocks your block tower down, build another. Keep this back-and-forth play going until your baby loses interest.
29.LOOK AT BLACK and white contrasting photos
Babies love black and white imagery and it helps their developing eyesight. We've created a set of 6 black and white, high contrast cards for you to use around your home to provide that important visual input. Place these cards on the wall next to your changing table or play area so that baby can view the images and strengthen their eyes. Find the Download link for the cards below this post!
30.DO YOGA
Baby yoga is great for babies who are at least six weeks old, the age when the baby starts to get head control and are ready for movement activities. Check out the video below!
31. EXPLORE with busy boxes
Let your baby discover that if she pushes the button, a character will pop out of the busy box. Provide just enough support to help her learn. If she can’t press the button hard enough, place your hand on top of hers to help, instead of doing it for her.
32. BANGING BLOCKS TOGETHER
Show your baby how to combine objects in his play such as banging two blocks together. This helps him move beyond exploring only the look and feel of objects, and figure out how objects go together.
33. Make a book of photos
Create a book with photographs of the family members, pets, home and favorite toys. Look at the book together, naming each photo, to help her learn the names of the people and familiar things in her world.
PRINTABLE CHECKLIST OF AWESOME ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH A BABY
Last Updated on February 1, 2021 by Tira Attygalla
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