Games to Play With Your Baby

Playing with your baby is an important way of encouraging their development. Games can help to develop your baby's cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills, as well as being a fun bonding experience for both of you! It's important to play age appropriate games so your baby gets the most out of them, see below for ideas.

0-3 months

Babies this age can't focus their eyes very well, so don't expect too much of a response from your baby when they are a newborn. Playing with your baby is still important however, as they are slowly learning from everything they see and hear. Play games that stimulate the senses for the first few months of your baby's life. When you play with your newborn, give him time to respond, as it takes a while for young babies' eyes to focus. They may not make much of response yet, but if your baby either stays still or excitedly waves their arms or legs around, they are enjoying the game! If your baby cries or tries to squirm away, they have lost concentration and you should change to a different game. Bear in mind that babies concentration span is very short at this age so they might only enjoy a game for 5 minutes at a time. A loss of interest can also be as a result of over stimulation or tiredness, so don't always default to replacing one loud and active game with another similar one. Sometimes it's just time to pack up the games and go for a walk, have a cuddle or be fed again.

Show and tell game

Your baby will be interested in any object at this age, so sit with her on your lap and hold an object about a foot from her face. Look at it together, turn it around so she can see it from all angles and tell her about it. Buy a glove puppet and then wiggle your fingers in front of your baby. Close your hand and then hold your fingers up one by one.

Dancing and singing

Your baby will love watching you dance around to music, and this will stimulate your baby's sense of sound and sight. They will also try and join in, which helps develop their coordination. The more ridiculous your movements, the more your baby will love it. Don't feel self-conscious, enjoy having a dance with a judge who is so easy to please! Singing nursery rhymes is also a great game to play with your baby at this age as they will enjoy hearing you sing (even if you think you sound like a cat being strangled). Babies are especially fascinated by songs that have actions to them, such as The Wheels On The Bus, Wind The Bobbin Up, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Incey Wincey Spider. These songs help improve your baby's memory skills. Repeat the same songs over and over to them and they will start to recognise them and get excited when you start singing them.

Funny faces

Young babies are fascinated by faces, especially yours! Spend time making funny faces at her, and show her pictures of faces with different expressions on. Whilst it might seem early to start teaching them anatomy, you might as well start naming the features on your face now. The repetition will reinforce their memory and their recognition of the words 'nose', 'mouth' etc. Just watch out when they go to grab your eyeball!

Textures

Babies love exploring textures at this age, and by 3 months will be able to grasp things in their hands. Let your baby feel contrasting fabrics, such as velvet, silk, cotton, chiffon. Choose thin fabrics and then thicker ones such as towels or dressing gowns. Material that makes a crunchy sound is especially interesting to babies. Give your baby paper to rip, many babies find the sensation of ripping paper hilarious and will start giggling as soon as you reach for the paper!

Tummy time games

Playing with your baby while she is on her tummy is a great way to make tummy time fun and develop her neck muscles, which are important for learning to sit and crawl. There is a school of thought that believes babies are crawling later these days because they spend more time on their backs at night (sleeping on their backs reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and it is strongly advised that you encourage your baby to sleep in this position). So playing on their tummies might encourage them to crawl sooner, as well as giving them a different angle on the world. When your baby is on her tummy, encourage her to lift her head by dangling brightly coloured toys in front of her head, or hold a mirror in front of her so she can see her reflection. She won't recognise it as being her yet, but will love seeing what the 'other' baby is doing! You could also roll a ball across her line of vision, or a toy on wheels.

3-6 months

Your baby will love interactive nursery songs such as This Little Piggy. Hold your baby's toes one by one, wiggling them as you sing the song (if you can't remember the words to your favourite nursery rhymes, try searching for them on the internet). Round and Round the Garden is another great one for developing babies' memory as you only have to do it once or twice before they squeal with delight as they know what's coming next!

Peek-a-boo

Peek-a-boo is a timeless classic as far as babies are concerned! You can play this game anywhere, even while doing chores (if you're doing the washing up, turn to your baby every now and then and hide under the tea towel!). Any game where your baby sees your smiling face is good for their social development and sense of play. Your baby will be startled at first by the sudden appearance of your face, as she doesn't yet have object permanence, but by 5 months she will be starting to understand that objects still exist even when she can't see them. Once your baby grasps this concept, this game is sure to be a big hit!

Moving toys

Dangle toys in front of you baby's line of vision. Move them gently from side to side, and allow her to grasp them. This improves hand-to-eye coordination. Give your baby lots of praise when they manage to grasp it. You can also play this game with ribbons and scarves, waving them around and letting your baby try and grab them. Never leave your baby unattended with ribbons or scarves however.

Bubbles

Babies at this age (and for many months and indeed, years to come!) are fascinated by bubbles. Lay your baby on their back and blow bubbles all around them Try not to let them go into their eyes as they can sting, or alternatively buy soap free bubble mixture. As your baby will be concentrating on watching the bubbles, this helps improve eyesight and encourages an understanding of cause and effect, as the bubbles will pop when you or your baby touches them.

6-9 months

Hiding toys

Babies at this age have grasped the concept of object permanence, so have fun with this by hiding a toy while your baby is looking, and then let her find it. She'll be very proud of herself when she does! You can also partially hide a favourite toy, ask where it is, and let her find it (guide her to it if she can't find it). This helps develop her problem solving skills. Give her lots of praise when she finds it.

Babies are often starting to get mobile at this age. To be able to crawl proficiently however, babies need to necessary strength in their arms and legs. Encourage your baby to use their arms and legs by pilling cushions up into small towers. Your baby will be intrigued by this and want to try crawling over it.

Imaginative play games

Babies' imaginations are developing fast at this stage. They will soon be capable of 'imaginative' play. Encourage their imagination by showing them lots of books which stimulate the imagination, and play games together which focus on 'pretending'. This includes playing together with dolls, teddies and puppets. Put on funny voices and make the figures move and dance.

Clapping hands

Your baby will love clapping games at this age. Singing songs where you clap your hands are very popular, such as If You're Happy and You Know It, or Pop Goes The Weasel. Clapping hands helps develop your baby's co-ordination, as well as teaching him about cause and effect: 'wow when I put my hands together like that it makes that loud noise!'.

9-12 months

Your baby can now understand about cause and effect, which means games like peek-a-boo take on a whole new meaning for her! Learning to anticipate surprises is a developmental milestone, which will give you and your baby much fun together! Your baby will really enjoy this game at this age; they will smile when you start to hide your face. As they near 12 months, they may start hiding their face from you, playing the game back to you. Say 'where's (insert name) gone?', and then 'there she is!'

Building games

Babies at this age are capable of building small towers, so sit on the floor with your baby and show her how to build. She'll soon pick it up and will enjoy knocking it down! This game teaches your baby about different colours, sizes and shapes. It also helps develop their balance and coordination skills.

Imitation

Babies are able to imitate your actions at this age. You can help teach them new skills by giving them the opportunity to imitate you. When you brush your hair, your baby might want to try it too. Give them a baby hairbrush and let them copy you. When you wash your face, give them a baby wipe so they can wash their own face. Always praise them when they do it right (or almost right!) and tell them what they are doing ; 'Well done! You're washing your face! Before long, you will be able to give them the instruction 'Wash your face' and they will know what to do without copying you. Watching this development, week by week is fascinating and hugely rewarding for you as a parent.

Continue singing nursery rhymes to your baby as babies of all ages love and learn important language skills through songs and rhymes, especially ones with accompanying actions. You should read books to your baby at any age, as they learn communication skills through books. As with all other areas of play, don't shy away from repeating the same books over and over if it is a book that they enjoy.