It is both exciting and important to watch your baby develop throughout the first 12 months! We have gathered some games and activities to help your baby develop with stimulation and to also assist in positive bonding between you and your baby.
- When babies are born their vision is limited. A fun activity to bond with your baby is to create finger puppets as a way to help your baby develop their visual skills!
- Use a rattle to play with your baby to strengthen the auditory and visual skills. Shake the rattle and slowly move it from side to side to keep the attention of your baby.
- Even though your baby hasn’t said his or her first word yet, a good way to help begin the recognition of language is to mimic the noises your baby makes. Any “aww or coo” sounds made, just repeat that noise to your baby. Or you can simply smack you lips and make a kiss noise to entertain and make your baby smile.
- To enhance your baby’s gross motor skills, place your baby on its back and move their feet as if they were peddling a bike. This cute movement can also be done using the arms. Sing and wave your babies arms as you smile and dance together.
- Begin to introduce sensory stimulation by getting a wash cloth, a scarf, and other fabrics and one by one, let your baby feel them and explain each one. You can talk to your baby and remark at how each material feels. This is a fun way to develop the sense of touch.