Fun Games to Help Your Baby's Development

There is no sound in the world more beautiful than your baby laughing, and one of the best ways to hear this sound is to play fun games together. Learn more:
Fun Games to Help Your Babys Development 
There is no sound in the world more beautiful than your baby laughing, and one of the best ways to hear this sound is to play fun games with your little one. But what kinds of games should you play? Almost all interaction with your baby is educational, because babies learn from watching their parents, but these games will be particularly good for your babys development:

Peekaboo All babies love to play peekaboo, and this is a fun, classic game you can play anywhere! Take a blanket or muslin square and place it over your babys face before pulling it away and exclaiming peekaboo. Smile and be as animated as possible when you do this, as your baby will pick up on your tone and mood. You can then swap roles and place the blanket over your own head before removing it to reveal yourself: your baby will giggle and be amazed by the amazing disappearing mummy!

Want to move away from traditional peekaboo? Hide a basket of hats behind your sofa and then use it as a make shift puppet theatre. Duck behind to put on a hat then pop up exclaiming peekaboo to your baby. He will delight in your disappearance, and in the new exciting hat that you bring with you when you return.

Textured Sensory Basket If your baby is struggling to raise a smile because they are teething, then this is a great game to play. Teething babies often drool excessively, and find comfort from putting things in their mouth. Embrace this by putting together a textured sensory basket of objects that is safe for your child to chew and suck. Offer them each object in turn, and give them time to explore and experiment with them.

If youre going to play this game with a teething baby then ensure their wearing a bib: bandana bibs for babies are a great way of keeping them dry and preventing uncomfortable dribble rash from forming on their neck and chest when theyre chewing excessively.

Singing Together Next time your baby is having a meltdown and youre struggling to work out what he needs, why not try singing him a lullaby. Singing encourages their skills of listening and remembering familiar sounds. Older babies can be encouraged to join in, clap their hands to the rhythm or beat of the song and could even try their hand at dancing, but that doesnt mean smaller children wouldnt benefit from this game.

Even in younger infants you may find that your baby gurgles back at you as you sing, in a bid to engage with you and join in the song, and the simple act of calming down as you sing will strengthen their skills of emotion regulation.

Copy Cat! As they reach 6-9 months old your babys awareness of the world around him will increase. Build on this new-found awareness by playing copying games with your baby: copy his movements, and encourage him to copy yours. Make your movements as big and pronounced as possible so that they are easy to see and copy. Plenty of clapping, funny noises and positive praise and reinforcement will be needed to make this game a success.

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