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Home › Articles › Guiding Baby's Development › Baby Play

Baby Play

Games to Promote Baby's Development

By Rae Pica, Childhood Movement Specialist

Pages:  1  2  3  

Body Awareness
Sing and demonstrate "Where Is Thumbkin?" Play games such as "This Little Piggy" with both toes and fingers. Touch her nose, exclaiming, "I've got your nose!" Then proceed to play the game with other body parts such as toes, ears, fingers and legs. When Baby's developmentally ready, ask her to find your nose, ears, mouth and so on.

Individuation
There's nothing like the tried-and-true game of peek-a-boo to help a child begin to see himself as a separate individual. It also makes babies laugh! Once Baby is familiar with this game, you can move on to "Where's Mommy (Daddy, Nana, etc.)?" Begin by placing your hands over your face, just as you would with peek-a-boo. Later, hide your whole self behind a piece of furniture, asking, "Where's Mommy?" You then pop up, answering, "Here's Mommy!"

Eye-hand Coordination
Any activity during which Baby is reaching for or batting an object promotes eye-hand coordination. Another option, appropriate for infants as young as 3 months, is to sew a bell or bells onto an elastic band that you can slip on Baby's wrists or ankles. Once on, gently shake the body part until Baby looks at it.

Also, when Baby is able to sit unassisted, make him comfortable on the floor, legs apart. Sit opposite him in a similar manner and roll a large, brightly colored ball toward him. Describe what you're doing, and encourage him to push it back to you. Another possibility is to give her two large paper or plastic cups, one of which is filled with dry cereal, and encourage her to pour the cereal from one cup to the other. Because this can be a messy activity, it's best to first prepare the floor area with a large vinyl tablecloth!


Pages:  1  2  3  

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