Your baby is becoming more independent - less on your lap and more in the world around him. What games are appropriate for your baby's growing curiosity?
- Fun Foot Baby Games – Crawling is now the newest fun game for your baby and you can help broaden his world by letting him explore different textures. Lay a welcome mat, bath mat, towel and fleecy blanket in the yard or grassy park area and let him crawl across each surface. Crawl with your baby and describe each surface as you crawl “Rough welcome mat”, “Fuzzy blanket” to help your baby learn the differences.
- Hand Baby Games – Clapping hands are an absolute delight to your baby and this is a fun game to play together with her. Chant this poem as you move her hands according to the directions in the poem.
“Clap, clap, clap your hands, Make a pretty sound.
Clap, clap, clap your hands, Wave them all around.
Clapping on your belly, Clapping on your knee
Clapping is so much fun For Baby and Me!”
- Voice Game Fun – Telephone games are a favorite baby game and can help your baby learn important verbal and social skills. Talk into the phone and then hand it to him and let him talk. Some cell phones have speaker phone options, or voice recording options that can be a great way for your baby to actually hear your voice talking to him from the phone!
- Movement Baby Games – Use a big blow-up beach ball or exercise ball to roll your baby around on (carefully supporting him so he doesn't fall of course). Place him on top on his stomach for fun flying and bouncing games! He will love the bouncing, flying feeling of this movement game. You can chant a poem to your baby like the following:
“Flying baby in the air. Bouncing baby everywhere
Bounce and Fly, Fly and Bounce
Into Daddy's arms with care.”
- Baby Sounds Games – “Old McDonald Had a Farm” is a great song for exploring animal sounds with your baby. As you sing the song show her a stuffed animal or picture of the animal you are singing about and together practice making the animal sounds that go with the animal. Animal sounds become a long-lasting and favorite baby game!
- Floor Time Baby Games – Picking up toys and dropping them is fascinating for your baby. Encourage his game play by giving him smaller objects to drop into larger ones. Small plastic tupperware containers with colorful ribbons inside can be easily picked up and dropped into a large metal mixing bowl or pot and your baby will enjoy trying to stack and sort them as well. Help him sort them by colors, sizes and shapes and clap with delight as he drops them noisily into the bowl.
- Singing Baby Games – Any fun action song with rhyme and rhythm can become a favorite singing game but a long-time bath game favorite is “Rub-a-Dub-Dub”. A fun game song to splish and splash to, this bath-time game song can be sung to the tune of “Here we go 'Round the Mulberry Bush” (The same tune as “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
“Rub-A-Dub-Dub, three babes in a tub, babes in a tub, babes in a tub.
Rub-A-Dub-Dub, three men in a tubs - And who do you think they'll be?
A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker, candlestick maker, a candlestick maker.
A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker - Now which do you think you'll be?"
See other ideas for music for babies.
Be sure to take a look at all our ideas for playing Baby Games.
Resources:
“The Baby Book: Everything you Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two” (2003) by William Sears, M.D. And Martha Sears, R.N.
“Games to Play with Babies” (1993) by Jackie Silberg
“Heading Home with Your Newborn” (2005) by Laura A. Jana, M.D. And Jennifer Shu, M.D. With the American Academy of Pediatrics
“97 Ways to Make a Baby Laugh” by Jack Moore and Penny Gentieu
