PLAY

Baby

0-6 months

What your baby can do at 0-3 months: 

Listen, observe, begin to recognise people, objects and places, smile and coo, kick, wriggle, turn head and try to roll.

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The best toys for a 3 month old:

Colourful, tinkling mobiles to watch and listen to; baby gym in the cot; pictures or postcards in the cot or pram to look at; music boxes; music on the radio or TV, mirrors, a rug to kick on, jangly toys to touch with the hands or feet.

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What you can do with your 0-3 month old:

Carry your baby around; talking to them about their surroundings or anything else; sing to your baby; lie them where they can see things happening – trees, people, moving objects, other children.

Give them exercise sessions with no clothes or nappy and let them simply kick and move freely for a while.

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The best toys for 3-6 month olds:

Rattles and safe objects she can chew on. Toys with different textures – rubber and plastic items, clothes with different textures – furry teddy bears, woolly blankets, cotton squares. Always make sure items are safe for a baby to put in their mouth as that’s where most things will end up. Different shapes – balls, boards cubes, rubbery toys that can change shape.

What you can do with your 3-6 month old:

Let them sit with a tray of different objects in front of them. Vary the toys, add a new one and take another away. Put items just out of reach so they have to wriggle and reach for them. Find some safe household items for them to bang or chew – safe wooden and plastic utensils, crinkly kitchen (baking) paper (not foil or plastic).

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What a 3-6 month old can do:

Reach, begin to grasp, chew, put things in her mouth, roll, squirm, follow objects with her eyes.

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6-12 months

They can wriggle and crawl, pull themself up, reach, grasp and pick up small objects passing them from one hand to the other. They can give and take objects and has increased hand control and eye/hand coordination. They understand the use of different items.

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The best toys for a 6-12 month old:

Other people are her favourite playthings, but they will also loves teddies, dolls, soft cuddly animals and simple games such as peek-a-boo.

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Safe, stable furniture to hold onto, warm rugs and carpets to move about on; push along toys. 

They’ll probably enjoy games where they can put things together or put things into and out of (stacking beakers, plastic boxes, saucepans, bricks). They’ll enjoy simple ball rolling games, colourful books with bright images or photographs of things and people they recognise.

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What you can do with your 6-12 month old:

Talk and listen to your baby; take them out and about where they can see other people (shops, toddler groups, friend’s houses).Play games with your baby. If you can’t always be there to supervise you may consider a playpen which is fine as long as they recognise it as a play area and not a punishment area where they are deposited so they can’t get up to mischief.

Your baby will be learning every day through exploring so allow them to make mess and don’t just use baby talk with them.Tell them about their surroundings, talk them through your everyday routines and respond to their baby noises as though you are having a conversation. Babies can get frustrated that they can’t speak the words they know in their minds.