Activity ideas for babies 0-3 months:

• Mat time:

Lay baby on a baby mat (if you don’t have one, a towel, cloth, rug or even the carpet is fine) and give activities:

-social time where you and baby play, touch, talk, smile and make eye contact. 

-Allow baby to play under a baby gym. Have appealing items dangle down over baby. Think about things that are black, white, red and high contrast. You could also include different shapes, textures and patterns. The black and white Cloud Ribbons from The Treasure Trove are a great addition to baby gyms for the visual and audible stimulation.

-Prop up a black and white book or flash cards for baby to look at.

-Give baby a toy or a texture to grab and investigate. 

• Tracking:

Get an object that baby can see clearly (or your finger or face is fine too) and move it slowly from one point in front of baby’s eyes to another. Start by moving horizontally in front of baby’s face. Don’t start moving until baby is looking at the object. Slow down if baby is having a hard time following the object. If using your finger or face: make sure you are smiling and making eye contact and you could wiggle your finger to hold attention.

Tip: Add in the element of sound to help with tracking. An object that is clear to see and makes a sound is perfect (e.g. cloud ribbons (jingle the bells), a rattle or talk if using your face).

 

• Tummy Time:

From four weeks old, lay your baby on the floor, on their tummy for brief periods of time (a few minutes at a time, while your baby is awake). This is to help babies strengthen their core, neck and shoulder muscles, and improve their motor skills. Stay with your baby and watch closely during tummy time.

During tummy time:

• Sit or lay in front of baby and show different facial expressions (especially smiling), make eye contact and do lots of talking with clarity and expression.
• Put a mirror in front of baby so baby can enjoy looking at themselves.
• Raise objects up in front of baby for baby to raise their head higher and look at what is in front of them. (The black and white cloud ribbons are great for this).

If you feel a bit nervous about tummy time to begin with (totally normal!) I suggest starting out by sitting in a tilted back position (nearly lying down) and have baby lying against your front, on their tummy. They will start lifting their head to try to look at you, especially if you talk to them and make eye contact.

• Mirror Play:

Place a mirror in front of baby for baby to enjoy watching and talking to themselves. You could do this with baby on their tummy or on their back.

Once baby has had a chance to look in the mirror at themselves, you could go into the mirror for baby to see your reflection and talk with baby, while holding eye contact and smiling, through the mirror reflection. 

• Practice grabbing:

Grabbing is a reflex from newborn, However, around 3 or 4 months, babies can grasp objects placed in their hands, though they generally aren’t able to reach out and grab objects yet. At this age, simply offer babies one toy at a time and allow them to develop their grip. You could do this with babies leading up to the 3 month mark. Some great grabbing objects include:

–Cloud ribbons

–Teethers

-Oball

-Rattles

• Read to your baby:

It is never too early to start reading to your baby. The earlier you can start reading together, the better! Not only will baby enjoy the sound of your voice and the cuddles, but you will be surprised with the amount of learning that will be going on for baby while you read! It is ok to read books that are intended for older years, as there will still be a lot of rich learning, however books that are designed for younger years would be best. Repetition of reading the same book for several days or weeks is actually beneficial to your baby.

Some baby books you might like to start with include:

–Black & White by Tana Hoban

–Outdoors by Mary Cartwright and Grace Habib

–Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

• Introduce textures:

Gather a range of household items such as different textured fabrics, clothes, pillows, baskets, sponge and scarves (have a look around the room and see what you can find). Talk to your baby as you play with the textures. Gently run your baby’s hands over the variety of textures or offer them to your baby to feel. You could also drag them slowly and lightly across baby’s skin (face, hands, tummy or legs). Talk about the texture. Describe the sensation. 

 

• Play Music:

Research suggests that newborns are able to recognise music they heard regularly in the womb. If your baby had any regular sounds they were exposed to in the womb, play those sounds.

If your baby didn’t hear any music consistently enough in the womb to recognise it, choose a few songs to start playing or singing for your baby now. Familiar music will stimulate your baby’s mind and can help soothe them. Many people like to play classical music as studies have shown that it helps to enhance focus and concentration.

 

• Go for a walk:

It might sound really simple, but everything is new to young babies. Go to your local park and open up the pram so that your baby can see you and your surroundings (like trees overhead). On your walk, talk to your baby and make eye contact. Describe the world around you.

 

*Tips on talking to baby: 

If you run out of things to say (saying “hello” and “how are you?” can get boring very quickly!) talk to baby about:

-Things you see around the room

-What you like about them

-Your family

-Something you are looking forward to

-List some things you have done in the day

-Make a verbal gratitude list

-Say affirmations out loud

-Narrate what you are doing

-Talk about what you will have for dinner

-Recount the events of the day or week

-Describe something near you in detail

 

Remember to talk in full sentences, with proper words and proper language.  Don’t be afraid to introduce language that seems complicated (for example, instead of the word “yummy” you could say “delicious”). The richer the language and the more vocabulary you can use in conversation, the better.