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Baby | Development

Make learning child's play

Your baby’s main learning tool is you, but how else can you boost her development?

When your baby’s not sleeping or feeding she’ll be playing. So, considering that for her first three years she’ll be developing at the quickest rate of her life, you’ll want to get the most possible out of her playtime. And you can do that simply by providing her with the very best toys to stimulate and educate her from the moment she’s born.

Sensory development, communication, hand-to-eye coordination, movement… your baby will learn all sorts of vital skills through playing. Here’s how:

SOCIAL SKILLS
Although your newborn can’t yet talk, she will love watching your face as you sing songs and by six months she’ll know exactly what to do to make you laugh and will mimic you in games of ‘peek-a-boo’. This close interaction is the basis of her social skills. As a talkative toddler she’ll love games such as teddybear tea parties and dressing up, so help her imagination run wild and make sure you’ve got lots of props around so she can create exciting games. As she blossoms she’ll love spending time with others her age, which will help her learn about caring and sharing toys.

PRACTICAL PLAY

She should be able to pick things up by six months and pass objects between her hands. Give her small objects like a rattle to shake so she can practise her grip. As her movements become less jerky and more purposeful she’ll love swiping at objects such as stacking towers, also practising her hand-to-eye coordination in building them up again. You can also encourage her skills with pour and fill toys.

SENSE AND SOUND

Your newborn’s senses will be overloaded but gradually she’ll get used to them. Stimulate her vision with brightly coloured toys and let her investigate the feel of different materials and objects. She’ll also respond to toys that play music, so encourage her to listen and interact. By six months everything will be heading into her mouth as she continues to explore objects. Another firm favourite will be books, and she’ll love sitting on your lap while you read her favourite story to her (with sound effects). Pretty soon she’ll be keen to read by herself, although during her early years books with big pictures and noises will no doubt prove to be the most popular.

Your baby makes playing look like so much fun – and, even better, she’s practising key developmental skills at the same time.

On her Skwish list
Boost your baby’s motor-skills development while stimulating her visual and auditory skills with Skwish from Manhattan Toy. Its web of brightly coloured rods, beads and balls will grab her attention and help to develop her hand-eye coordination as she ‘squishes’ and rattles it.