Baby Play, 0-6 months

Play is vital for your baby - it’s one of the ways she will learn about her environment, it teaches her physical and social skills - and of course, it’s fun!

0 - 3 months

Your newborn looks too tiny to do anything, let alone something as boisterous as playing. But, say experts, play is important for your baby as it helps her learn about the world. It’s also good for you, as it helps you bond. ‘Of course, we’re not talking about playing football or Cluedo here,’ says child psychologist Dorothy Einon. ‘What we mean is gentle stimulation - sights and sounds that will make her interested in the world.’

Sounds good

One of the easiest ways to stimulate baby is to give her something musical to listen to. At this age her hearing is already good and she’ll love you talking to her. She likes high sounds best (which is why you automatically raise your voice for her) and loves toys with tinkling bells and high-pitched rattles.

Funny faces

Faces are intriguing to babies. ‘Babies are programmed to want to look at faces and features, particularly eyes,’ explains Dorothy Einon. At this stage she can see contrasts of light and dark better than colours, which is why she’ll particularly notice people with dark hair or glasses. ‘Babies think they are big eyes, which they love,’ explains Dorothy Einon. Hold your face near your baby when you look at her, as she focuses best at 20-25cm - and nod your head too, as she notices moving objects more than stationary ones.

Looks good

She’s fascinated with movement so she will love mobiles - especially featuring the strongly contrasting colours she sees best, like black and white. As well as movement and contrast, she can see light - she won’t like bright lights but will enjoy soft lights, especially if they move. She also reacts to toys featuring patterns, especially if they are shaped like faces.

In touch

Other toys your baby may react to are ones she can touch. By six weeks she’ll probably be kicking or waving her arms when she’s happy and if there’s a toy nearby for her to hit with her hands and feet, so much the better. Dorothy Einon explains, ‘She won’t be able to aim for anything yet, so it’s chance when she hits something, but she’ll find it exciting. This helps her begin to understand about cause and effect and that her hands and feet belong to her and she can control them.’

Hands up

At around 10 weeks your baby will have discovered that these things that come into view from time to time belong to her - they’re her hands! Once she’s worked this out, they become her favourite plaything, as she grasps and tugs her fingers.

3 - 6 months

By now your baby will have her hands open most of the time, instead of holding them in tiny fists. She’s also discovered that her hands belong to her, and that she can use them to swipe at objects or hold them. These developments - the beginning of hand-eye coordination - open up a whole new world of play possibilities.

Handy toys

By three months, your baby can hold and shake a rattle or toy - the noise of a rattle holds her attention and helps her concentration to develop. She can turn her head to follow the movement of a mobile and will try to swipe at it. You are still her favourite toy and she will probably start grabbing at your face and hair at around four months.

In her mouth

She’s beginning to explore the rest of her environment too and automatically puts everything in her mouth, where sensitive nerve endings can explore the size, shape and texture of objects. She can enjoy toys she can safely suck and chew which have different textures, such as teething rings and rubber toys.

Exploring her world

By six months your baby uses her hands more to touch and explore different textures and shapes and will try to manipulate objects. She’ll love an activity centre and a baby gym which she can play with lying on her back. This will feed her budding concentration and hand-eye coordination and encourage large body movements such as half rolling or rolling.