Babies grow so quickly; they seem to learn something new every day! Sometimes, it can be hard to keep up with your little one’s newfound skills and their ever-growing curiosity. That’s why we’ve created this blog post! Here are 12 developmentally appropriate activities to keep your baby entertained during those first 12 months of life.
0 – 3 Months
1) Tummy Time
Tummy time is an essential activity for babies of all ages, but it’s especially important for newborns! To make it more interesting, you can show them high contrast images or their reflection in a shatterproof mirror. You can also turn it into a bonding experience by laying them on your chest with your tummies facing each other.
2) Balloon Kicks
This fun activity comes from the blog Jelly Fish Sticks. Loosely tie helium balloons to your baby’s ankles and let them kick. They will love watching the balloons bounce with their own movements!
3) Splashing
Sometime between 0 – 3 months, your baby will discover how to splash! Encourage this new skill by letting them splash in the bath tub, or place a shallow dish filled with water at their feet.
3 – 6 Months
4) Sensory Board
Babies at this age love feeling different textures. Glue different textured objects — such as ribbon, pom poms, bubble wrap, etc. — to a piece of cardboard and let your baby explore the board with their hands.
5) Mess-free Finger Painting
Credit for this creative idea goes to Mummy to Dex! Put dollops of paint on a piece of paper and place that paper inside a plastic sleeve. Let your baby smash the paint with their hands, creating their own finger painting.
6) Tugging String
We discovered this exciting game from the blog Mom Junction. Simply place one end of a soft string in your baby’s hand and hold the other end in your own hand. Gently pull the string out of your baby’s hand. Soon they’ll learn to tug back, creating a fun game for the two of you to play!
6 – 9 Months
7) Bubbles
Bubbles are a simple way to keep your little one entertained while boosting their motor skills! Simply blow bubbles or get a bubble machine, and let your baby swat at them with their hands.
8) Block Switch
We got this fun idea from Just Simply Mom! Start by placing a block in each of your baby’s hands, then offer them a third block. They’ll soon learn that they must let go of one block in order to grab the third one.
9) Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is a great way to teach your little one about object permanence! Hide a noise-making toy somewhere in the room and let your baby go look for it. Alternatively, place cups in front of your baby, hide a toy under one of them, and let your baby find it.
9 – 12 months
10) Pulling Tape
Put washi tape or painter’s tape on a hard surface, such as the wall or your baby’s high chair tray. Pull up slightly on the corner of the tape and let your baby pull it off the rest of the way.
11) Discovery Basket
Fill a basket with random objects from around the house and let your baby pull them out. To make it more interesting, you can tie strings across the opening of the basket, creating an obstacle for them to pull the objects through.
12) Q-tip and Egg Carton
We found this cute game on Relatable Motherhood. Take an old egg carton and poke holes in the bottom. Have your baby push Q-tips through the holes and pull them back out again.
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