Baby Week Leeds
Here is our top 10 games to play with your baby!
1.Copycat
Your baby loves having the chance to watch your face, and this game will help sharpen their visual skills too. Hold your baby close, so they can focus best on objects about 20cm to 35cm from their face. When they are gazing into your eyes, slowly poke your tongue out. Do this every 20 seconds or so.They'll try to imitate other facial expressions too, such as a big smile or wide open mouth.
2.Tickle songs
You can play simple tickle songs such as "This Little Piggy" or "Round and Round the Garden" with their feet or hands. Hold them on your lap and gently uncurl their toes or fingers as you sing. Repeat the song a couple of times until they start to giggle in excited anticipation of the tickle at the end.Simple, repetitive rhymes are great for improving your baby's memory skills.
3.Catch me
Attach a small soft toy to a brightly coloured ribbon. Dangle it in front of your baby and make it sway. When they reach out and tries to touch or grab it, give them lots of praise. This will help them practise hand-eye coordination. Choosing a squeaky toy may give your baby an extra reason to grab at it. Always be careful to keep the ribbon out of your baby's reach when she's unsupervised.
4.Bubble magic
Most babies are fascinated by bubbles. Sit your baby in a bouncy chair or car seat and blow bubbles around her. See how they follow the bubbles with their eyes as they float down.If they catch one, they'll see and feel it pop as they touch it, which will help them to learn about cause and effect.
5.Puppet show
Make some simple finger puppets by cutting the fingers off old gloves. Give each one ears, eyes and a mouth either by gluing on pieces of felt or simply drawing them on with a felt-tip pen. Show your baby how you can make them sing, dance, tickle and kiss. They'll love watching them come alive, and pretending that the puppets are real will help develop their imagination.
6.Adventure playground
If your baby's on the move, build a miniature obstacle course out of cushions. Stay at ground level and peep out at them from behind them, or use a toy to encourage them to climb over them. This fun game will help develop their body strength, balance and coordination.
7.Kick ball
Your baby doesn't need to be walking to have fun with a football. Place a lightweight, medium-sized ball in front of you and hold your baby firmly under her arms. Pick them up and swing them forward so their legs or feet make contact with the ball. By doing this you can help them kick it across the floor.
8.Tower power
Gather together a collection of old cereal boxes, lightweight books, plastic bowls, yoghurt pots and baby blocks. Then work with your baby to build a tower. Once it's up and ready, take it in turns to knock it down. Your baby will love watching it tumble. They are learning about sizes and shapes as well as cause and effect with this simple game.
9.Peekaboo
Looking for the best games to play with babies? Peekaboo, that old standby, is still one of the best baby games ever invented. Why? Peekaboo stimulates baby's senses, builds gross motor skills, strengthens their visual tracking, encourages their social development and, best of all, tickles their sense of humor. Plus, peekaboo teaches object permanence: the idea that even though they can't see something (like your smiling face), it still exists.
10.Shake, rattle and roll
Fill empty water bottles with interesting things — rice, buttons, Jell-O, water mixed with liquid soap, food colouring or oil. (Be sure lids are tightly secured with packing tape and that your child can’t chew through the bottle.) Crawlers will love chasing after a two-litre pop bottle half-filled with coloured water, as it rolls along the floor.