Babies grow and develop so quickly in the first few months. It is crucial to encourage play and interaction activities.

Babies can only handle a small amount of stimulation at such an early age. This may be as short as a few minutes for newborns after their feeds. At 4 weeks, they should be able to handle longer periods of play and encouragement. Entertaining Babies have some helpful guidelines.

  • At 4 weeks old, they can handle 10-15 minutes of stimulation. By 6 weeks, this can increase to 15-20 mins
  • 6-8 weeks 20-25 minutes
  • 8-12 weeks, up to half an hour
  • It is important to pay attention to your baby’s moods. If they become tired, let them rest.

Babies begin to discover their senses as they experience new sounds, colours, shapes, voices, and faces. This should be incorporated into play activities. We have some suggestions and advice to help you get started.

TouchTouching baby can help stimulate movement. You can touch different parts of their bodies to see how they react. To find out how they respond to touch, stroke different parts of their bodies. You can use a variety of soft objects to massage the baby, such as a blanket, feathers, cotton balls, silk cloth, or a feather. Baby massage can be a great way for this to happen. You can use different speeds, pressures and motions to vary the baby’s reaction. To create different experiences, you can cover an old glove in materials such as velvet, sponge, or wool. Clapping your hands with the baby’s fingers is a great way to incorporate touch and sound. And Tissue paper Kicking can be a great way to stimulate learning outcomes like eye tracking, concentration, movement, cause & effect, and eye tracking. It is a wonderful way to get the baby to touch the ground and create a keepsake.

Sound

Talk to your baby with gentleness. Use their name and describe what you did throughout the day. As you bathe, feed, and dress your baby, tell them. Babies can hear all kinds of sounds from birth. Singing and playing music with babies helps build emotional bonds. To introduce babies to new sounds, use rattles and encourage them to hold the rattles so that they can understand how it is activated.

Smell

Babies can sense the difference between smells, and familiar scents can soothe them. You don’t want to overwhelm your baby. Instead, you can gather a variety (flowers and spices, cookies, etc.) and then introduce each one at a time. You can take note of the scents they like and their reactions to them. Talk to your baby about the objects and smells. “Would it be nice to smell this flower?” It smells delicious.

Sight

A newborn can only focus on objects 6-15 inches from their face. The baby’s first object to recognize is the human face in the first three months. Face-to-face contact is essential.

Babies are drawn to primary colours, dots, patterns, and bright ones in the first few months. Mobiles can be a powerful way to stimulate sight. Babies are more likely to see high-contrast colours (e.g. Black and white. You can copy their small gestures to build relationships and strengthen them. To stimulate sight senses, you can also use visual activities like bubbles.

Taste

Even though babies are too young at this time to be able to taste other foods, their senses of taste are very sharp. The newborns’ taste buds are located on the tongue, back of the throat and tonsils. They can also distinguish between sweet and sour tastes. According to the Department of Health, “most babies are ready to try new foods at six months”. Solids are recommended not to be introduced to a baby’s diet before four months because a baby’s body is still developing.

Tummy Time

Tummy Time can be a great way for babies to strengthen their necks, head, and upper bodies in the first months. Tummy Time helps develop coordination for crawling, crawling and reaching. To encourage head lifting, lay the baby on their stomach and play with them. To attract her attention, you can hold a toy or make a sound to grab her attention. Tummy Time can include a variety of sensory activities. See which ones your baby responds to best. Baby Begin We have listed below some of the amazing benefits of Tummy Time.

Tips

Take your time when doing activities with the baby. To ensure they are not frustrated or distressed, ensure they are alert. When they succeed, praise them and encourage them to continue the action by speaking through each step. Baby will learn more than you think and will respond to your voice. Simple toys can be fine, provided they stimulate learning and develop the baby’s senses.