As I noted last month, I’m going through some of my old posts and making updates to them. One of my favorite posts from about four years ago is about developmentally appropriate play for babies. Everything in that post is still relevant, but I’ve never been particularly fond of the appearance of the printable guide I shared there.
When I welcomed my third child last fall, I decided to recreate the guide. I’ve done so and it looks better (in my opinion, at least). It is similar to the previous version, but I’ve added additional suggestions for each age range.
(Click on the image to view and download a printable version of the guide.)
One very important thing to remember about this is that many of the activities are cumulative. In other words, you don’t stop doing them as baby grows older. For example, you don’t stop rocking baby in a rocking chair or giving baby massages when he or she is no longer 1 month of age. You keep doing these things and add on additional activities! In two weeks I’m going to share about which baby toys are suitable (and worth the expense) for each age range.
I hope you benefit from these ideas! What ideas would you add? What things do you enjoy doing with your babies?
This is so helpful! One of my stress points after bringing home my first baby was: “Now that I’ve got this baby, what do I do with him?”
Yes! I think most moms have a moment when they ask this.
It seems like babies just lay there doing nothing, but they’re soaking up information and learning from the very beginning. It’s so important that we hold them and talk to them and interact with them in other ways that foster their development.
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared.
Thanks, Marilyn!
I was absolutely flabbergasted to see that nothing on here references going outside. Americans spend so much time inside and there is so much research coming out showing how detrimental it is to our mental heath (and obviously our physical health). Even exposing baby to a breeze was artificial – with a fan! Babies should sit in a sand box, crawl in the grass, lay and look at the breeze in the trees.
Hi Alex,
Yes, outdoor play is super important! I’m not a child development expert, which is why I used several expert sources while creating this (you can see these noted at the bottom of the printable). Now that you mention it, it is kind of surprising that these sources don’t include a focus on this.
I have shared about outdoor play in a couple of posts:
Why Kids Desperately Need Outdoor Play
12 Outdoor Activities for Babies to Enjoy During the Fall
25 Outdoor Activities for Babies to Enjoy During the Summer
The latter two go along nicely with the info in this guide. Thanks for taking the time to point out that these outdoor activities are missing from the guide!