Playing with Your Baby

It can help you both

Congratulations on your new baby. There’s so much to learn about them, and how they interact is a part of that learning. So, let’s talk about playing with your baby.

Playing with your baby is a great way to help with their development. So start straight away. Children are born eager to learn and explore their environment and we must facilitate that. It does not mean we have to play with them all the time. There is no harm in leaving your baby to just be. Either on the floor or in a safe place if there are older children. You can watch them from the sofa with a cup of tea, smiling as they take everything in. Never feel guilty for how little you play with your child, they are learning even when they are exploring alone.

They will look to you, and this is the refilling of their cup so they can carry on.

Bonding & Playing

Bonding with your baby is super important and how to play with your baby does not have to be hard. Playing with your baby is a great way to bond. It can be hard to think of things to do with your baby. You might start thinking you need all these expensive toys, jungle gyms or bouncers. The truth is you do not need any of those things.

Cues

Baby will let you know when they want to be playing or taking a break. Look for signs of interest such as smiling, cooing, or making eye contact, but also keep an eye out for tiredness or overstimulation. Respect your baby’s signals and try to match their energy levels.

Reading

This is a great way to play with your baby. Find a book with solid colours and a few words. You can place it where your baby can see it or sit your baby in your lap and read it. You could also tell a story of your own, changing your voice and pulling faces as you go.

Singing

Lullabies, nursery rhymes, your favourite song or even what you’re doing, either way, this is a great way to entertain your baby. Listening to your voice is also soothing for them and can help with language development.

Smiling

This may seem like a very simple thing, but it is a wonderful way to interact with your baby.

Peek-a-boo

Any little games like this are a great way to play with your baby. Pulling faces and smiling. Making funny noises.

Objects or toys

Though toys are not overly important, you can use them. Honestly, you can use anything as long as it’s baby-safe. You can try to entice your baby to follow the object with their eyes. You could even put the objects within your child’s reach, as they get older, so they can interact with them how they wish. 

Tummy Time

This can help your baby strengthen their neck, back and shoulder muscles. Helping to improve their head control, balance, and coordination. However, make sure that you are always watching and paying attention to their cues. Remove your child from the situation if they are not enjoying it, or lay beside them and show them books or toys.

Dance/Exercise

These can be done with your baby in your arms or a sling. These things are also good for you. Put on some funky music and just dance and smile. Or find a postnatal exercise routine that includes your baby.

Bubbles

Everyone loves bubbles, they are fun to watch and fun to pop and are a perfect way to play with your baby as they get older.

Go outdoors

Go for a walk with your baby. Lay a blanket on the ground and look up at the sky with them. I also just laid my children on the grass, bare feet, to allow them to experience everything about their environment.

Have fun & don’t overthink it

The truth is, just have fun and do not overthink it. Playing with your baby does not need to be strenuous. Your baby does not need stimulation all the time, they need to learn to be bored. This helps as they get older with creativity and imagination. Just try to be present when they look at you.

Containing babies

We seem to live in a society that is always containing babies, and usually away from the parent. That could be in a Moses basket, a baby bath, a bouncy chair, or a pushchair. Then as they get older a jumperoo or bath chair. I believe this comes from the idea that we need all this stuff for our baby to develop properly, when in fact some of these things are most likely detrimental to a baby’s development. It seems that it is ok for a baby to rely on these products, but not rely on the parent. Which is just detrimental to their emotional development and makes no sense whatsoever. A Moses basket that vibrates is okay to soothe your baby, but a sling on the mother is not.

Small changes

You might find a bouncy chair can soothe and calm baby, which can be perfect for when you have things to do. However, could you not try baby-wearing? This way your baby is close to you and feels safe in that closeness. Maybe you could clear a space in the middle of the lounge and lay your baby down to have the freedom to kick and reach. I found that this worked lovely for our second, however, it does all depend on the other children within your home. Babies need time to explore their environment, they need the freedom to practice different types of movements depending on their age, such as rolling, crawling, sitting, and standing. All of which help the development of muscles, balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. When a baby is contained, these developments can be delayed.

I am not saying you should never contain your baby. I am saying that it should never be the go-to. So many containment devices are not good for babies’ physical development and can even impact their spines and hips, affecting how they walk. Jumperoos for example can affect your child’s legs and lead to a delay in walking or walking on tip toes, due to how they are positioned within the jumperoo.

Social interactions

Babies need social interaction and bonding. When they are contained all the time they can miss out on this. They need to make eye contact with you, see your face, feel your touch, and respond to your cues. Being left in a bouncer or something similar can leave your baby feeling lonely and anxious.

You may think I am contradicting myself by saying don’t put your baby in a bouncer but wear them. They’re still contained. The difference is that they are getting the closeness and bonding they require for their emotional development. Babies need to be close to their parents, it is how we are designed.

conclusion

It is so important to vary the activities that you do with your baby, to help with their development. These can be as simple as going outside, cuddling, swimming or just playing with them on the floor.

So, screw this capitalist society and give your child the freedom and bonding they desire and need.