Baby games you and your little one will love
Looking for games to play with your toddler? Games are a great way to bond with your favorite guy or gal. But did you know playtime has another important role in your child’s development?
Playing games can help build your child’s motor skills, learn about the world around and develop all types of skills. It’s helpful to plan play time when your little one is refreshed and interested.
Playing games can help build your child’s motor skills, learn about the world around and develop all types of skills. It’s helpful to plan play time when your little one is refreshed and interested.
Paint swirling
When is it ok to play with your food? When mom or dad encourages it. Let your own Picasso create a masterpiece with food. We say, the messier, the more creative.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Yogurt/edible paint
- Large sheet of cardboard
- Food coloring
- Pour some of the yogurt onto the cardboard and show your little one how to “swirl.”
- Let them play round with the yogurt and see the instant effect their swirls create.
- Add food coloring for a visually stimulating effect.
Sprinkle, sprinkle little star
Looking for the perfect outdoor fun for a warm day? Become the sprinkler as you get your little one wet.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Water spray
- Towel
- Using the water spray, gently let out a spritz in your little one’s direction.
- Watch for their response. Most babies love the thrill of water spray and will want you to chase them with it.
- Allow them to hold it and spray you back.
- Together you can make a game of chasing and spraying each other.
- Have a towel handy to dry off with afterwards.
Who’s at the zoo?
Bring the zoo to your home. Turning your child into the zoo keeper as he or she opens a zoo as you teach all about animals.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Your child’s favorite animal stuffed animals or animal figures
- Cardboard boxes
- Crayons
- Fake play food
- Ask your toddler to pretend to be the zoo keeper. Have him or her decorate cardboard boxes as the animals’ cages.
- Bring all the stuffed animals to the zoo and recite the names of the animals and the noises each makes as a way to help your child identify the animals and sounds it makes.
- For added fun, bring some fake play food (or even some real food) to “feed” your animal friends (and even the zoo keeper) as a way to show your little zoo keeper how to take care of all his fury friends.
Snackin’ and Stackin’
What could more exciting to a child than combining playing and snacking?
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Wooden blocks or stacking cups or boxes
- Finger snacks like cereal or puffs
- Hide some snacks under stacking cups and invite your little one to gently knock them over and collect their snacks.
- Allow your baby to copy you and encourage them to stack the blocks themselves. You’re laying the groundwork for organizational and fine motor skill development.
Push. Pull. Play.
Take your child for a ride as you help teach how to take those amazing first steps.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Medium sized box filled with toys
- Encourage your little one to a standing position using the box to support them.
- Hold the other side of the box firmly and slowly pull it across the room.
- This should encourage them to walk as you slowly pull the box along.
- As they become more mobile, this game can become faster and faster until someone is running around the room pushing the box without your aid.
Teddy Bear Parade
Any day is a good day to throw a celebration. Gather all your bear friends and create your own parade. Create a fun experience that gets your little one marching and smiling.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- Stuffed teddy bears
- Crayons and paper for signs
- Music
- Have your little one create fun signs you can hang as the bears parade through the living room.
- Turn on some parade music.
- Have your marcher move and groove around the house showing off those furry friends.
Cardboard box imagination starters
To a child, an empty box has an unlimited fun factor. You can turn a simple cardboard box into just about anything your child wants.
Does your child see it as a car? Can a few stack up to be a skyscraper? What if it magically transformed into an indoor fort?
Supplies:
Does your child see it as a car? Can a few stack up to be a skyscraper? What if it magically transformed into an indoor fort?
Supplies:
- Cardboard boxes
- Your child’s imagination
- Fill it with toys and let your child play away.
- Try cutting a hole in the side large enough for them to climb in and out of. That way you can play “peek a boo!” with them as well. It’s a simple way to introduce them to the concept of indoors and outdoors.
- Let your little one become the designer, too. Give your budding engineer some crayons to help make their new toy even better.
Masking Tape Highway
Vrrm. Vrrrm. Have a future racecar driver on your
hands? Kidsactivities.com showcased
a fun and easy way to turn your home into a
racetrack.
Supplies:
hands? Kidsactivities.com showcased
a fun and easy way to turn your home into a
racetrack.
Supplies:
- Masking tape
- Matchbox cars
- Stretch masking tape just about anywhere you want your track to go.
- Have your little one bring out some toy cars to race.
- Add some fun by becoming the talking traffic light and telling the car to stop or go.
All aboard the fun train
It’s train time. You’re the conductor and your little one is in for the ride of a lifetime.
Supplies:
Supplies:
- You!
- Print out of a pretend ticket
- Hand your child the pretend train ticket to come aboard .
- When your favorite little guy or girl is crawling around, go and stand in front of them with your legs wide apart.
- Encourage them to crawl through the “tunnel” while you both making train sounds like “choo choo!”
- You can support them in learning to crawl faster by pretending to fall down as they go through or reach down for a cuddle as they crawl by. It’s a great game for improving their gross motor skills.
