Play ideas: A guide for Australian mums to play with your newborn baby
During the early days of becoming a mum, I found myself housebound. I must admit I went through a period of adaptation, the truth is I was scared to get out of the house and having to feed, change or survive to a poo explosion. With the pandemic, we have now been confined home and our interactions with others like mother’s groups, family and friends have been reduced. It’s time now to expand your repertoire and look for new ways to interact with your baby. Playing with a baby or a child under one can be a bit tricky but it’s essential top their development.
Why is it important to play with your newborn baby
Play is an essential part of human development, and it’s the way we learn and explore the world around us. Through play we get access to new experiences that help us to create new neurological connections. Through play, singing and talking your baby will be able to build language connections that will help with their verbal skills as well as bonding with you.
Through this guide we want to show you some options around your home you can use to play with simple things.
Simple things in your home you can use to play with your newborn baby.
Learn lullabies and play gentle music during the windows your baby is awake. Most babies tend to be sensitive to loud noises and also respond really well to gentle music like classical music. There are studies on the impact of classical music in babies brains.
As your baby grows and is able to sit down, and becomes curious of everything around him or her, then it’s time to hit the kitchen. Look for texture and simple things like plastic containers or plastic bottles that can be filled with rice to make noises.
Fill a Ziploc bag with food coloring and a bit of water and use gaffer tape to stick it to a surface. Your baby will love the colors and the options to push and feel the bag.
Use cushions to build an obstacle course. If your baby can crawl then you can put a sheet in between two chairs and make a cubby! You can also look for large boxes to build a tunnel.
As the warmer weather gets closer then maybe you can start considering playing with water. You can plan it as an outdoor activity or in your bathroom. Get together a bucket of water filled half way and get some plastic cups, this simple set up will be endless fun. You can always but a bit of food colouring in different containers with water and allow your bub to mix and match. It’s important that you stay with your bub at all times.
Once your bub is getting tired then it might be time to look for a quiet activity like story time. Babies love simple books and those with different textures can be highly educational and engaging.
Let’s dance and learn about different kinds of music. This is a great opportunity to put on your dancing shoes and take your baby with you. You can rock them and dance with them, just be gentle and remember not to shake.
Food can also be used for sensory play. Consider what textures you haven’t introduced your baby to, and allow them to experiment. Just make sure that you are around at all times to avoid any choking incidents, and stay away from small size food items.
Have a sensory play in the garden, laying in the grass is an amazing sensation when you are a baby, find a shady spot and enjoy your time together.
Once your baby is a bit older, then maybe you can go hunting for some textured things around your garden, like leaves, big rocks, bugs and sticks. Keep an eye on your bub at all times as they tend to place everything in their mouth at this age!
As you can see there are a number of activities to be done at home without having to spend an arm and a leg in toy and other equipments. Just keep it simple and the most valuable thing you can offer your bub is time and interaction.
