A few days ago we commented on the importance of parents being the perfect playmates of our children. Today we continue to address the issue because we are going to focus on possible games for babies from 0 to 6 months, or what is the same, how to start to stimulate them, make them laugh, enjoy with us, etc.
Obviously, a baby up to six months does not play too much. At least not in the way that older children and adults conceive the game. They, by little ones, are more spectators than active part, and they enjoy very little, with our gestures, our faces, our noises, our skin in contact with yours and with our pampering.
Toys? May be soon
In the toy stores there are many dedicated even for the smallest babies. They are simple, with rounded, colorful shapes, with different textures and noises as we touch and usually soft. It is not that they are necessary for us to relate to them, but they are not prohibited either.
If we consider that they can serve us as a vehicle to spend a pleasant time with our children, let us use them. If instead we see that they pay little attention to them, they may be telling us that it is early for toys and that they prefer another type of relationship.
Playing with babies means being with them, stimulating them, but doing so so that they enjoy and enjoy us too. Talk to them while we touch them, or while we do everyday things (change the diaper, dress, undress, cream, do a massage, ...), sing them a song, or several, teach them some of the commented toys, etc.
It is advisable do not abuse the stroller, of the cribs or mini-cribs and hammocks, because there they do not have much to do beyond the roof, the sky and the high parts of the walls. On the other hand, if we take them in our arms we touch them more, we talk to them more, we look at them more and they also look at us more and see us making our lives, which is not little.
Our contact reassures them
After two weeks you can start to massage them. It is recommended that they be done when they are awake and relaxed. It is important to be able to touch them naked (or with a diaper) with our bare hands, to feel the contact with the skin, and that they are in a comfortable place with a nice tempeture (The warmth causes more oxytocin to secrete and therefore the baby is better).
There is no need to be strong and, although there are techniques to do it well, if we do it smoothly, like stroking, you don't have to be an expert to do it, but just enjoy the moment. If for anything at that time you do not feel like it, do not insist. Not everyone wants a massage depending on what time.
Stimulating their little bodies
The opposite moment to relax with our touch can be play in a more active way, looking for them to make some movements and to know their bodies and where they are. Obviously in a very basic way, because they are still babies. To give an example, young children often like to try their movement, and most manage to do so even in a bed. To do this we can turn them upside down, awake, of course, and putting our hands as a stop for their feet. Most take advantage of that stop to stretch their legs and move.
When they grow a little and hold the head more we can do a similar exercise, but making the baby of a few small jumps. We will achieve this by taking the baby by the armpits and resting him on the floor with both feet. Then we pretend to jump (a little, which is not a plan to make it fly) and lift it off the ground. Then we lower it until the feet touch the ground again. That moment makes them see that they have found their top and then we can make them jump again. Soon they will wait for the moment to touch the ground and they will make the jump themselves.
When they are already able to grab things with their hands, say about 3 or 4 months, we can start giving them those toys that they can take to shake or even bring them closer to their mouths, suck them and / or bite them. In this age too, since they already hold their head more, we can play change the world from lying to sitting. We take their hands, also holding by the wrists so that they do not slip, and we lift them until they sit down, to knock them down again. It would be something like doing assisted abs, finding our face up saying "hello" or "aaaAAAAaaa", which usually serves as a stimulus to want to go back up to see us saying the same thing.
By six months they are better able to take things with their hands and play with them for a while. I don't want to say that you have to leave them alone, because they won't, but we can adapt the games to their new capabilities. As curiosity will make them want to take things, we can take advantage that they already know how to turn around the toys around him, and no longer hanging or too close. A turn can leave them in a position to take a toy, or it can leave them near it. Then he will have to decide whether to try to crawl to get to him, cry so we can give it to him or make a new turn to get him.
Obviously, although they have already grown a little and are better able to play, some even sitting because they are already maintained, our arms are still very important and essential communication. Let's abuse it, let's talk to them a lot, let's take them as much as we can, so they can see how we live and learn and get distracted even with our daily chores and our verbalized reflections. There is no better way to stimulate a baby than that, sharing time with them, the more the better.
Photos | Dustin McClure, Devin on Flickr On Babies and more | Quality time or quantity of time ?, The three bases of your child's learning: the game, Intellectual development at home: tactile stimulation
