Developmentally Appropriate Learning Activities for Infants

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Looking for ways to help your baby develop from the comfort of your own home? Here are some fun, developmentally appropriate learning activities that you can do with your baby that will also double as quality bonding time.

0-3 months:

Children at this age are still developing their senses, especially their sight. Everything is new to them! Simple, little things are enjoyable to infants at this time. Some great activities to develop their sense are:

• Bubbles: All children love bubbles, but small babies enjoy seeing them move and it helps them develop their sense of sight by watching their movement.
• Mobiles: These are also fun for babies to focus on
• Baby “aerobics”: While your baby lays down on their back, stretch their arms and legs, and as they get older add more movements like little sit-ups by holding their hands and pulling them up.

3-6 months:

Children at these ages are developing quickly, from holding their own heads up, sitting up, crawling, laughing, etc. Babies love simple activities like having their parent sing them a song with movements for them to look at, or exaggerated facial expressions for them to try and learn.

Tummy time is very important at this stage—it helps them learn to hold their own head up and build their endurance to be able to crawl. While lying on their stomach, place different objects within their reach, and some out of their reach. Help your baby by stretching their arms to reach these objects, and even let them try it on their own—if they want it badly enough they will learn how to reach it.

6-12 months:

These six months of a baby’s life are all about gross motor skills where they usually learn to crawl, climb and/or walk. If your baby gets to the point where he or she can hold themselves up on their own in a crawling position (on their hands and knees), place your hands or arms behind your baby’s feet to give them something to push against. You can even push their feet forwards a little bit to show their body how to crawl.

It is always so tempting to hold your baby in your arms whenever possible, but a really great way to help your baby develop is to strengthen their legs. Have your baby stand up while you are holding their hands—let them practice walking or bouncing up and down, whatever they are developmentally ready for.

Your baby is going to want to pull himself up and climb all over everything—this is developmentally appropriate. To help your baby along, you can set up little obstacle courses for them to practice their skills on. Place different size pillows on the floor (the bigger the better) and let your baby go to town. Bean bag chairs are very fun!

Other easy activities for this age:

• Musical instruments: Place beans or rice in different sized Tupperware containers and let your baby explore. It might be noisy, but that’s why they love it!
• Scarves: Have any old scarves? Put some in a basket and let your baby pull them out as she pleases. She will love the different colors, the way the fall, and the way they feel. Let her put them over her head while you play peek-a-boo or dance around with the scarves in your hands to see how they move. There are a lot of possibilities.
• Laundry: This might sound silly, but you will find that babies love laundry, and can be a fun way to bond while finishing housework. Place your laundry basket on the floor and let your baby pull up on the side of the basket and explore the clothes inside. Your child’s experience with this will change as he gets older, and you will be able to find more ways to interact with your child (more in the 18 month section).