Exercises for babies

What can be done with babies? How to entertain them wisely from birth to the first steps? Here we bring you 5 simple and fun games that are suitable for the development and stimulation of babies aged 0-12 months.

How to stimulate the baby’s psycho-physical development?

During the first months of life, babies can achieve countless goals every day in the face of loving and often surprised eyes from mother and father. Gradually acquiring these new skills goes hand in hand with the game needed to move and discover the body. For this reason, it is important to offer the baby the opportunity to experiment in the first year, while respecting his or her natural motor achievements.

But what can be done to entertain a newborn or infant is asked by some parents who are running out of ideas. For example, according to pediatricians, it is not appropriate to put small babies in a sitting position if they have not yet acquired this position on their own.

It is also important not to over-prohibit a child’s actions by showing confidence in his or her “actions”. For example, when he is 2-3 months old trying to reach the chosen object, he practices his problem-solving skills to understand what interests him.

In fact, moving and discovering what he can do with his body is the main challenge for every child in their first year of life. That’s why it’s so important not to force a child to be in a child seat, playground, bed, or other place that limits him or her all day. Instead, it is recommended to stimulate him with simple games and activities.

1. Playing with a mirror

Among the endless changes that life brings to the newborn, a new parent may forget the importance of lying down on their stomachs while awake and doing simple activities with them. This is essential because lying on your stomach promotes movement and stimulates the temporary. Among other things, it facilitates drainage in the channels between the ears and the nose, which become quite clogged, causing ear infections.

A simple and fun idea is to place a mirror in front of the baby when he is on his stomach on the bed or on a soft rug. Let your baby play with your mirror image for a few seconds: the little one has a hard time raising his head, so it is recommended not to extend the playing time, but you can repeat it several times a day.

2. Toys that can be grabbed

Your baby doesn’t need many things in his first months of life. And that’s why it’s a great way to create a corner for your baby with a low mattress or blanket where he can move freely on his own.

It is advisable to place some items here that she can grab herself, such as a scarf, some rattles, a wooden toy or a household tool that the baby can also put safely in her mouth.

To play with the baby, bring the objects closer without placing them directly in front of him, so he can coordinate the movements needed to grab the object alone. Succeeding in this endeavor brings great joy to every baby, and tracking his or her progress brings joy to the parent as well!

3. Play the ladder

Slightly larger babies are fascinated by the stairs even before a quick walk: climbing the stairs is a great exercise to improve hands and muscle tone. For this exercise, use a small vertical ladder and help put your little one to the first step. It is equally useful and fun to play with a ladder placed horizontally on the floor, encouraging the baby to move forward with his hands, knees and legs.

4. Box game

If your baby is already happily crawling around the house and it seems that he is testing his motor skills at any moment, he will have fun coming out of a simple cardboard box on his own.

To do this, use one box that is large enough and durable enough to accommodate the child. The edges of the box should not be too high for the child to rest on, and for added safety, place the entire box on a rug or deck.

To make the game more exciting, put a few toys around the box and challenge your little one to pick them up. Such activities require a lot of motor planning and are very useful to stimulate the child to find a solution by improving his / her coordination skills.

5. Color game

Every baby’s activity is a great discovery for her: the simplest activities of adults, such as opening and closing, inserting and emptying, pulling and pushing, building and destroying, are crucial for growth, as the famous doctor and educator Maria Montessori claimed.

For example, to stimulate a one and a half year old baby to recognize colors, it’s a simple and fun idea to invite him to find pairs of things of the same color. Just choose an even number of common items, such as a spoon, toothbrush, oven glove, or comb, that match the color.

Let your baby choose, but not too many things, so as not to confuse him. These things have to be divided by color into different baskets, bowls or containers, showing yourself a few times how the game works.

The best way to learn for babies is definitely through play, so try all the games suggested here to make your little baby move independently and to help him develop both cognitively and physically.