Its very easy to get in the cycle of just looking after your baby. That is, feeding, cleaning, bathing, changing etc. But Babies also need to be stimulated for their minds to grow together with their bodies. For your baby to develop she/he will need your care, attention and love. By spending time and playing with your baby , you will be providing an environment of nurturing while helping her to learn about the world she lives in.
As your baby grows and as her skills and abilities develop to be able to do many more the things, the way you play with your baby will adapt to her needs – from quiet visual games when she is newborn to noisier active games by the end of her first year. Not only will your baby improve her physical skills but her comprehension of the world around her will increase. Through play and guidance from you, she will find her confidence and understand interaction with others. Most importantly of all, she will develop a sense of fun. Playtime will be something that both you and your baby can enjoy.
Toys are a great instrument to encourage play and give both of you a medium to create different ways of pl
aying. For example a farm yard, can offer endless varieties of games from being the farmer to singing nursery rhymes. A pushstick to encourage walking and to have fun on walks to the shops. Its important to encourage visual stimulation in either toys or day-to-day objects we see in the house or out-and-about. We need to keep talking to our little ones. Even if it means just talking what you are thinking.
Its great to have a fabric book that has squishy and crinkly pages but it gets dirty quite quickly. They either are dropped on the floor or pavement while out and about or get covered with mushy baby food. Of course, it is easy to pop it into the washing machine (but will loose it crinkle sounds) or use a wet wipe (but is it truly clean?).
