0-1 Years Baby Activities

Children’s best learning place is always their playground. Babies, like adults, acquire their learning skills while playing. For this reason, baby activities at home are of great importance for the physical and mental development of the baby. You can contribute to your baby’s growth and development with activities suitable for your baby’s developmental characteristics every month.

Expert Baby Massage Trainer İrem Kalkavan talked about the special activities for each month, from 1-month-old baby activities to 1-year-old baby activities, that you can do at home with your little one!

1 month old baby activities

• Imitate your baby’s facial expressions and sounds.
• Speak softly into his ear or play music for your baby.
• Show him simple shapes, bright and colorful objects or pictures.
• Hang small, active toys by the side of your bed.
• Listen to melodious lullabies and nursery rhymes.
• Say a certain rhyme at the same times as a routine. For example, if you always sing the same lullaby while giving your baby a bath, you may find that over time he gets used to it and expects it from you.

2 month old baby activities

• Talking to your baby can be the most fun game for him during this period. You can speak loudly to get his attention and low to calm him down.
• You can entertain him by circling bright and colorful toys around his face and audible toys around his ears.
• He may try to turn his head towards you when you say his name slowly in his ear.
• This month, babies start to cry in different ways for different needs. When she realizes why her baby is crying, “You are crying because you are hungry, I understand you. Come on, have some milk.” It would be better if you tell him that with sentences like.

3 month old baby activities

• Give him a toy and show him how you can make a sound with it.
• From time to time, hold him in your arms and help him see his surroundings from a different angle.
• Turn your attention to your baby by singing and dancing with him.
• Give her hands different textures, shapes and sizes so she can perceive their differences.
• Entertain with active and soft toys.
• Show many different objects and encourage him to catch them.

4 month old baby activities

• Play music to your baby.
• Taking time to play with bath toys while bathing will be supportive for his development.
• Motivate your baby to develop new abilities. Celebrate your successes with a smile and a hug and love.
• Give him a safe space to explore new things and play with his toys.
• Give your baby toys that he can grasp or accompany his rhythm.

5 month old baby activities

• Let your baby see himself by placing a mirror on his bed.
• Imitate different facial expressions by standing in front of the mirror together and express them with words. This can be supportive for the development of your baby’s emotional intelligence.
• You can turn going out for a walk with your baby and explaining to him/her into an intelligence-enhancing game. Talking longer about the objects that he is more interested in, making sure that the baby touches these objects if possible and sees what they are for helps him explore his surroundings.
• Sit with your baby face to face and look at each other’s faces. When your baby laughs, you laugh, and when you laugh, he will laugh too. Then make different facial expressions and your baby will start to imitate these expressions as well.

6 month old baby activities

• Hold the not-too-full bottle with both hands and let him drink your milk.
• Read books together. Hold your baby in your arms and open a thick book together, let your baby turn the pages. In this way, fine motor skills will develop, finger muscles will be strengthened and he will learn to use his fingers.
• During this period, babies start to make sounds while playing with their toys and dealing with something. One of the intelligence-enhancing activities for a 6-month-old baby is to react to these sounds. Listen as he makes noises, and when he is silent, speak as if you were answering him.
• Go where he can see you, open your arms and say you’ll hug him.
• Get your baby to move more by buying cylindrical rollable toys.
• Cover the lamp part of a flashlight with cardboard cut into various shapes. Turn off the lights and project this shadow on the wall.

7 month old baby activities

• You can support muscle development by giving your baby a variety of toys that he can squeeze.
• Close your face and open by saying ‘Ce-e’. After a while, you can see your baby playing this game by imitating you.
• Dance with your baby.
• Buy interlocking block toys. You can also play such games with various covers in the house.

8 month old baby activities

• Make fun sounds and movements that your baby will love to imitate.
• Encourage her to dance, walk and keep pace by supporting her standing.
• Stuff your toys in a basket and show them how to get them out. Then refill and let it drain.
• Put your toy far away and help him with his movements so he can pick it up.
• Encourage holding and lifting toys to develop hand muscles.

9 month old baby activities

• Stand in front of the mirror with your baby and try different facial expressions such as “surprised, delighted, happy, unhappy” together. Don’t forget to introduce the facial expressions you make.
• When playing with your baby, add a favorite plush toy to the game.
• When playing with toys, take a toy and hide it under a small cover. Your baby will look for the toy and find it by removing the cover.

10 month old baby activities

• Put toys in boxes of different sizes. Shake the boxes to arouse baby’s curiosity and encourage them to open the lids and explore the contents of the box.
• Buttoned toys are interesting for babies who develop fine motor skills this period. Put buttons of different colors in front of you, toys that make a sound when you press, and let your fingers get stronger.
• You can play slow-paced games of catch with baby as he prepares to take his first steps.

11 month old baby activities

• Cover half of a toy with something or hide it under the pillow and ask your baby where he is.
• Small bubbles come out with soap bubbles and a latch.
• Play large and small piece puzzles and shape placement games. With these games, your baby learns opposite concepts such as big and small, shapes and colors. 11-month-old baby intelligence games like this are very important.
• Sit your baby in a highchair, place a bowl and pasta in front of her. Ask him to grab the pasta with his fingers and toss it into the bowl. In the meantime, never leave your baby alone, be careful not to swallow the pasta.

12 month old baby activities

• This month, your baby still enjoys being in the same environment and communicating with other children, even if he or she cannot play for long periods of time. You can leave your baby away from you, even for a short time, with their peers.
• Imitate animal sounds together. Ask your baby to point to the animals in books and pictures and imitate their sounds.
• Hide a toy in front of your baby and then support him in finding it.
• Encourage her to communicate with other babies.