Baby Activities Chart
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A quick guide to baby activity and educational basics.
Activity suggestions build on common age-related developmental stages
and abilities of your baby.
| AGE |
WHAT MANY BABIES DO |
ACTIVITIES |
| |
||
| Newborn |
Babies listen and respond to your voice and other sounds; they show their feelings by cooing, gurgling, smiling and crying. |
* Listen and talk to your baby throughout the day. Smile and praise your baby for learning something new. * Find out what your baby’s sounds and actions mean. Talk to your child about what he or she seems to be saying. * While feeding, diapering and bathing your baby, take time to sing songs, say nursery rhymes, and smile and coo in response to your baby. |
| 3-8 Months |
Babies
play with sounds and they babble to themselves. Babies can play
peek-a-boo. They wave arms and kick feet to show excitement and they
enjoy being read to. |
* Talk and read with your baby. Use words and play actions when talking with your baby. * Play games with your baby, such as peek-a-boo, that teach your child about taking turns when communicating with another person. * Place a rattle in your baby’s hand. Hold out a squeeze toy for your baby to grab. * Hand things to your baby and ask the baby to hand them back. |
| 8-12 Months |
Babies understand and respond to gestures, facial expressions and changes in tone of voice. Babies understand simple words, such as “Bye Bye”, “Daddy” and “Mommy.” Babies put books in their mouths and turn pages in sturdy books. | * Read and tell stories with your baby every day. Have fun! * Make reading a shared experience. Point to pictures and name the objects. * Provide books that are safe to touch and taste. Cloth and washable books are good for babies to handle. * When you read to your baby, hold the baby on your lap and hold the book so that the baby can see the pictures. |
Source: US Department of Education