Playing together with your newborn will not only deepen the bond you share, but can help to develop your baby’s understanding of the world. 

Combine interaction with your baby, games, and toys, to give your little one plenty of opportunities to have fun while learning important movement and motor skills for a bright future.

Reasons to play with your newborn

There are many benefits to playing together with your newborn. You will get to know each other more, and your baby will learn to trust and depend of you, which helps him to feel more loved and secure.

Playing will also aid in your baby’s overall development. Through playing, your baby will learn how to interact with the world around him. Games can also help your baby’s ability to understand words and develop movement and motor skills.

Fun ideas for playing with newborns

Here are some play ideas for newborns to help new moms get started.

• Sing nursery rhymes and have conversations out loud, even if they are one way
• Simple games like counting toes or blowing raspberries
• Face-to-face play - makes faces, smile, laugh, roll your eyes, and poke out your tongue
• Let your baby play with and feel different objects. Just make sure they are safe for him to play with, such as soft toys, rattles, blocks, or use dangling toys to encourage your baby to reach for them.
• Take your baby around to look at different places and people. Try different rooms indoors or go outside for a change of scenery
• Make simple actions along with music so your baby can learn to copy you.
• Give your baby tummy time by putting him on his tummy so he can practice lifting his elbows and head. Start with a couple of minutes per day and build up to longer periods of time