Playing with your Newborn

Your baby may look like a helpless, fragile little person, but she is growing, learning and taking in the world around her all the time. The best thing you as parents can do at this stage is to encourage and play with your baby to help her development. Babies are great imitators and even at a few hours old, will respond to you sticking your tongue out by doing it back. They also love faces, so pulling and twisting your face and letting her fingers explore yours will become a favourite game. Babies also use their instincts all the time, which is why when you put her to your breast she will suck.

Talking
She also loves to learn and takes in more information at this stage in her life than she ever will. At this age she can adapt to any language, which is why it is important to talk to her all the time. She may not be able to understand the words you are saying, but she can hear the sounds you make and is learning about expression, emotion and the basics of communication when you speak. Explain what you are doing all the time, for instance, ‘now you are going to have a bath,’ or ‘who is that at the door, shall we go and check?’ so that she starts to learn the names for things and gets used to hearing your voice.

Singing
Your baby loves to hear your voice, no matter whether you can sing or not, so sing to her as much as possible. Try nursery rhymes you remember from your childhood, or tune into your favourite radio station and sing along.
There have been numerous reports that classical music actually boosts babies’ IQs and studies show that playing music to babies in the womb and in their early years helps to build the neural pathways where thoughts and information travel. At the very least babies are soothed by all sorts of music, so putting on a classical CD in the evening when they tend to get grumpy, helps them relax and un-wind for bedtime. You can also use lullabies as part of the bedtime routine, so your baby recognises that soothing tunes means bedtime is near. Watch your baby’s reactions when you play music, sing and talk to her, she may respond more to certain types of music. She can grasp a rattle from about three months onwards, so she can shake away to her favourite tunes.

Games to play with your baby
- In the bath you can safely splish splash the water across her skin, making water sounds around her.
- Take your baby to a mirror and sit her in front of it. She will not know it is her until she is about 15 months old, but even tiny babies are fascinated by mirror reflections, not least because they can see their favourite people – mum and dad – reflected back.
- Uncurl newborn fingers and stroke each one gently up and down.
- Tickle your newborn baby’s feet, hands and under her chin. Babies don’t normally start to smile until around six weeks, but she will still love tickling games. Try ‘Round and round the garden’ on the palm of her hand, or ‘this little piggy…’ on her toes.
- Make as many different noises as you can when playing with your baby, blow a raspberry on her stomach, or make a quack quack noise for a duck.
- Your newborn baby’s eyesight is still very limited in the early weeks, and she can probably only see about eight to twelve inches from her face. Research shows that even a four-day-old infant will stare at her mum’s face longer than anyone else’s. Move your face close in to her, so she can see you clearly. She will also love simple shapes and high contrast colours at this early stage, especially black and white, as it is easier to distinguish before her eyesight improves.
- Young babies love to stare at cot mobiles, or the shapes which hang off play gyms. Choose simple shapes and bold colours, or mobiles that play soothing tunes.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

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