Things to Do With and Activities For Babies 0-6 Months

Are you looking for the interesting things to do and activities for babies from newborn to 3 months or from 3 months to 6 months. So was I with my own children. I currently have a baby of 4 months and this article gives lots of suggestions and ideas of activities to do with babies based on my own experience with my first child and my new baby son. Many of the suggestions are good developmental and learning activities for babies. There are indoor, outdoor, physical, art and creative activities for babies too. Ideas include songs, games, exploration, dancing, homemade toys and lots more. There are also lots of links to other great resources.

Read on for lots of things to do with your baby.

Here are some activities that are primarily visual:

Blowing Bubbles Young babies love to watch bubbles. As they get older they will enjoy trying to touch them too.

Peek-a-boo A classic games is peek-a-boo. Hide under a blanket or behind a sofa and pop out to your baby to say boo. Babies loves this game and it has my young baby in fits of giggles.

Tracking objects This is a good activity for newborn babies. Hold an object in front of their eyes. When it gets their attention move the object slowly from left to right and encourage baby to track the object. Good for developing focus and concentration.

Puppets Babies love watching bright colorful puppets move about. Maybe move the puppet along to music too.

Mirrors Babies love looking in mirrors. When they've focused on the mirror you can also move a hand mirror from left to right and encourage them to track it.

Books There are lots of baby books that babies will love looking at with contrasting and bright colors. Talk about what you can see in the books to help improve language development too.

Here are a selection of toys for 0 to 6 month old babies.

Playmats and baby gyms are often a good choice for this age group.

Traditionally mothers have always sang to their babies and as testament to this there are nursery rhymes and lullabies going back many years. Singing or rhthmically talking is a natural instinct for many mothers to communicate with their babies. The reason for this is that it helps young babies with their first steps in communication. Here are a few old and new ideas of musical and rhthmic activities to try with your baby.

Sing nursery rhymes. There are so many nursery rhymes. The great thing about nursery rhymes is there's lots of opportunities to do actions and move with your baby too. Incy, Wincy Spider or Itsy Bitsy Spider has great actions that my son has loved to watch from about 3 months old (or even younger). Humpty Dumpty is another good example, move your baby down as Humpty falls of the wall. Bounce up and down with your baby too. You can sing nursery rhymes at home or there are lots of great groups for singing with babies.

Sing to your baby throughout the day As well as nursery rhymes I make up little rhymes to sing throughout day when I'm changing his diaper, when he wakes up, while I'm doing the housework etc. This is good for language development.

Musical instruments You can use musical instruments such as drums and shakers to help babies learn about rythmn. If you haven't got musical instruments a spoon and a pan, or a homemade shaker can work just as well. Put on some music and hit your drum, pan, or shake the shaker in time with the music. Babies enjoy watching this and as they get older they can grab the shakers and sticks to have a go themselves.

Dancing Hold your baby and dance around the room to your favorite music.

Tap and clap with your baby When your singing tap your baby in time with song your singing so they can "feel" the rhythm. You can also clap out rythms too.

Babies will develop their sense of touch during the 0 to 6 month age. Here are some activities to help with this development:

Touch different materials Very young babies often have clenched fist but you can gently unclench them and encourage them to feel materials of different textures. See what you have around the house. Choose different blankets, towels, bath robes, chiffron, scarves and clothes.

Household objects There are lots of different household objects that babies will love to touch and explore as they get older. One idea is to make a treasure box of lots of different household objects they can hold and touch as they get older. Obviously make sure there are no small items that they can choke on as everything will go in their mouth from about 3 months onwards. Ideas include sponges, wooden spoons, small cups and different materials. Some items such as a new toothbrush make good teething object and will get them used to a toothbrush so they will be more open to having their teeth cleaned when they get some.

Tickle, kiss and touch Lay your baby on the floor and kiss, tickle and touch your baby in different areas.Tickle and touch, the feet and hands. Kiss their face. Blow rasberries on their tummy. Tell them what you're doing to help language development too.

Baby massage Do gentle baby massage to relax and soothe babies

Blow Blow softly on their fingers, toes and more.

If the weather is good you may want to get outside with your baby. Here are some top suggestions:

Walking with a Baby Carrier Invest in a good baby carrier and go walking with your baby. Talk about what you can see, hear and smell. My own son loves looking at trees for some reason and will stare at the leaves for ages. If you don't have a baby carrier just use your stroller and get out and walk.

Blanket outside Lay baby on a blanket outside and let them enjoy the fresh air, sights and sounds. As they get older they will love to roll to see a different view of the world. Take their favorite toys outside too.

Water play If it's warm outside fill up a washing up bowl with water. Sit your baby on your lap or sit them next to you and let the splash in the water. Prepared to get a bit wet with this one.

Here are some ideas of physical activities for young babies:

Move their arms and legs Move their arms, legs, hands and feet around. Talk about what you're doing. Maybe put on some music and move them to the time of the music.

Play Mat Young babies need exercise time. When they're very young they love to kick their legs, building their strength and burning off energy. It's very important especially nowadays when they spend a lot of time in car seats and bouncy chairs. As they get older, they will love to roll too. Tummy time is also important. I found my son enjoyed being on his tummy from about 2 months although it is recommended to start tummy time before this.

Here are some more ideas of activities and things to do:

First art activity Once your baby is sitting up you could try some finger painting with non toxic paint and a large sheet of paper.

Exercise with your baby There are lots of ways you can get fit with your baby. Dancing with your baby, walking with the stroller, doing exercises such as press ups with your baby underneath you are some ideas. There are often mom and baby exercise classes. Check out what's going on where you live - ideas include baby and yoga classes. Or alternatively, exercises at home with a workout DVD. There are some which include babies in your workout. Check out some ideas below.

Please feel free to comment on the suggestions given and add a few more.