You’re out of the newborn stage, sadly for some, joyously for others. Your baby now has longer wake windows and is becoming more mobile, so what activities can you do? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Below is a list of activities that you can use to entertain your baby in the 3-6 month stage.
Go on walks
Getting out in nature is great for all ages, from 0 – 100+, so it’s the first thing on the list. You can use a pram or a baby carrier for this, depending on the terrain and you can also turn it into a sensory activity. From about 4 months onwards, you can let baby touch and feel nature. Leaves, bark, pinecones etc are all textures that baby has never experienced before. Just be sure to supervise baby at all times to make sure nature doesn’t go into their mouths.
Books
High contrast cloth books and sensory cloth books are still a big hit at this age. Now that baby is more in control of their hands, they will be able to grab the books and feel all the textures.
Reading rhyming books with colourful pictures is also a nice bonding experience for you and baby. They will enjoy hearing you talk in rhyming language and colourful pictures for them to look at is a bonus. They still might not make it through a whole book, but reading at this early age is beneficial to their language and communication development. To find out more, read our post about the benefits of reading.
Tummy time/floor time
Even though your baby will probably have good neck and head strength, tummy time is still important for building strength and coordination. Your baby will be rolling during this period making floor time a lot more interesting. They may be able to cover quite a distance just by rolling, so it might be an idea to invest in a play pen or travel cot. We used a travel cot as it could be easily moved from room to room so I could let him roll about safely, regardless of whether the room was baby proof or not.
Tummy time pillows are also great for floor time as baby will be getting to the stage where they can interact with all the parts of the pillow. These can be used with babies younger than 3 months, but babies engage more with it during the 3-6 month stage.
Baby swing
Having a baby swing that has a mobile above it is handy for somewhere to place baby when you need to be hands free. You can attach baby links or teething toys to the swing so baby can work on their hand eye coordination too.
Peekaboo
A classic game to start playing at this age. The first time you play, you might not get the response you were hoping for, but eventually, you and baby will both love this game. It also helps teach babies about object permanence ie. that objects are still there even though they can’t be seen.
Waterplay
If you have a big bath then bath toys are a great sensory activity, even just trickling water over babies hands can be mesmerizing for them.
During the darker nights, you can create a sensory experience in the bath with glowsticks. Put glowsticks in the bath and turn the lights out. Swirling the glowsticks around creates a wonderful light show in the water. Do not let baby pick up the glowsticks though, just in case they were to put them in their mouth. You can extend the life of the glowsticks by storing them in the freezer, allowing you to create the lightshow multiple nights in a row.
Swimming is also a good activity if you have access to a warm pool. Babies can go swimming at any age, but waiting until they have a little more body fat and a bit more head control at the 3 month mark is quite common. For more information about what to take with you, see our post about swimming with baby.
Singing and Talking
Babies still love singing. Heads shoulders knees and toes is still a great one, or if you don’t fancy nursery rhyme songs, ‘Rock a Bye Baby lullaby covers’ on spotify is sure to have a backing track that will take your fancy.
Continue to talk to your baby regularly, narrate what you are doing throughout the day, even if that is going to make a cup of coffee, let baby know. They will love being involved, hearing your voice will be soothing for them.
Jumperoo
A jumperoo is quite a cumbersome piece of baby gear but if you have room, it is quite a good one to have. Your baby must have good head control, so it may be 5 months by the time they are ready to use it, but it is an engaging toy for them to interact with. Only use them for short periods of time though, 5-10 mins at a time, as some research shows that prolonged use can affect their development.
Tickling
Baby will become ticklish during this stage, so if you love those baby giggles, get tickling.
Bubbles
Now that babies eyesight is more developed, they will be able to see and track bubbles floating about.
Bubbles can also be paired with a baby light projector if you have one to create a sensory light show in the dark for baby.
Toys for 3-6 months
- Highchair suction toys are good for hand eye coordination if baby is in a highchair or bumbo seat.
- Teething toys are a must at this age as they will start teething.
- Hand puppets that play peekaboo
- Playgym that grows with them.
- Ball pit, again, quite a large piece of baby gear, but a good one for playing in. Even if baby can’t sit yet, you can lie them down in amongst the balls to let them experience the sensation.
