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All parents want the best for their kids – and this includes the best possible environment for them to grow and thrive.
One of the things that might be concerning you is the question: what baby brain games are the best for your kid’s health, body, and cognitive development?
Today, we will clear this up for you with a detailed list of the best games for babies you can play with your little ones to develop their brains and get their heads buzzing with new ideas.
As fellow parents of an infant, that’s what we all want, right?
Baby Brain Game Ideas to Develop Fine Motor Skills And Achieve Developmental Milestones
Here’s a list of some of the best baby games that’ll get you and your baby closer with one another, developing the ideal parent-child bond.
They also help engage the little one’s brain in some healthy activities and skills that are perfect for the developing brain. Check them out!
Cognitive Development Activities For Infants 0 to 3 Months
Talking
Speaking to your child from a young age is crucial. Replying to their coos and little reactions is something you should start from the very first month of their lives to reach the brain’s developmental milestones.
Musical Toys
Adding some musical toys to your baby’s play gym or Montessori is among some recommended cognitive activities for your baby.
It is an impressive way to help the baby learn new animal sounds and interact with music, as these toys can easily catch their attention and help them communicate. These will help greatly in your children’s development.
Baby Play Gym
Baby play gyms are incredibly popular and for good reason. They promote development by providing your baby with various new experiences: sounds, colors, and textures.
They are an excellent alternative for parents who are busy but refuse to let their young kids sit in front of a TV all day. Play gyms for babies can be more stimulating for them too!
Musical Face Baby Games
Listening to new and exciting sounds is one of the best forms of activity for younger babies. Because of this, playing soft tunes for your child from a very young age can be a great idea.
Not to mention, it’s also easier than you think because all you have to do is assign a sound to individual parts of your face. Some good options are sneezing with your nose or blowing raspberries with your tongue.
Make your baby listen to these. Allow them to focus on the same parts of your face while making those sounds again. After a while, touch your baby’s nose or chin and study if they make a sound too.
Cognitive Activities For Infants 3 to 6 Months
React Back
By the eighth month of their lives, most babies start babbling and their vocal cords are developed just as much as yours. They won’t start speaking words but will experiment with new sounds as much as they can.
So, replying to them with your conversation like “really?!” or “is that so?” and even “tell me more” will help build the auditory and language centers in their brains.
Reading
Looking for a perfect brain game for your kids? Well, look no further because reading is always the best of the cognitive activities. Get your baby a wooden book that has simple sounds and words you know they like or even pictures.
It helps the baby focus on different words and the interaction with you helps them want to talk to you, even if they just babble.
It helps increase vocabulary and can help them get a headstart in eventually reading in the classroom too.
Reading is a healthy activity that is beneficial for their attention skills and is also a fun learning opportunity. If you’re looking for brain development activities for 2 year olds or baby games that are great for the children’s fine motor skills, then go for reading.
Art
What better way to let your kids have creative autonomy than to let them do some crafty and artsy activities? You can do that by handing them a blank sheet of paper and a pack of crayons.
While scribbling, they let their minds run and get some of that creativity to pour out of them – which is perfect for future classroom cognitive activities too!
Painting With Food
For younger kids, painting with their food can be great. Put them in their kiddy seats and place some food before them and let them make that mess. The sense of touch is a big part of learning. Let them touch those different textures and develop some fine motor skills.
Nursery Rhymes
Fun nursery rhymes were a big part of our childhood, weren’t they? Making them a part of our children’s life is also a great idea. Getting some baby-appropriate apps to add to your ‘baby brain games’ folder will come in handy at times of emergency.
Even children who haven’t started speaking yet will love these because the rhyming words stimulate them and help them differentiate similar words and sounds from one another. A great games for babies app that will have rhymes is the ChuCHu Tv Nursery Rhyme application.
Tummy Time
Some fun tummy time every day is great for the brain and infant’s cognitive development. It is great for the development of the baby’s sensory and cognitive system and helps them be more aware of their environment.
Cognitive Activities For Infants 6 to 12 Months
Communication
Communication is a very important part of all relationships and it is one of the best ways to soothe your baby and give them the attention they need. Moreover, it is so fun and it also helps your baby learn new words that they could speak in the future.
Parentese
Use that hidden actor within you with your kids by speaking in high-pitched voices. This is called “parentese”. It is a manner of talking that uses higher-pitched sounds.
Children learn from both language and facial expressions. In the future, these small habits will be highly beneficial for classroom learning as they strengthen vision and listening abilities.
Baby Gym
As your babies grow old, you should ensure that their routine includes some type of physical activity. You can make this happen by developing your kid’s play gym.
Your kid will need these daily activities as they stimulate blood flow and contribute to brain development and body growth. Additionally, a little bit of workout won’t hurt, right?
Walk
Everyone enjoys a good stroll through a park, and so does your baby. It is a great way for them to interact with nature while also stimulating blood flow through that much-needed physical activity.
If your baby is old enough to crawl, you can let them venture out in the park for some time. And if the kid still isn’t old enough to move around on their own, then you can use a baby stroller or carrier and venture out with them.
Dancing
Didn’t expect this one, did you? A dance party with your baby might be something you weren’t expecting to see on this list. But let me tell you, it is highly effective and fun.
So take a break from that hectic routine and put on some lullabies, slow jazz, your favorite slow show tune, a gentle indie track, or even an instrumental cover of your favorite pop song.
It’ll give your baby a feeling of security and help calm them while developing a pattern of security in the limbic system in their head.
Montessori Playroom
A Montessori playroom is something that evolves as your kid gets older but this a method that has been used by parents all over the world for educating their kids from a very young age through the help of the baby’s senses.
Self-directed activities are also a huge contributor to the learning process. This playroom will include age-appropriate activities and Montessori toys that enable the kids to use their minds creatively while using a hands-on method that involves all senses.
Stacking Blocks
Get your kid a pack of building blocks and watch as they learn to make different things with them. Starting from simply hitting two blocks together and realizing that creates sound, they will slowly start making shapes or towers.
Not only will this help them learn balance but it can also assist you in teaching shapes to them. Now you watch as their brains further their cognitive development!
I personally loved this block set from Lovevery!
Conclusion
Hopefully, you found some good brain games for kids and infant cognitive development activities.
Every new experience, sound, texture, and sight is an opportunity for your baby to learn something new which assists them in their brain and cognitive development.
Some physical activity, change of boundaries, and artistic freedom with a handful of wholesome conversations can make this process even more effective. Good luck and happy parenting!
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