Not every activity will be appropriate for every child. And there is obviously a huge developmental gap between a six month old and a one year old. Use your best judgment before trying these activities. You may even want to consult your doctor.
35 THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR 6-12 MONTH OLD
- Make silly faces at your baby. This should elicit lots of giggles by baby or you as your sweet little one tries to imitate you.
- Make homemade bubbles. This blog post has a lot of great recipes, so one of them bound to work well for your young’un.
- Mimic your baby. If baby makes a sound. Repeat it. Little man and I can spend hours on this one!
- Read books. Lots of books. And then read some more.
- Read a texture book. Yes this is still reading, but this one gets its own mention since it’s also a great sensory/texture lesson. We have this set of books, and little man adores them!
- Play a game of Patty Cake.
- Sing songs. Make up the words. Put in a CD. Listen to YouTube. Have fun with it!
- Dance together. Hold baby in your arms and dance. Slow music, fast music, ANY music!
- Play crawling wars. Basically a game of tag or chase.
- Play peak-a-boo. You can do this with a blanket, your hands, or really anything that you can duck behind.
- Play with toy cards. Yes, even if you have a girl!
- Create a discovery basket.
- Create a spider web discovery basket. All you need is some yarn and a laundry basket. You child will LOVE pulling toys in and out of it.
- Let your little one empty containers. It could be something as simple as an empty tissue container with old rags inside, or it might be their toy box that they are constantly emptying and putting everything all over the floor. (That might be a little bit of experience talking!)
- Play catch. Yes, you may only be rolling the ball back to your baby. Accuracy will come later.
- Check out your reflection. Babies LOVE mirrors! You can stand in front of the bathroom mirror or use a floor mirror (we love this one). Either way, your little one will thoroughly enjoy looking at themselves and others.
- Crawl through things. Our little man thinks it’s great to crawl under blankets we put over the couch. Of course you could get more technical and buy a play house.
- Create a baby drop box. Your little one will love putting items inside this DIY creation and taking them out again!
- Practice walking. Most babies love the independence that comes with walking, but they may need some help getting there.
- Talk to your baby. Talk high. Talk low. Talk happy, sad, or grumpy. See how baby reacts. By this age you might be able to have a conversation where baby talks then you do. This is a great way for baby to begin understanding that conversations are a turn-taking event.
- Find some window cling and put various things on it. Baby will love exploring what sticks and what does not.
- Make a drum. Show baby how to make some noise and see what much fun they have! Don’t feel like making one? Flip a plastic container upside down! Or just put the lid down on the toilet and let baby bang away.
- Make rainbow spaghetti and let baby explore and/or eat it.
- Have fun with a water table!
- Go for a walk or jog. Baby will love the time in the stroller or in the baby wrap.
- Play a game of fetch. One day my son brought me a toy, and I accidentally knocked it off my leg. He picked it up. So then I set it about a foot away from me. He went and brought it back to me. Andrew and I joke that we have a little dog on our hands. At least he’s a cute one!
- Build towers.
- Play with edible playdough.
- Give baby a bath, but give him or her extra time to play. Jump in the tub with them if you’d like!
- Play hide and seek.
- Create a homemade sensory board.
- Make some edible finger paint. This is great for snack time, but it can get messy!
- Play with edible finger paint. You may even want to make a craft for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Grandparent’s Day if you’re feeling especially crafty.
- Make or buy a ball pit. A clothes hamper full of balls might work great, but you can also buy one like this from Amazon.
- Play with your food. Babies are naturally curious, so keep giving them various items to eat and explore. Think about all different textures that baby can explore! Just make sure to follow the recommendations of your pediatrician and only give baby safe foods.