Play provides newborns with various physical, sensory, and cerebral experiences, which help them form links in their brains. When you play with your baby, you are assisting them in learning about themselves, you, and the universe around them. You may also learn about your baby's personality by observing their reactions while you play together.
Moreover, having fun together is a fantastic way to bond with your infant. The curiosity and readiness to learn are continuous when your baby is growing. At that stage, pay attention to your baby's indications for when and how they want to play. It helps newborns learn how to express their feelings.
Let's get to know why playing is so important for children and how we can engage our children in different activities!
Importance Of Play In Your Kid's Life
Children learn significantly through their senses, eyes, nose, hands, and feet. They use their bodies to discover new things. By four months, your little one learns to recognize their family members and starts responding.
Your baby's first words maybe a couple of months away, but your infant is learning a lot about languages. They observe, hear, play, explore, and learn from their surroundings. You are their first teacher, and they continue to learn from you as they grow older.
Babies learn to distinguish between different colors and sounds, and they also begin to connect words with activities. After some time, infants start to use their senses of touch and taste to recognize things.
At the end of six months, your baby is ready to
- Hold spoon by him or herself
- Recognize himself by his name
- Becomes more responsive than before
- Rolling over, sitting, and reaching for everything.
How Can You Help Your Child Learn?
Create a safe place for exploration (in your supervision) for the toddler. Make the space inviting and fun with age-appropriate toys in various shapes, colors, and textures.
During the age between 9 to 12 months, kids become more intelligent and a bit more independent in using their toys. Kids learn if they press the button on particular toys, music will start playing. They know to kick the ball. They also learn to convey their message using different actions.
You can have fun with your kids by different activities as,
- Reading stories to your baby
- Singing and dancing
- Playing peek-a-boo
- Playing with bubbles
- Helping them stand
- Crawling games
Introduce them to safe, sturdy furniture, toys, objects, and boxes to assist them with crawling, standing, and walking.
Final Thoughts
Play encourages newborns to be imaginative and creative. It allows them to experience different environments, activities, and emotions.
It is more than just fun and plays a significant role in shaping the personalities of children. It is through play that children learn the values, norms, and roles of society. Being a parent, you must encourage your child to learn and play as much as he wants.