Baby games

Motor development
By the second and third month, your baby's hands start to open up and you can begin to play. By the third or fourth month, she will begin to make random swipes at objects placed within her reach and to grasp rattles and other toys. Toys like rattles, which make sounds as they move, help your baby make the connection between what her hands are doing and what her eyes are seeing. She will also play with her hands, watch what they're doing, and begin to realize that they belong to her.

As her hands and eyes start working together, she'll gradually be able to reach with some accuracy for objects and to explore objects with her hands and mouth more purposefully. By the fifth or six month, your baby will be able to transfer toys from hand to hand, play with blocks, and manipulate objects.

As your baby gradually uncurls, learns to lift her head, and begins to use her legs and arms more freely at two or three months, she will discover the joys of physical play. Lay your baby on her back on a mat so she can kick. Put an object to one side of her to encourage her to start rolling over.

Your baby may also begin at three months to lift her tummy off the ground, to push with her feet and fingers, to squirm, to wriggle, or move around. Put an enticing toy just beyond her reach and she may struggle to move toward the object.

At about four months, help your baby learn to sit up by pulling her gently to a sitting position and propping her up in a stroller or adaptable chair or infant seat. This gives her an expanded view of the world and builds the muscles necessary for sitting up and balancing without assistance, which she may be able to do by six months. You can help her to learn better balance by placing toys in front of her so that she reaches for the toys and develops her trunk muscles. When a baby can sit alone, she becomes more adept at playing alone.

When your baby seems ready, pull her to a standing position in her crib or playpen, or on your lap. A baby loves to stand on your lap and bounce, which develops her leg muscles so that she will eventually be able to pull herself up and stand by herself

Social and emotional development
The early face-to-face playing is the model for your baby's future interactions and relationships with other people. You and your baby will gradually learn how to play and to just be with each other. If play is loving and fun, your baby learns the shared feelings of joy, curiosity, thrills, fright, surprise, and delight that are the stuff of friendship and love. Play is a wonderful outlet for expressing and releasing positive, joyful feelings as well as negative ones, like fear or anxiety.

As your baby achieves developmental milestones such as smiling, swiping or swatting, grasping and sitting, provide him with positive reinforcement — hugs, cheers, claps, and other forms of encouragement. Learning and development are stimulated by positive gestures, and this will build your baby's self-esteem and self-confidence.

Although it is through your baby's play that you can measure your child's development, take care not to use playing as a test of progress. Your baby will sense the pressure and will pick up the message if you're not satisfied. This kind of exchange undercuts his self-esteem and may inhibit or stifle his development. If you give your baby encouragement and the room to grow, he will develop emotionally and socially in his individual way.