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How to Play with Your Baby

You are experiencing an incredible journey together, baby and you. It's important that during all the feeding and changing and sleeping and crying and laughing that you make time to play together.

The most important thing to remember is that you and baby are on a steep learning curve and you have to be prepared to play on baby's terms.

Don't think about playing with baby if you've just got in from work and are harassed. It won't do either of you any good. And don't try to play with baby if it's near her dinner or sleep time. She won't have enough energy to look at new things.

Instead arrange a time to play together for a few minutes where you really concentrate on her and ignore everything else around you and she is alert and eager to learn.

Dads – turn Sky Sports off. You can see the cricket / rugby / football / winter sports / commonwealth games later!

Mums - don't worry about the state of the house, just have some fun!

The following mini-guide gives a gentle suggestion as to the kind of play activities baby will be interested in at the following ages:

• Birth
• 2 months
• 3 months
• 4 months
• 7 months
• 8 months
• 9 months
• 10 months
• 12 months.

There are lots of internet sites and books available that give advice on how to play with babies – the suggestions here come from mums.

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our Brands section .

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

You can also find out more in our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Helping to Develop Different Skills section.