During his first year, your baby wakes up gently and gradually discovers the world around him.
Discussions and games with you are essential to allow him to progress and move forward with confidence in his new environment. Take inspiration from our activity ideas to share moments of tenderness and joy with him!
FROM BIRTH: SKIN TO SKIN WITH MOM
During his first months, your baby has a vital need for contact with you. To promote his well-being, you can offer him one or more skin-to-skin sessions every day: in a well-heated room, place him naked (or in a diaper) against your equally bare chest, then cover him with a blanket. gentle. Be sure to place his head against your heart, so that he can hear the beats that punctuated his life in utero. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact for newborns are now widely recognized by scientists, and you will quickly see for yourself how much this contact soothes and relaxes them...
FROM BIRTH: A TENDER ROCKING
With your baby lying in your arms, walk around gently rocking him and humming a nursery rhyme or lullaby in a low voice. This steady movement is extremely calming for newborns, as it reminds them of the gentle rocking they experienced in utero. By turning your baby's stomach against your arm, this gentle rocking can also help relieve their little tummy aches.
FROM 3 MONTHS: WHISTLING LIKE A FINCH
Stand in front of your child, close to his or her face, then emit a short whistle: your baby will surely be surprised by this unusual sound. Start again by making a different whistle, a little longer, then again and again until you whistle a real melody. The sounds made by adults' mouths are fascinating to babies, and they also really enjoy observing the mouth movements. Your child may try to imitate you by rounding their lips!
FROM 3 MONTHS: THE GAME OF REFLECTIONS
Present a mirror to your baby and let him contemplate himself in it: at his age, he cannot know that it is himself he is contemplating, but his curiosity will be aroused by this baby's face! Repeat this activity regularly, placing yourself and your baby in front of the mirror, making grimaces and facial expressions... Little by little, he will become familiar with this object and he will become aware that he is a person in his own right, independent of her mother.
FROM 6 MONTHS: THE ANGEL'S CARESSE
Comfortably place your baby in a diaper on a large bed or a soft rug, in a well-heated room. Blow very gently following the contours of their body: feet, legs, stomach, neck... If your child likes it, continue on their face: blow on their cheeks, forehead, hair, ears... This surprising contact will be great fun for your little one and will help them become aware of their body's limits. To vary the pleasures, you can also stroke it with a feather instead of your breath.
FROM 6 MONTHS: THE TALKING ROLL
Babies are very curious about all the variations of human voices. Take a cardboard paper towel roll, hold the end of it to your child's ear and whisper something to them, or simply make various noises: "ah", "ouh", " ooom"... Your baby will no doubt be very surprised by the seriousness of your voice through this improvised speaker! Then let him examine the scroll at his leisure: he will perhaps try to chirp through it in turn.
FROM 9 MONTHS: THE TREASURE BOX
In a basket, bring together different objects with varied textures and sounds, such as: a bell or a bell, a tightly closed jar of jam half filled with lentils, a small spoon, a maracas, different wooden rattles, a cuddly toy made of crunchy fabric, a small rain stick, a plastic bottle with its cap, etc. Offer your treasure box to your baby and let him gradually discover all the surprises it contains, commenting with him on each of the objects. Amazement guaranteed!
FROM 9 MONTHS: WHERE DID MY TOY GO?
Here is a little game that will help your child become familiar with the notions of appearance/disappearance. Take a sock or washcloth and a small ball or cube. Show both objects to your baby, then make the ball disappear inside the sock. Then ask your little one: “but where did your toy go?” » Let him search for a bit and then, if he can't find the ball on his own, take it out of the sock. Miracle, the toy is found to the baby's greatest joy! Start several times: your little one will enjoy this game even more if it is repeated.
FROM 9 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR: I IMITATE ANIMALS
Long before knowing how to speak, your baby is capable of learning to imitate noises and in particular animal cries. Give him a little picture book with photos of pets. Go through it together and with each photo, name the animal and imitate its cry: “the cat: meow meow, the dog: woof woof, the duck: quack quack”. From the first time, your child will undoubtedly be very intrigued by these unusual sounds. And if you practice this activity regularly, he will soon imitate the cry of each animal with you!
FROM 9 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR: THE PLEASURE OF WATER
On a nice day, place your baby outside or on the balcony (or in your kitchen or bathroom, if you don't have a balcony) with a large basin filled with lukewarm water. Place several objects in the basin: bath toys, a plastic bottle without the cap, cups, a strainer... and let your baby splash around happily. He will probably end up all wet, but what fun for him to play with the water, to make it flow from one container to another, or to splash everyone who comes near!