Activities 0-6 Months

Place an eye catching simple image in your baby's peripheral vision. Start with black and white graphics for newborns; add simple basic colours between 2 and 8 weeks and gradually increase the complexity of the pictures. By 5 months of age your baby's vision will be almost as well developed as yours.

One of your new baby's all time favorite activities will be having a chat with you. At this stage they are more interested in your facial expressions, the sound and tone of your voice, than actually understanding what you are saying. Make sure that you are facing your baby and that you are animated – lots of smiles and encouragement. It is a great idea to repeat back any sounds that your little one makes and remember to stop and give them a turn to respond. This is fabulous for building relationships, social skills and early language development.

In the early days moving a bright toy slowly across your baby's field of vision will help them to develop eye control. When they start showing an interest in reaching for things you can dangle a toy, or your fingers just within reach. Lots of praise and encouragement will add to the game – sure to end in smiles.

Place a large mirror on the floor under your baby while they are having some tummy time; alternatively you can prop it up in front of your baby to encourage them to lift their head and chest off the floor. Ensure that the mirror is baby safe and that it is large enough for them to see themselves clearly. They will not realize that it is a reflection, but will be fascinated with the new friend that they find there. Mirrors are fantastic developmental toys – as your baby gets older you can use it to help identify body parts, develop an understanding of emotions and a sense of self.

Young babies may not be able to follow story lines just yet – but introducing books is a fabulous idea. It is a lovely way to spend some quiet time with your baby and is so good for their development in so many ways. Do not worry about a story, but choose books with simple graphics and talk to your children about the images. Make it relevant to them and their experiences. For example if your book has a picture of a cat you could identify it as a cat, talk about what colour it is, and if it looks like your cat. Do you have a cat? What does a cat say... A cat says meow! As you chat you are teaching your child about the concept of cats, colours, sounds, supporting language development, encouraging an interactive relationship and spending quality one on one time that builds their sense of belonging.