The power of play - from the moment your baby is born
Tips for parents to help children grow through play
From the moment they are born, children are curious about their new world.
By exploring themselves and the people and world around them, children grow, develop and learn to express their needs.
And the best way you can help them? Through play!
The play experiences children have with you during their earliest years are crucial to their development — positively impacting their learning, health and well-being throughout their life.
Play helps children develop physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually. By playing, children learn to solve problems, collaborate and help others, preparing them for later life.
Even before they can speak, you can use play to build your connection with your child and help them communicate.
And there are many ways to squeeze more play into your child’s day, whether it’s during feeding, getting dressed or bath time.
Here are UNICEF experts' top tips:
Newborn to 1 week old
Play:
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Help your new baby learn by seeing and hearing you. Make sure their clothes aren’t covering their face or wrapped too tightly, so they can move freely and see you. Let them move their arms and legs and touch you.
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Gently soothe, stroke and hold your baby. This sort of ‘skin-to-skin contact’ with your newborn boosts your emotional connection and helps them feel safe and secure.
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Smile at your baby. Babies are fascinated by faces and will often copy your expressions.
Communicate:
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Look into your baby’s eyes and talk to them. They might not be able to speak, but they can see your face and hear your voice and will respond to you in their own way. (breastfeeding is a good opportunity to do this.)
1 week to 6 months old
Play:
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Use colorful toys to play with your child. Toys like rattles, shakers, a big ring on a string, cups, wooden spoons and plastic bowls are likely to interest them. Slowly move the toys in front of your child and let them reach and grab them.
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Babies will probably try and put toys in their mouths. They have sensitive mouths and learn temperatures and textures by tasting and touching things. Make sure everything they play with is safe, clean and large enough that they won’t choke on it.
Communicate:
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Laugh and make sounds for your child. Young children enjoy discovering they can make new sounds, like squeals and laughter. They’ll copy the sounds they hear you make and respond to your voice. So, make sure there’s time for fun and laughter in your own day.
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Copy your child’s sounds or movements. This will help them prepare for talking. It will also help you better understand their cues and respond to their needs (a crucial skill for caregiving!).
6 to 9 months old
Play:
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Learn new noises with household items! At this age, children enjoy making noises by hitting, banging or dropping objects.
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Give your child clean, safe (and non-valuable!) household items to play with, to help them learn about how objects fall and the sounds they make. (Plastic containers with lids, plastic cups, pots and plastic spoons are all good options.)
Communicate:
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Be mindful of your own emotions around your child. Even before children start speaking, they can understand a lot. They notice when people express strong anger and may be upset by it.
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Use your child’s name. When children hear their name, they come to know they are a special person in the family. They’ll also learn to respond to people who kindly call their name.
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Show you’re interested in your child’s curiosity. Respond to the sounds they are making or tell them about an item they are interested in.
9 to 12 months old
Play:
At this age, children enjoy simple interactive games. Here are some favourites:
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Peek-a-boo: This is a fun and simple game to play with your young child. Cover your face with your hands or a cloth and then reveal yourself and say ‘peek-a-boo!’. Your child will giggle when you reappear.
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Hide and seek: Hide your child’s favourite toy under a cloth or box. Encourage your child to try and find it.
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Simple hand games: Play games together, like “bye-bye” by waving your hands as if you are saying ‘good-bye’ to someone and clapping to the beat of some music.
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Play with their toes: As your child discovers their toes, they may find it amusing to play with them.
Communicate:
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Teach your child the names of things and people. When children hear the same words around the same things or people, they will start to make associations. For example, they’ll start to connect the word ‘nose’ to their nose and eventually learn to show you where their nose is.
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Read your child books with pictures. This will help them prepare to read on their own in the future.
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Tell them stories. Whether at bedtime or playtime, telling them stories can build their vocabulary and foster their imagination.
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If you need to leave, let them know when you’ll be back and give them a comforting item. At this age, your child may become afraid of losing sight of you. Tell them about your plans and leave them with an item that reminds them of you, to help reassure them you’ll return.
12 months to 2 years old
Play:
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Start stacking! Try giving your child simple items from around the house or outside to play with. Plastic bangles, tiffin boxes, empty food containers and plastic cups make great stacking toys.
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Encourage your child to walk. Stand nearby, hold your arms out and encourage them to walk towards you.
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Name what they are doing as they play the activity. For example as they fill a box say, “You are filling the box”. It will make them happy and more confident, especially when they see that they are making you happy.
Communicate:
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Ask your child simple questions they can understand and answer. At this age your child will start to understand your words and say some words themselves. They’ll also be able to follow simple directions like "Put your toy in the box".
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Get them outside in nature and show them photos of animals and plants. Talk to them about what they can see.
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If your child is hurt, use kind words to soothe them. Acknowledge their feelings and show them you are there.
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Praise your child for their efforts and what they are learning to do.
2 years old and older
Play:
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Help your child count, name and compare things. Your child may make mistakes at first but will learn from repeating.
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Even as they grow, your child will still enjoy playing with simple, homemade toys like tiffin boxes and wooden spoons to bang on things with, plastic jars with stones inside to shake, and colourful cups to stack. Children are infinitely creative and do not necessarily need store-bought toys. Anyone and anything can be a toy.
Communicate:
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Teach your child songs and games. This can help them talk and understand how to take turns and play with others.
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Ask them simple questions and answer their own questions. They might ask a lot of questions! Answering them with patience will encourage them to explore the world.
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Encourage your child to talk. Let your child make mistakes when speaking. Children learn to speak correctly by listening to and copying others.
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Encourage and help your child to identify and express their feelings – in a safe way. Toddlers can easily become overwhelmed with their emotions. Practicing understanding and patience while they process their feelings will help your child feel secure and develop emotional intelligence.
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Set a good example. Children learn by following the examples of their family members.
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If your child does something unsafe, gently explain to them why. This will help them learn from the experience rather than feeling ashamed. Children learn best from being rewarded for good behaviour, rather than being scolded for bad behaviour.
