Location: Indoors or outdoors

Promotes: Cognitive development, fine motor skills, object permanence

If you’re looking for a new baby activity to engage your little one, this peekaboo game is sure to be a hit. Watch in wonder as this simple baby game strengthens all kinds of developmental concepts and supports your child toward reachingan important baby milestone.

How to play
Your 7- to 9-month-old baby will rediscover her favorite toy in this twist on peekaboo called peek-a-bear. Take a treasured toy, like a teddy bear, and partially hide it under a blanket. Then urge your baby to find the bear. If she’s able to, let her grab for the bear; if not, pick it up yourself and exclaim, “I found the bear!” Repeat the game as long as you can hold your baby’s attention. The trick is to build excitement over finding the toy, since your baby will feed off your glee during this baby activity.

Tricks and advice
As your little one progresses with this baby game, raise the bar by hiding the toy completely under the blanket. Make sure that as the difficulty increases, your praise does, too! Change things up by hiding different toys -- this may boost your little one's interest in the game and can also help develop early language recognition.

Learning and growing
Object permanence is crucial to your baby’s understanding of the world. Baby activities that establish that Mommy is still around even if she can’t be seen are an early step toward developing your baby’s memory. This activity also encourages motor development, as your child uses hand-eye coordination to reach and grasp for the hidden toy.

What you’ll need
It’s easy: All you’ll need is a blanket or towel and a toy your baby will delight in finding.

The game is simple, but it’ll work wonders in terms of your baby learning more about the world. And she’s sure to have a blast while doing it! 

Photo by Ana Tablas on Unsplash

Your baby’s talking and babbles don’t just sound adorable, they also mean something. Even when your new baby is just an infant, his sounds can help tell you a lot about what’s going on in his life. Wondering what "goo" and “ga" mean? This baby talking advice for each age should help clear up your confusion.

Baby talking at 1 month: Right after birth, most babies communicate when they are reacting to something. After spending approximately nine months in a calm environment, your new baby is probably startled by all the new noises and sensations. His crying, quick movements, and sighs can all mean that he is experiencing something new. These tiny communications are a great sign that your little one is developing and alert. They can also help you better understand when he is hungry or tired.

Baby talking at 4 months: At around 4 months, your new baby may begin imitating the noises he has been hearing since birth. This is often referred to as babbling and is another sign that your baby is developing at a steady pace. Listen for your baby to drop and raise the pitch of his voice when babbling, a sure sign that he is copying the inflection in your voice. Encourage this by talking slowly and carefully to him as much as possible.

Baby talking at 6 to 8 months: The 6- to 8-month period is a busy time for baby talking. At this age, your child may begin to crawl, and you might notice him pointing at his toys while simultaneously babbling, a prime example of early communication. This can be a good age to introduce baby sign language, if this appeals to you. Pick up an instructional book or video and start signing a few words that you use on a regular basis when talking to your baby, such as drink, eat, sleep, and diaper. If you start around 6 or 7 months, your baby may start signing back when he’s 8 or 9 months. Finally, some babies come out with their first spoken words at this stage, often “mama” or “dada.”

Baby talking at 12 to 18 months: Your baby will probably pick up a few more words over the next months. He may also start mimicking conversation by babbling with pauses and “responding” to you after asking him a question. Although his vocabulary is still limited at this age, know that he understands quite a lot of what you say -- so keep chatting away to help boost his language development.

Baby talking at 18 to 24 months: Now that your child has mastered a good number of words, he’ll start to string them together to create early forms of sentences (“all done”). As your tot gains this added ability to describe what he wants (“milk mommy!”) or what excites him (“go swing!”) you’ll find that it becomes easier to communicate, which will be a welcome baby milestone for both of you.

As with all baby milestones, remember that children develop language at different speeds and in different ways. Your new baby is unique and may require more or less time than others to begin making sounds and gestures. Before you know it, your child will hit the chatty preschool stage, and peace and quiet will be a thing of the past!

Photo by Irina Murza on Unsplash

Between hosting a toddler playdate, dropping an older child off at a ballet lesson, and catching up on some work, many moms have little time to put dinner on the table -- let alone sit down with their kids while they eat.

But the benefits of gathering for a meal together go beyond knowing whether your child ate her broccoli or snuck it to the dog. Regular family meals have been linked to a lower rate of obesity. Family mealtimes can also be a boon for child development, since your dinnertime conversation may boost your 3-year-old’s vocabulary and social skills.

Ready to chat and chew? Keep this parenting advice front and center to get the most out of your mealtimes.

Make family meals a regular event. Don’t stress if you can’t sit down for every meal together. Aim to eat as a family three to four times a week (you could even put the dates on a calendar to ensure that the whole family remembers).

Leave technology off the table. The television, cell phones, laptops, and even the radio can be a distraction and take away from the time you have together at the dinner table. Turn off technology (parents, too!) until the meal is over.

Engage your child. It’s easy to get lost in your lasagna and forget to talk. Make an effort to ask your tot questions about her day at preschool or what she did at the park. The more you talk, the more you’ll help build language and other child development skills. Feel free to use words she may not know yet (“Do you like how this eggplant tastes?”), as the dinner table is the perfect place to explain what things mean. Keep the conversation flowing by listening intently to your child and asking follow-up questions, as well as sharing information about your day, too.

Your regular family dinners will in time become a wonderful tradition that continues as your child gets older. Of course, life can get in the way of a planned pizza night. If that’s the case, simply reschedule for another night. Bon appétit!

Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash

Your new baby is a marvel. Bent on exploring his world, he's pretty much unstoppable. And while it may not look like he needs any help mastering new skills, a little boost from his parents can’t hurt, right?

Baby milestone: Scooting around the house

At about 8 months, your baby is probably in constant motion. He may be rocking back and forth, and sitting up, and could also be close to crawling -- some pretty important motor development milestones. He will learn to focus on where he wants to go, and concentrate on scooting, sliding, or crawling to get there. This means coordinating his legs and arms, and digging his little hands into the floor to push or pull himself forward.

What you can do: Place a favorite toy in front of you or call his name over and over again to entice your little one to move toward you. This will encourage your tot to develop his coordination skills. Once your baby’s crawling, set up a small obstacle course with pillows or blocks. This will help teach him how to move from side to side, further enhancing his motor development.

Baby milestone: Getting curious

All that moving around will have your baby curious about the new things he is seeing and touching. This playing will eventually allow him to understand specific names and functions.

What you can do: Allow your child to explore his surroundings in a safe way. For example, boost your child’s development by gathering household objects that your baby will be intrigued by, such as a soft spatula or plastic containers that fit inside of each other. Remember, your little one will be putting almost everything in his mouth, so ensure any makeshift toys are not choking hazards.

Baby milestone: Becoming a bookworm

While your little one might not say his first words for a while, it’s never too early to introduce him to books. Reading to your baby helps build language comprehension and vocabulary and sets the stage for literacy. It also boosts listening and memory skills, so start when he is a newborn and don’t put those books down!

What you can do: Placing your baby in your lap and allowing him to interact with the book is a great start for children this age. Show him how to open the book, and let him bat and point at the pages. Don’t expect your baby to be able to sit still for long, but know that these simple interactions are helping to encourage a lifetime of reading.

Your child’s development is mesmerizing, to say the least. Consider keeping a journal to record all of his achievements. It will be fun to look back at the book together when he’s older!

Another developmental milestone is here! Your baby is walking around like she owns the place. She’s so confident that she already wants to take the stairs -- two at a time!

If your baby is new to walking, though, she’s probably not quite ready for stairs yet. So put the brakes on and take a few precautions. Here’s what you need to know.

• Continue to keep the stairs in your home gated -- at the top and bottom -- and don't let your walking baby out of sight. Even though she's getting good at walking, she still won't be able to mount stairs for a while.
• She's going to push for her independence, but let your baby know that if she wants to use the stairs, she needs to hold Mommy’s or Daddy's hand.
• When descending stairs, teach your baby how to slide down on her belly. Not only is this the safest way for now, you can also treat it as a game she’ll enjoy.

Before you know it, your baby will be mobile enough to walk up and down stairs on her own. Just teach her to always hold on to the railing so she stays safe. Next up? She’ll be running -- cover your eyes!

Photo by Jordan Christian on Unsplash