Games to stimulate your baby’s senses

With these games you will not only enjoy your baby, but you will also be helping him to stimulate his senses

Since he is in the womb, your baby is developing his senses. This development increases the moment he is born, because it is a completely new world for him and his senses wake up and enliven even more.

Leer en español: Juegos para estimular los sentidos de tu bebé

The senses are one of the first abilities a child develops and they have to do with cognitive and perceptual development. That is why it is very important that you allow your sensory part to have all the opportunities to develop optimally.

Music is not the only way to stimulate your baby, in fact you can do it while you get a good laugh and have fun with your little one. These are some of the games to stimulate each of the senses at different ages:

To stimulate hearing:

1. Metal drums: sit your baby in front of several pans or small pots and pass him a wooden spoon or a stick that is previously sanded, show him how to produce sound and have him imitate you. You may be worried that the noise he is going to make is very loud, but keep in mind that your baby is still not strong enough to produce such a loud sound. This game will help him to know different sounds and little by little he will become familiar with the action-reaction generated by this type of activities.

2. Eco: With the cardboard tubes that are left of the rolls of toilet paper or kitchen paper you can talk to him and he can talk to you. You can also make sounds through them. To call his attention, you can paint and decorate them as you like.

3. Search for sound: Put an alarm on your cell phone or in an alarm clock and hide it somewhere in a room not too big. Challenge him to discover where the sound is and bring the phone to you. You can increase the difficulty of the game.

It is also an activity to play in a group, because it will increase the level of competition. This activity is excellent for your baby to learn to identify where certain sounds come from and learn to be more easily guided.

Read also: Stimulate your baby's senses! Tips and benefits

To stimulate the touch:

1. Textures: if your baby is within the first 6 months, you can look for different types of textures and pass them through his hands and legs, so he can identify different types of textures. Make sure that none of the fabrics you are going to use is made of a material that could affect your baby's skin. You should also allow him to take them and even rub them against his face.

2. Bubbles in the bathtub: Many babies hate to take showers, so with this game you will not only be stimulating the touch of your child, but also he will have a special love for bath time. Put bubbles in different parts of his body to feel and foam. You can also put some toys in the tub so he can feel the difference between a material when it is dry and when it is wet.

3. What am I touching?: Look for several containers in which you can put in each one rice, lentils, chickpeas, and other types of grains. Then put his hands in each of the containers, in this way his sense of touch will increase to identify what the differences are between what it is in each box.

To stimulate the view:

1. It's me!: Get several mirrors of different sizes and thicknesses and put them in front of your baby. If it has a high thickness, make movements around his face so he can watch how the image is distorted.

2. Colored lights: In a dark room put colored lights and flashlights (you can also cover several flashlights with paper of different colors) with which your baby can play without hurting himself. Being in the dark your baby will sharpen its sense of the view and also differentiate the colors.

3. Kaleidoscope: Buy or make a kaleidoscope with many colors and colorful accessories so that when you put it into the light your baby can play with it. Being a changing optical toy your baby will be very excited.

To stimulate taste:

1. Acid or sweet?: Look for foods that have flavors between acids and sweets. Put them on a table and let your baby take them and try them. Then, have him close his eyes or sell them and make him taste the flavors again; having his eyes covered his sense of taste will increase.

To stimulate smell:

1. Blankets with smells: Take several blankets and apply perfumes or lotions that are not very strong and pass them one by one so your baby can tell the difference between the smells in each one. Then, let him stay with the one that most liked his smell.

2. Jars of odors: Look for plastic containers and put in each one a food whose smell can be easily identified. Cover or bandage your baby's eyes and put several containers under his nose and then give them to your baby so he can taste them. This game also serves to stimulate the taste.

LatinAmerican Post | Vanesa López Romero

Translated from "Juegos para estimiluar los sentidos de tu bebé"