25 simple activities to help baby wake up

When you have a baby, of course, you want the best for them. The best name, the best products for your skin, the best childcare equipment and of course the best activities. And, the good news is, you don't have to spend a fortune to find what will be perfect for your baby.

Age by age, here are some very simple (and most often free) activities to help your baby wake up.

Before 3 months

Before 3 months, baby is an infant, and even if he is not yet very active, you can set up simple activities with him to gently introduce him to the world around him so that he begins to tame and apprehend it.

Soft as a caress
Gently stroke your baby's body with your hand, a feather, or soft tissue. A good way for him to feel his body, his limits, the contact with different materials.

Close like siamese
Carry your baby against you. In the house, on a walk in the park, picking up the grown-ups from school. If you can, don't hesitate to keep your little one as close as possible. In a sling, in a baby carrier, in the arms, whatever. This closeness, this contact with his mom or dad strengthens his feeling of security and provides him with excellent foundations for his self-confidence in the future.

A little foot, a little hand …
In the same vein, you can also massage baby. This relaxes him but also allows him to gradually become aware of the different parts of his body.

Happy as a dance
Hug your little one, cuddle him and don’t hesitate to put on some music to move slowly to the sound of the instruments. A gentle melee moment to share without moderation.

Talkative as a magpie
For your little one, you are his whole universe. So talk to him. Change the intonations, the rhythm of your voice. Tell him about your day, a story or the words of a song. It doesn't matter. He likes to listen to you and to hear speak contributes to his awakening.

As light as a breath
Your baby lying on his changing table, on the floor or on a bed with just his diaper. Make sure the temperature in the room is high enough to keep it warm. Blow on the parts of his body that you can name too. He will feel the caresses, the tickles, the warmth of your breath. A nice way to discover your body.

Beautiful like a truck
Make visible objects available to him. Indeed, a mobile in pastel colors is prettier and goes better with your room and it is perfect to calm down when you sleep. But to wake up, bet on a portico with strong colors that he will see without difficulty, that will catch his eye and awaken his attention.

3 to 6 months

Between 3 and 6 months baby begins to have a lot more voluntary gestures. He opens up to the world, begins to sit still and everything is the subject of discovery for him

In the fresh air
Lay baby on a blanket or on soft grass under a tree. Let him observe and experience the world around him. He will hear the wind in the branches, see the play of lights through the leaves and observe the movements of the branches, leaves … a mine of discoveries in the open air. And maybe he will be lucky enough to see a bird.

Up down…
Make him do the elevator: by holding him under the armpits, make him go up saying "the elevator goes up" and go down slowly, warning him "the elevator goes down". The elevator can also stop at your face where you can give yourself an Eskimo kiss (nose to nose) or a butterfly kiss (lashes to lashes).

Be like a bird
You sit on the floor with your knees bent in front of you and rest baby against your shins. Hold baby's hands and warn the "plane is going to take off" then rock smoothly backwards … baby takes off and can then continue to fly (move your legs back and forth, right to left) to then land with a loud noise of engines.

Hide and seek
Between 3 and 6 months, you can start playing “hidden cuckoo”. Hide behind a cloth and reappear by saying hello. A great way to teach baby that you can go and come back. Big laughs in perspective when baby gets the hang of it. Then it will be up to him to hide behind his hands and you to feign surprise when he removes them from his face.

Up there
Hang helium balloons on baby's hands and feet lying on his back. He will love to wriggle and see the balloons shake with his movements

The little beast
Classic and effective, play tickling or the little beast that goes up that goes up helps baby to understand his body a little better every day. He loves these little rhymes and, once he gets to know them well, understands the ritual and knows what's going to happen. Reassured, he gains confidence in himself, in you and in the future.

6 to 12 months

Of course, between 6 and 12 months, you can continue the activities offered for the little ones but you can also supplement with new proposals.

On horseback policeman
To do with your baby when he is sitting correctly. You are sitting on a chair. Baby is sitting in front of you, on your lap. You shake your knees together to the beat of the song
On horseback policeman
Hardi Bourguignon
Let's go to the mountain
All the others are there

In step, in step, in step (slow movements)
At the trot, at the trot, at the trot (faster jerky movements)
Galloping, galloping, galloping (even faster movements)

This series usually comes with a " Acor"(Again) from baby when you stop moving.

So do…
You can play puppets with “real” puppets but also with a washcloth, sock or oven mitt. Create characters, invent voices, have them sing, dance or discuss… success guaranteed.

Blow the hot and the cold
Offer your little one a hot water bottle (hot water bottle type with cherry stones) a little heated in the microwave (not too much) and at the same time a very cold water bag (water in a zipped bag placed in the freezer for a few minutes for example). Put that in front of him and let him experience the hot, the cold, the feeling it makes on the skin, how it feels if you touch the hot first and the cold first … and if you put the hot on cold … that's for sure, he'll ask for more.

I play music
Anything that can make noise will amuse your baby so be imaginative and let him experiment: banging a saucepan with a wooden spoon, banging two metal lids against each other, screeching florist paper, crushing a dead leaf, turn over a rain stick (extremely easy to create with a paper towel tube in which we put rice and / or raw chickpeas and whose ends are firmly closed with paper and rubber bands or Scotch). Whether inside or outside, anything can be a pretext to discover new sounds and improve coordination.

From 1 year old

Activities to adapt to your baby's evolution, following his rhythm, without rushing him.

Alone on the sand
Let him walk barefoot on the sand, in water, in grass, petals, pebbles or even in the earth … sensations guaranteed for little feet. Fun and instructive experiments.



© istock

Patatra
Make a pyramid of empty yoghurt pots, plastic glasses or biscuits… and let baby do it. It's up to him to drop it with his hand, his foot (without tipping over) or to make the difficulty even worse with an object. Start with a long object like a wooden spoon and then a throwing object like a ball or a sock rolled into a ball. Little by little baby will increase his dexterity and his precision.

I wake up with an interactive soft toy
An interactive soft toy can also encourage the little one to develop his awareness and his senses. The GUND brand Flappy the elephant plush, for example, talks, sings and wiggles its ears to play the “cuckoo-hidden” game. The child's attention is focused on these small movements and the imitation game can then begin, for guaranteed bursts of laughter. His musical ear is also stimulated, as well as the beginnings of language. Little more ? Her soft skin makes her want to hug her! A moment of sweetness and tenderness, in which parents can participate.

Like a foot
Offer your little one a painting session but for once he will be able to paint with his hands and feet. He discovers his body, sensations, textures. Prerequisites: Choose the location of this activity carefully and protect everything that needs to be.

I bubble!
It's sunny, take out the soap bubbles. A loulou to blow to make them fly (extremely difficult for a little one), to run after to make them burst or to try to let them rest very gently on his hand.

The little postman
Place a bin with toys that are not too heavy or too bulky in a place in their room and ask them to come and bring them to you without dropping them (where you are installed). He can carry the various objects in his arms but also in his baby's stroller if he wants or by using a small basket. It's up to you to adapt the weight, volume and number of objects to be moved. He will thus learn to stack, to weigh, to understand the volume of objects and certain physical principles (if I put a ball on a book, it will roll and fall).

The two make a pair
Give him a basket of socks. It's up to him to put them back in pairs. The smaller the baby, the more different pairs must be planned in order to simplify the task. Observation and concentration will be there. To be reserved for the most patient.

As a leader !
Ask your loulou to cook you a plasticine meal. He will have to apply himself to find the color that most closely resembles the food that serves as a model. Give him the tools that will help him shape his food.
When it is bigger, solve the difficulty by composing your menu yourself: for example "I would like, please, a cucumber salad, a hamburger with fries and a three cherries." Concentration and fine motor skills will be well used!

Budding botanist
Do you always dry up on the activities to do with your loulou? Petite Seed de Botaniste (link) offers toddlers kits to awaken them to nature. In each kit, there is a bag of seeds, activities, DIY related to nature or even fun games around plants. Perfect for discovering, loving and defending the diversity of the natural world from an early age.

– Article produced in partnership with Spin Master –