Make your child the smartest child with these activities.
The most important task while raising a child is to help develop the brain of your baby.
And one of the most important things you can do to help your baby’s brain develop is to provide them with plenty of stimulating activities.
These activities should be age appropriate.
This article focuses on the activities for babies up to the age of 24 months.
Some babies need gentle stimulation like reading time or cuddling.
Other babies might need more challenging activities like puzzles or music classes.
But regardless of where your baby falls on this spectrum, these 15 baby brain development activities are sure to provide ample stimulation for their mind and body.
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Table of Contents
- 1) Talk to your babies:
- 2) Read to your babies:
- 3) Playing with puzzles:
- 4) Let them listen to music:
- 5) Encourage curiosity:
- 6) Exposure to various environments:
- 7) Games for motor development:
- 8) Let them mess around:
- 9) Develop artistic skills:
- 10) Baby’s thinking ability:
- 11) Develop concentration skills:
- 12) Develop creative skills:
- 13) Games for memory skills:
- 14) Baby’s physical development:
- 15) Develop sensory skills:
- Frequently Asked Questions
- READ NEXT
1) Talk to your babies:
Talking to our babies is an important part of their emotional development.
Studies show that talking to your baby can help with emotional skills and IQ.
Also, talking to babies has a positive effect on brain development.
The more you talk to your baby, the more words and phrases they will learn.
Babies learn about their emotions by imitating your facial expressions and hearing the sound of your voice in a loving, caring tone.
This helps them develop strong language skills and emotional intelligence.
Recommended reading: How to Talk to Your Baby
2) Read to your babies:
Reading to your toddler can provide a wealth of developmental benefits.
It is one of the activities that can best support children’s cognitive, language, and social development.
Research has shown that young children who are read to by their parents or teachers at least three times a week have higher levels of cognitive development.
So, read at least for 15 min each day.
Recommended reading: Read Early and Often
3) Playing with puzzles:
Babies are exposed to a variety of cognitive skills through playing with puzzles and educational toys.
Puzzles are not only educational toys but tools for developing spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and more.
Babies use puzzles to explore colors, shapes and textures.
Puzzles are not just for entertainment but they also help in the development of cognitive skills like problem solving and motor development.
Puzzles are also a great way to keep children entertained without the worry of electronic devices.
Recommended: Puzzles for kids
4) Let them listen to music:
Listening to music with your child is a powerful tool for brain development.
The development of language, cognitive skills, emotional intelligence, and memory can all be improved through musical engagement.
It can help them learn, it can make them smarter,
and it can even improve their moods.
Listening to music with lyrics also improves a child’s ability to learn a new language.
✅. Here is an excellent headphone for your child to listen to his favourite lullabies
5) Encourage curiosity:
Children are curious by nature.
Their curiosity is a powerful tool in self-discovery and brain development.
To encourage children’s curiosity about their own cognitive and physical development, parents can make use of a variety of games to teach them about themselves.
It allows them to learn and develop at their own pace, and encourages them to explore and experiment without limits.
To encourage children’s curiosity, parents should expose the children to new environments and ideas often.
Recommended reading: Encouraging curiosity in preschoolers: Here’s what to know
6) Exposure to various environments:
Babies are being exposed to different environments for social development, such as music classes and theatre.
Exposure to these different environments can help a baby develop their social skills and develop a sense of self-expression.
Recent studies have shown that infants exposed to a wider variety of situations are more adaptable and resilient.
It’s never too soon to start socializing with your child.
One idea is to expose them to different environments, such as different cultures, languages, and physical challenges.
7) Games for motor development:
It’s no secret that playing games with your baby can be a great way to build foundational motor skills.
The games should be designed to help infants learn how to use their hands, fingers, arms and legs.
For example, tossing a ball back and forth can help them get good at catching objects.
Other fun games like patty-cake, blowing bubbles, and letting them explore an empty box will help them develop their motor skills.
Recommended: Games for toddlers
8) Let them mess around:
Parents are now being encouraged to let their children have fun with messes, as it stimulates brain development.
These messes can be anything; water, flour, sand, paper towels, dry beans, or even slime.
If you use this activity with your child, he or she will learn about the differences between liquids, solid and combination qualities.
This will not only help the baby develop cognitive skills but also allow them to pay close attention to the task at hand.
9) Develop artistic skills:
Painting with your baby is an excellent way to introduce them to art and it does wonders for their development!
Babies exposed to art at a young age have stronger artistic skills and better spatial intelligence.
Painting increases their brain development, and early learning of motor skills.
It is a fun and creative way to enhance their cognitive abilities.
Painting with oil pastels is a relaxing activity for babies, which can also teach them about colors, shapes and textures.
Recommended reading: Painting games for toddlers
10) Baby’s thinking ability:
Along with motor development and cognitive skills, thinking ability is also one of the most important skills that babies need to develop.
Games that require problem-solving and strategic thinking help develop the critical skills necessary for success in the future.
Some of the most popular games like board games, card games, and puzzles give babies an opportunity to develop their thinking abilities while also having fun.
11) Develop concentration skills:
Babies grow fast, and their brains are developing even faster.
The more they’re stimulated, the better. Learning how to concentrate is a lifelong skill that every child needs to master in order to be successful in school and in life.
Games that are open-ended give babies the chance to explore, experiment, and discover new things on their own.
Games like Jenga, Lego building blocks, and cards are excellent because they help develop the skills needed for cognitive development and improve concentration, too.
12) Develop creative skills:
Studies show that babies develop creativity skills at an early age.
These creative contributions include painting, drawing, singing, dancing, and using their hands to explore the world.
Using a range of hands-on activities, from puzzles to blocks, from painting to knitting, from cooking to gardening, babies will discover the world through their different senses and develop the skills they need for life.
Recommended: Puzzle games for toddlers
13) Games for memory skills:
Memory skills are a key component to growing up successfully.
The best games for improving memory skills in a toddler are often the simplest.
These games can be played at home, during car rides or while waiting for an appointment.
Games like memory train, memory matching, what’s missing, memory boxes etc., are memory activities that can help your toddler improve their cognitive skills and memory skills.
14) Baby’s physical development:
Parents often worry about the effects of screen time on their children.
However, recent research suggests that screen time can have a positive effect on children’s brain development.
Games like “Piano Tiles” which require some spatial reasoning, reflexes and quick fingers are an excellent way to keep your child’s brain active.
There are many other games available for toddlers.
Stacking blocks is a game that will work on their balance, coordination, and mobility.
Also, games like “Laundry Basket Catcher” and “Duck, Duck, Goose” are great for strengthening up motor skills.
15) Develop sensory skills:
Sensory skills are an important part of brain development.
Taking your babies to a garden or engaging them in sensory-rich activities like “touch book” can improve a toddler’s sensory development skills, including tactile, visual, and auditory stimulation.
We hope you have some new insights on how you can help your baby’s cognitive development. Do you have any more questions about this topic?
Let us know in the comments below.
Frequently Asked Questions
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