3-6 month old activities

This stage is so fun! There is SO much development happening during this stage. They start engaging more with people and their environment as they become more aware. There are some big milestones happening during this stage... ROLLING is one of them. Below I am going over different activities to do with your little one during this stage, how to facilitate rolling, sensory activities, and some things to look out for.

Activities:

• Parents- sit on the floor with your knees bent, place your baby's back against your knees so they are facing you. Their feet or bottom can be sitting on your pelvis. In this position you can hold their hands to play patty cake, hand over hand for clapping, dancing, etc. This is also a good position to make silly faces or noises at your baby!

• Supported sitting- having your baby sit in your lap (you can use your legs on both sides for additional support). In sitting, you can engage in blocks, pop up toys, lighted push down toys, etc.

• Sidelying play- This is a PERFECT pre-rolling activity. Rolling starts with movement of the pelvis. When your baby is lying on their back, take their leg/hip and rotate it to either side, putting them into a side lying position. This lets they get comfortable and they start creating the motor plan for rolling. Gravity then helps them complete the rest of the movement whether that is to roll onto their belly or back. You can use a rolled up towel to place behind them if you don't want them rolling back onto their back.

• Place toys in a SEMI-CIRCLE around your baby. This will encourage them to start scooting or pivoting themselves when they are playing in tummy time!

Sensory:

• Vestibular (movement): Bouncing on your knee, "airplane" flying through the sky

• Tactile- WATER PLAY!!! get a cookie sheet and fill with a little bit of water and let them splash away! Another idea, especially for summer is filling a ziplock with water and some ice cubes. This gives them different temperature to learn about.

• Taste- (& tactile too)I love just putting baby food in front of them and let them splash around and explore it without the expectation of having to eat it.

• Visual- I love using sensory bags/bottles. I recommend black/white/red/pink pom poms in a zip lock bag or water bottle. This is a super fun sensory activity and helps refine their vision and visual motor skills.

Things to look for:

• Poor visual tracking

• Only using one arm to engage with toys

• Not playing with their feet or able to get into flexion (lying on their back with legs flexed towards their chest)

• Not rolling or attempting to roll

• Not kicking their legs when lying in supine (back)

• Demonstrating head lag with pull to sit

• Cannot maintain propped or supported sitting

• Difficulty with head control

If you are concerned with your child's development, please contact me! I am here to help!

Something important to note is if your baby was born premature, it is important to look at their adjusted age and base their developmental skills on that versus their weeks outside of the womb. I can help you figure out this number if you need.