How To Keep Your Baby Entertained

There is nothing more precious than the sound of a baby's giggle. As long as baby is in a happy, healthy mood it is pretty easy to entertain him. And adults will go above and beyond to make a baby happy. Entertaining your baby is not only fun but it can be beneficial to the baby's development as well. Here's how to keep your baby entertained and having fun.

• Simple Household Objects
  
  • Babies can be entertained using household items just as easily as playing with that expensive little jungle gym you just bought them. Give your baby a few pots and pans and a large wooden spoon and let him bang away. If you let your older children in on the action, you could have a full-grown band!
  • Cardboard boxes, large or small, are amazing! A baby could play with it for hours and yet not actually do anything with it. And it seems the bigger the better, especially if the baby can crawl inside and move around. It would be the perfect place to just curl up and fall asleep.
  • A flashlight can be a fascinating entertainment toy for a baby. The process of trying to follow the light can be very beneficial to his development.
• Entertaining While Teaching
  • Most parents don't realize that when they are interacting with their baby they are actually teaching things like coordination and fine motor skills. Old-time favorites like Peek-a-boo and Patty-cake are still fun games for a baby today. Peek-a-boo teaches the baby that even though something cannot be seen it is still there while Patty-cake builds coordination. The familiar game This Little Piggy teaches about the body.
  • Spending time on the floor with your baby gives him the opportunity to learn to crawl and roll over. Allowing your baby to learn to pick up cheerios, practice scribbling using chunky crayons, and playing with blocks by sorting or building towers all promote fine motor skills.
  • Spending time outdoors with your little one is also entertaining and beneficial. Take your baby for a stroll around the neighborhood. There is so much to see and hear while being outside: the birds singing, the cars and trucks going by, swinging on a swing.
  • All babies like to be read to. They may not understand what they hear but they like to hear your voice. When reading to a baby, it’s important to use a lot of animation in your facial expressions and your language. A baby really responds to wide eyes and funny voices.
  • Singing songs to your baby can also be fun and educational. Songs like Old MacDonald and ABC's are just a couple of examples. Loud voices and animated movements can hold your baby's attention for quite a while. There are a lot of educational videos that are made specifically for infants and toddlers. Though it is not a good idea to set your baby in front of the television for hours on end, it is okay to let them watch a video every once in a while.