Monday, January 9, 2017

A Year of Playful Baby Ideas

Have you started wondering how to play with your baby? Heard of the mums in your mothers group trying out new play ideas but have no idea where to start? This year, we will be hosting a new series about none other than baby play! From playspaces to heuristic play and even paint… we want you to feel comfortable playing with your baby. By the end of the next 12 months you will have an arsenal of baby play ideas! You will have the knowledge and understanding to continue learning and growing with your baby through play.

Don't feel like reading? Just want the activities? Skip to the bottom of this post-they're all there.

Before We Begin

You may have heard the mothers in your group talking about all the amazing things they are doing to stimulate their babies and be beginning to wonder if maybe you should be doing more. Are you failing your baby? No, dear mum, you are not.

Your baby's first and most important "playspace" is you. Real life is educational enough, you don't "need" to do any of these activities...even with older babies!

So, why create a series of activities that aren't needed? Whilst they are not needed, they will still help your baby discover and enjoy the world around them..and they're fun!

This series will uncover the way each of us mums play with our babies...some of us are first time mums still learning how to read our baby's cues, others are mums of two working out how to juggle dividing our attention, others still are mothers of three struggling to keep our head above water as we dash about! In this series we have bloggers who are stay at home mothers, mothers struggling with chronic illness, mothers who work partime, and some of us are even juggling being in the workplace fulltime whilst mothering our children. All our lives are different, yet we have one thing in common that links us together-we love our children!

Have a read, work out what activities and ideas would suit you and your baby best, take that advice and forget the rest. You do you, and we will do us. Remember you are only seeing a snapshot of our lives. We are all struggling in our own ways to meet the demands of our children, partners, work and housework. There are no perfect parents here.

If you find inspiration in any of our posts we would love for you to share on Facebook or Instagram, just tag your post with #playfulbabychallenge-scroll down to see how you could win an awesome prize too!

Each month, all co-hosts will create a post with the theme of the month with their spin.

Playful Baby Giveaway

Each month as well as equipping you with some fantastic, playful baby ideas we will also be giving away one fabulous Grimm's Spiel & Holz Wooden Toy!

Grimm’s Spiel & Holz have been making unique and distinctive natural wooden toys since 1978. Inspired by the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, Spiel & Holz toys leave room for independent and open-ended play, allowing for the child’s own imaginative and creative life to be developed. Spiel & Holz toys have no sharp edges or corners as all the toys are individually sanded by hand. Each toy is hand-finished with special non-toxic and water-based dyes providing distinctive colours and shades, and then treated with pure vegetable oil.

You can enter on Facebook or Instagram!
To enter via Instagram: Upload your photo to Instagram using the hashtag: #playfulbabychallenge and tag @squigglesandbubbles @loving_naturally @squishelsandme @mummy_loz 

To enter via Facebook:
Like the Squiggles and Bubbles Facebook Page
Like the Squishels and Me Facebook Page
Like the Loving Naturally Facebook Page
Post your picture to Squiggles and Bubbles wall

That’s it… TOO EASY!!
Every valid entry is entered in to the prize draw!

Winners will be chosen based on adherence to the guidelines – your photo can be literal, funny, clever, or really creative! Just make sure you show us how you connect with your baby through play!

The fine print…
  • Giveaway is open to Australian residents aged 18 and over.
  • The winners will be announced on Facebook and Instagram on the 15th of each month.
  • The winners need to contact Squiggles and Bubbles via Facebook within 14 days or prize will go to the runner up.
  • This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, authorised by or associated with Facebook or Instagram.
Now are you ready for some awesome playful baby ideas?


12 Months of Playful Baby Ideas

Each month will be updated with the new theme, our spin and that of my other blogger friends. Be sure to check back monthly so you don’t miss a thing!





A playspace for turtle by Mummy Loz
A playspace for a 3month old by Squishels and Me 
A space to play by Loving Naturally
A place for baby to play by Squiggles and Bubbles

Baby Play Ideas by Beautiful Chaos

Treasure Tray by Mummy Lozz
Nothing Out of Reach by Loving Naturally
Simple Baby Play for the Exhausted Mum by Squiggles and Me



Create Your Own Rockpool at Home by Loving Naturally
Shadows, Sensory Bins and Sounds by Beautiful Chaos 
Tired Mumma=Sensory Play by Mummy Lozz
A Natural Easter by Squishels and Me
Baby Sensory Play at the Beach by Squiggles and Bubbles



No Mess Baby Painting by Mummy Lozz
Paint Play with a 4 Month Old by Beautiful Chaos
Mess Free Painting by Loving Naturally (check back soon)
Clean and Entertain Your Baby At The Same Time by Squiggles and Bubbles (check back soon)

 

Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.  You know you're infant/child best, use your own judgement-considering your infant/child's temperament, habits, behaviour and development before you play with a new play medium.



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5 comments:

  1. Those are really beautiful toys and I love your reassurance to new mothers. There is no need to feel pressured to teach their babies skills, just being present and engaged will help their baby develop.

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  2. Aww too bad I'm not eligible to join!

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  3. This is going to be an amazing series. I can't wait to read all the creative ways that people find to play with and engage their babies!

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  4. What a great series! Playing with your baby is so fun and important for development!

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  5. I miss that wonderful time of having little ones who could play with baby toys! It was incredible when my daughters were that young.

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