Baby Play

by Wendy S. Masi, Roni Cohen Leiderman

All new parents are eager to help their baby discover the world around them, and BABY PLAY was designed to help parents engage their infant in activities that will encourage developmental skills. From the first month home through the twelfth, BABY PLAY offers doctor-approved, age-appropriate activities that stimulate discovery, begin communication, and nurture parental bonding. Developed in close consultation with the play experts at Gymboree Play & Music, the book contains an introduction that explains the value of "play with a purpose," information on how babies learn, and tips outlining what a parent can do to help their little on get off to a good start. The book also includes a glossary of key terms in child development, beneficial to any new parent, as well as detailed information on how parents can identify development skills as they emerge in their baby. From stretching exercises to puppet games, BABY PLAY encourages learning during that first critical year of life. Look at what this book

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens, Plays

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jenny GB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with fun ideas to play with a really young baby. I haven’t spent a lot of time around babies so this helped jog my memory of songs and games I used to play and taught me some new ones, too. It is also helpful for knowing approximately when these activities might be fun to play. I was looking for ideas of how to play with my three month old and this is perfect!

[Sean]

A useful and readable collection of baby playtime ideas that has aged just fine. It’s conveniently divided into four three-month age groupings. Many of these ideas are familiar but it’s useful to be reminded of ones I’d forgotten or hadn’t thought of.

[Letty Butler-Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tools for tummy and play time with your baby.

[Elizabeth Abney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. While not dissimilar to other baby play books out there, this one has several elements that make it really easy to use, which is a plus for new parents. Like other baby play books, the activities are simple, and many are intuitive, but there are some that I would never have thought of. And like other books, each activity tells what developmental skills the activity is developing. Unlike other books though, each activity has a picture of an adult and baby pair engaging in the described activity. This is a huge help for those activities that are a little hard to visualize. And the activities are also cross-referenced, so if your baby really enjoys a particular activity, you can easily find other activities that she’ll likely enjoy. I borrowed this book from the public library, but it is such a good reference that I am seriously considering purchasing a copy to have for myself.

Borrowed from the public library.

[Kristin Fletcher-spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read from when Charlie was born. While I enjoyed it and used many of the things with Emma, I was really looking at it for two reasons: To figure out what the difference was between this title and the Parent's Guide to Play; and to see what I could pull to add to my Babytime repertoire.

In case you're interested, the Parent's Guide to Play incorporates almost all of the Baby Play items. Not quite all of them, but close. It also includes the Toddler Play activities.

Sadly, I'm cancelling my evening babytime program since the attendees are not babies, so I don't get to incorporate any of the stuff I marked. :(

Great book--fun activities--especially for parents who are uncomfortable just trying things out on their own. But instead of getting this one new, buy the Parent's Guide to Play instead.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have a joke in my family that my brothers-in-law always ask when their new baby is going to be fun. Daddies (and Mommies) can play everyday using these full-color, development oriented games and activities. I think this book is one of the best in my parenting library.

Each page has an activity, a full-color picture of a child in the middle of that activity, and an explanation of why it can aid your child's development. All the activities use things you have around the house - no special equipment needed. They even add chants and songs to sing while playing. I set a goal to try one new activity a day, and we quickly found our favorite games to play everyday. Loved it, and still love it!

[Melissa Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little book with activities for parents to do with their babies from birth through 9 months. I should have had it when my son was born. Some of the ideas may seem intuitive, but sometimes as new parents, you don't realize that simple things really work well. Many of the activities can be done with things you already have in your home. One of my son's absolute favorite toys was a 'rattle' I made for him by putting dry peas into one of his bottles, which is one of the activities in the book.

The book also gives several tips and tricks throughout on things thatyou may or may not know and may or may not find interesting about babies. :-)

[Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Are some of the games pretty simplistic? Yes. Are some of the games ones that parents will naturally play with their baby? Yes. But overall it's a great resource for giving new parents ideas on what kinds of activities their young children will enjoy.

I loved the bright pictures of babies actually engaging in the games, rather than just a list of what to do at each age. Each activity also explains how it is helping your little one's development, which I'm always interesting in seeing.

There's a toddler version of this book that I'll be buying when my little one gets a bit older.

[Khinna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with great activities to engage yourself and growing baby. I enjoyed the guide to activities that provided parental tips, color photographs, skill spotlights, and age labels. However, I am sure most mothers already do a lot of these activites with their child without knowing it. Not a book for a experienced mother, but for the new mother who doesnt' have a clue on how to interact with her child, this would be a great book.

Cosette is gearing up for her toddler age, but I would refer to this book for the new one.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contained a lot of rhymes and songs to sing to your baby (I guess I feel I already knew enough to "play" with my baby). Some of the "activities" are simply products to expose your child to (like "mirror time") and others are pretty straightforward (like "facial expressions"). I guess it would be a great resource to anyone who had never babysat or been exposed to a baby for more than an hour. Since my son is 9 months (and the book starts with activities for newborns), I only browsed this book. I did find about three activities that we'll "play".

[Talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for people who haven't spent much time around babies or children, as this is pretty straightforward and obvious, but still good to have as a reminder. (put something shiny in front of the baby!) The book also highlights what developmental skill is exercised with each "game", which is nice to know. Really, the most important thing is that you interact/play with your baby. Do SOMETHING. Heck, I read my kid "Entertainment Weekly" articles out loud. Language development and print awareness, y'all.

[Saira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at the recommendation of a good friend. Disclaimer: I haven't read through the entire book yet, I've only made it through the 0-3 months section. None of the activities so far have been anything you wouldn't really think to do yourself. But in a sleep deprived state of mind, its good to have a reference when you can't think of anything. Will try to update my review when I get to the other stages.

[Yuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference for doing activities that are stimulating our baby's brain to support their developments in their first year. The book has index guide according to gross/fine motor development. Highly recommended for any parents who just have baby. Alternatively, if you can join a Gymbaroo classes. Not a type it's Gymbaroo not Gymboree althouth this book is about Gymboree.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Play is full of fun activities to do with your little one, and also explains the benefits of well known activities (such as peek-a-boo and tummy time) and at exactly what age they are most beneficial. Highly recommended for the parent who never wants to be bored by playing the same games over and over!

[Enci Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book! It has songs (thought I don't know the melodies), rhymes, as well as games & toys out of everyday objects that a parent can use to stimulate their babies, without having to buy a bunch of baby gadgets. This book is great to track what our babies are capable of at their various stages and I use it as a reference guide as to what stimulation my son currently responds to.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to get you excited about various games to interact with your baby. Sure, many are games that you would naturally play but I found a few good, inexpensive, new ideas, too. And I like the format: easy to peruse, divided by age, includes what skills each game works on, plus some research. We already just tried a game out.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really glad that I bought this book. Sometimes it is difficult to think of new games to play with your baby so I really found this book helpful. I liked it so much that I just bought the next book- Toddler Play.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new mommy, this book gave me several ideas on how to interact with my baby. The book has colorful pictures to guide parents and is easy to follow because the games and activities are broken down by months. I recommend this book for stay at home moms and/or babysitters.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too basic. I did not have the most updated version. Perhaps that one is better? It wasn't bad per se, which is why it's a Goodreads "it was okay" 2 stars. It was just not that useful for me. It's a free swap or library read/"skim" type of book.

[S. Garland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice reference book to spruce up your play time with your little one. I wouldn't explicitly recommend it, it's more of a general reference I don't feel provides any unique information--but rather a good compilation.

[Jessika Vaupel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every parent should have this! who knew newborns could "play games". really fun!

[Sunflower Shine · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all... WONDERFUL pictures to catch the eye! Second of all... FUN STUFF!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa gave me this for our new baby and it has TONS of great ideas!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

the illustrations make this book quick and easy to use.
I wonder if there's a gymboree play group in town?

[Amber]

Borrowed by J. Osborne on 9/22/09

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas for baby play.... wish I'd found it 9 months ago. My girl's too big now for a lot of these but it would have been great back when she was a newborn and I had no idea what to do with her!!

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super great ideas for young children starting from birth. Lots of activities to choose from to prevent boredom as well.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun age appropriate games. We play a new game each day.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know what to do with your baby during a week of rain? Try this book.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for playtime with your infant. I got some ideas for changing up the play that we do. Love the suggestions to use everyday items around the house.