I did everything I knew to boost my baby’s brain power before she arrived. I read books to my belly, talked to her (even when I felt foolish talking to myself), and played calming music. From the way she kicked in utero, I don’t think the calming music worked. Because babies grow and develop faster in the first year than any other year, I wanted to continue stimulating her. But how? It turns out their are ways that don’t cost a lot of money, but can help babies learn. Here are 10 easy free and low cost activities to boost baby brain power.
Activities to Boost Baby’s Brain Power:
1. Go the the Library. Critter loves her weekly “Baby Bounce” session. This class features songs, poems, books and baby exercise. Best of all it’s free! Most libraries have a similar program so call your local library to check for dates and times. While you’re there pick up a book to read during the week.
2. Peek-a-Boo. Sure, it seems like a silly game. But it helps communication skills between a parent and a baby and helps your baby learn object permanence. It’s fun to talk in the high, silly voice while singing, “Peek-A-Boo.” And, of course the baby smiles are to die for.
3. Go for a walk. Take the baby for a walk and talk to them about different objects they see. It’s a great way to expose baby to new sights and get some exercise at the same time.
4. Dance, Dance, Dance. Even without a great singing voice, I can put on some music, sing along and “dance” with the baby. It doesn’t matter how bad my dance moves are, she loves swinging gently back and forth to the music. Bonus- it’s great exercise.
5. Blow bubbles. One of Critter’s favorite times at the library is when the bubble machine comes out. Babies have fun tracking the bubbles with their eyes, and reaching out to touch them. This helps them learn gross motor skills, and who doesn’t like bubbles?
6. Pots and Pans, bowls and spoons. Babies don’t need a lot of toys. In fact, some of the best toys for babies are what you already have around your house. Babies learn motor skills by grasping wooden or plastic spoons, and learn cause and effect by hitting the pots and pans with the spoons! Boosting baby brainpower without spending any money? Who doesn’t like that?
7. Fun with Bath time. Add some simple toys to the bath and let the baby play. They don’t have to be expensive toys. We use small plastic bowls and baby spoons to let her scoop water. Rubber ducks are another classic bath time toy. Add extra fun with baby-safe bath crayons, bath paint, or bubble bath!
8. Feeding Fun. Letting your baby feed themselves is a big step on their road to independence. One of the most common first foods for babies is infant cereal! This is an important part of introducing babies to solid foods, and if Critter is any example, it’s a part that babies love. Babies are born with a store of iron in their body, but by the middle of their first year, that supply is running low. Babies need iron from breastmilk, formula, or from iron-fortified infant cereals! Critter loves that her rice cereal tastes good, and we love that it offers the iron her developing brain needs. In the long run, not getting enough iron can cause iron deficiency and anemia, which can have long term effects on your baby.
We were shopping at Target, which is one of our favorite places to shop. Exploring the baby section is always fun. While looking for a cute Thanksgiving outfit one time, I noticed that I was near the baby food section. We were out of rice cereal, so it was easy to swing one aisle over and grab the cereal we needed. Since we shop at Target often, because we love the friendly and helpful employees, I was happy to see a coupon for Gerber Cereal on the Cartwheel app. The Cartwheel app always has deals we can use, and with a baby in the house, every cent counts! I always check the Cartwheel app before checking out.
Once we were home, it was easy to whip up some Gerber Rice Cereal and let her dig in! She loves dipping her hands in the cereal and putting it in her mouth. She also loves playing with a spoon, which will help her develop the fine motor skills needed to use silverware when she gets older. We noticed that Gerber Cereal is a good source of iron, which is important for baby brain development. Only 2 servings per day provide 90% of the daily recommended iron. We also mix it with her baby food to give her a firmer texture.
9. Make a mess. Sensory play is all the rage right now, and for good reason. It helps develop creativity in your children by allowing them to explore different textures, sights, noises, and more. Sensory play doesn’t have to be hard! Let your baby finger paint, or make a sensory exploration table with rice. Sensory play helps develop neural pathways in baby’s brain, which helps with all kinds of learning down the road.
10. Mirror Magic. Since Critter has discovered the baby in the mirror, she loves to crawl over to the full length mirror and have a conversation. I’m not sure if she thinks she is playing with “the other baby,” but it keeps her entertained watching herself move her arms and legs and talk. Mirrors help babies develop their eyesight, and there’s nothing more fun than when they finally realize “the other baby” has been them all along!
Want to save money on Gerber Cereal? Check out the cartwheel app at Target.
What is your favorite tip for sensory play with your baby?
I think is very important to think about ways to help your baby develop and nicer to know there are free things that can help you do just that
These are excellent tips and what a great post. It’s so important to do everything for their brain power as early as we can!
It is such a great idea to start boosting their brain power when they are young.
Exercising our children’s brain power is definitely good for their development. Love these ideas of yours!
Amazing tips! It’s crazy how some of the very basic things could works wonders!
My sister used to dance all the time with her kids when they were little. It really does help!
You have so many great tips for boosting a babies brain development! We took the kids to the library when they were littles as well.
I have some babies im my daycare. I need to d othis for them too-thanks!
I have been reading and singing to our new grandbaby. It is very important to me to get his mind stimulated. Great tips.
Great ideas! I love that these tips keep babies occupied, but that these easy activities also help them developmentally.
So much brain development happens during those early years. These are great ideas for giving baby a boost.
All good ideas. I love Target too. It was my favorite place to shop for baby items, and now it’s my favorite for groceries.
These are all wonderful ideas. I will share this with my friends that have babies.
These are great tips for developing babies. Nice to know when I become a mom someday.
It is nice to have a mat laid down for the baby and allow him or her to just go for it with messing around.
I have heard this helps with artistic intelligence as well.
Overall, this is a good article.
Our local Library has so many great classes for little ones. The Mommy and me class is a ton of fun and a great way to learn new Moms.
Such a fun age when kiddos are discovering new things. Mirrors were always a favorite way to entertain my little ones, they love looking at themselves.
So cute! So many awesome things to do to help boost baby, and the little brain! We’ve never done the cereals but we do tons of reading, and most of the other things too!
I so miss those days of seeing my babies discover new things!
I love these pics! So cute! These are all awesome ideas! Will try it with my baby!
Great list of ideas for new moms. Loved the photos of your daughter making a mess. She’s having a lot of fun. Oh, but the clean up. LOL 🙂
Smart tips! Having a time with your kids at early ages is really important. I’m glad I did it.
Love these great tips! I always interact with my kids since early age! My kids love learning
There really is always something great going on at the Library isn’t there? Great messy baby shot, you can see the pure joy!
Ah what a cute messy baby! She definitely loved that! I agree, we loved our library story time days until we got a new library story time reader who didn’t like kids making noises. 🙁 Seriously? They are kids and learning. But my kids are now 4 and 7 and we still read bedtime stories the kids now have memorized. Its so important for their cognitive growth.
These are all great ideas for boosting brain power! My girls always had so much fun with boxes, pots, spoons… really anything that wasn’t considered a toy lol. We also loved feeding them Gerber because good food is also important for brain development.
Our local libraries have wonderful programs for toddlers too! I wish more parents took advantage of them.
Aw, I love this blog post. I can hardly remember when our girls were this young. It’s such an important age for development.
Such great tips. Thanks for sharing them. I used Gerber with my kids as well. They are such a trusted brand.
What wonderful ideas and all of these activities are things my kids loved to do when they were little. Those toys that offer different sounds and textures were always a hit too.
These are some great ways to get the little ones learning while they play. She looks pretty content being covered in all that mess!
My kids loved to play when they were dirty!! These are great activities to help out their brain development!
Such good ideas!
Isn’t it funny how the most simple of things can do so much for our littles?
these are such sweet ideas and pictures! my brother just had a baby and I cant wait to share these tips with him for boosting his baby’s development! Love the mirror activity!
These are definitely great easy low cost activities to help boost baby brain power. Going to the library is always a great idea. There’s always so many fun free actives going on there.
Allowing them to get dirty can also be a good way to spur their creativity. Walking them in the neighborhood would allow them to observe their surroundings.
I remember when my kids were babies and they loved playing with pots and pans. You’re right, some of the best and most loved toys were not toys at all. These are all great tips!
Aww what a lovely post full of awesome ideas, baby’s have so much to learn. x
I love these ideas! Children are constantly developing, and stimulating their minds at all times helps boost their brain power. Great ideas.