At this age, the baby:

• is able to see better and gets more confident in both lying on the tummy as well as on the back, so he or she starts to experiment with shifting the body weight to both sides,

• at the end of the 6th month of life, laughs out loud, babbles, looks around for a toy that has fallen down, enjoys playing peek-a-boo,

• easily moves a toy from hand to hand, reaches towards the legs, notices and observes his or her hands in front of the chest,

• turns to the side from lying on the back, and in lying on the tummy, props up on straightened arms. He or she begins to reach for toys that are placed on both sides,

• makes first attempts to push off the ground on straightened arms (in lying on the tummy, the proper propping up appears around the 6^th month of life),

• at the end of this period, the child is already able to do virtually everything when it comes to lying on the back – grabs their feet, puts their toes in the mouth, turns from the back to the belly on their own…

At this age, the best playtime activities are those that show the child how to shift the body weight to the sides, how to focus the eyes on an object and play with toys in the midline of the body, but also how to prepare for rotations…

So, these might work great:

• rolling to the sides,
• in lying on the back, showing toys once from one side and then from the other, but a little farther away than before, and when the baby is 4 or 5 months old – showing them in the midline of the body,
• in lying on the tummy, placing an object once on the right and once on the left side, so as to encourage the baby to reach towards it alternatively with both hands,
• the parent’s face is still a fantastic “toy”, so talking to the baby, whispering or playing peek-a-boo,
• massage can be a great remedy for evening fussiness. During the massage, make eye contact with your little one, talk to them (e.g. “now I am massaging your leg…”).

A few playtime propositions:

Rolling.

Lay your baby on a mat or other medium-hard surface. Grasp the baby’s hands and feet at the same time, so that they touch in front of the body – above the bellybutton or slightly higher.

With gentle and slow movements, roll the baby from side to side – once to the right, once to the left.

Remember that each movement should start with the head, so encourage your little one to look in the direction you want to roll them. The rolling should be slow, and over time, you will feel that the child starts “cooperating” with you.

This playtime is designed to show the baby how to change the body position and prepares him or her for rotations and gaining other skills.

Tummy and legs massages.

The sense of touch is the first sense to develop fully. Massaging provides babies with a huge amount of sensory stimuli, thanks to which they can learn about themselves and the world around them better. Gentle, soothing touch gives them a sense of security – one of the elementary needs important for further proper development.

Lay your baby on your joined thighs or on a soft blanket on the mat. The room where you massage your little one should be warm and your movements should be delicate and calm. While massaging, touch the baby with as much of your hand as possible. You can use baby oil. Remember to “ask for permission” by telling your baby about what you are going to do.

When massaging the tummy, make clockwise circular movements or, with your hand placed across the tummy, move downwards – from the arches of the ribs towards the pubic area.

When massaging the legs, move your hands downwards – from the thighs towards the feet. Try to avoid pulling both your hands away from the baby’s body at the same time. When you want to move your hands, one of them should always stay on the baby’s body.