Between birth and two years old, your baby will develop at an extraordinary rate, and each of their advancements will be a new source of wonder for you. Discover with us the major milestones in their development and how to interact with them to help stimulate their awakening.
During their first year, your baby gently awakens and gradually discovers the world around them. Interactions and games with you are essential to help them progress and confidently navigate their new environment. Get inspired by our activity ideas to share moments of tenderness and joy with them!
From Birth: Skin-to-Skin with Mom
During their first months, your baby has a vital need for contact with you. To promote their well-being, you can offer them one or more daily skin-to-skin sessions: in a warm room, place them naked (or in a diaper) against your bare chest, then cover them with a soft blanket. Be sure to place their head against your heart so they can hear the beats that punctuated their life in utero. The benefits of skin-to-skin for newborns are now widely recognized by scientists, and you will quickly see for yourself how much this contact soothes and relaxes them...
From Birth: Gentle Rocking
With your baby lying in your arms, walk around, gently swaying them and humming a lullaby or nursery rhyme softly. This regular movement is extremely soothing for newborns, as it reminds them of the gentle rocking they experienced in utero. By turning your baby tummy-down against your arm, this gentle swaying can also help relieve their little tummy aches.
From 3 Months: Whistling Like a Finch
Position yourself facing your child, close to their face, then emit a short whistle: your baby will surely be surprised by this unusual sound. Repeat by producing a different, slightly longer whistle, then again and again until you whistle a real melody to them. The sounds made by adults' mouths are fascinating for babies, and they also love to watch mouth movements. Your child may try to imitate you by rounding their lips!
From 3 Months: The Reflection Game
Present a mirror to your baby and let them gaze at themselves: at their age, they can't know it's themselves they're looking at, but their curiosity will be piqued by this baby face! Regularly repeat this activity, placing yourself and your baby in front of the mirror, making funny faces and expressions... Gradually, they will become familiar with this object and realize that they are a separate person, independent of their mother.
From 6 Months: The Angel's Caress
Comfortably settle your baby in a diaper on a large bed or a soft play mat, in a warm room. Gently blow, following the contours of their body: feet, legs, belly, neck... If your child enjoys it, continue on their face: blow on their cheeks, forehead, hair, ears... This surprising contact will be very amusing for your little one and will help them become aware of their body's boundaries. To vary the fun, you can also caress them with a feather instead of your breath.
From 6 Months: The Talking Tube
Babies are very curious about all variations in human voices. Take a cardboard roll, such as a paper towel roll, bring one end close to your child's ear and whisper something to them, or simply make various noises: "ah," "ooh," "oom"... Your baby will undoubtedly be very surprised by the gravity of your voice through this improvised loudspeaker! Then let them examine the roll at leisure: they may try to babble through it themselves.
From 9 Months: The Treasure Box
In a basket, gather various objects with varied textures and sounds, such as: a bell or small chime, a tightly sealed jam jar half-filled with lentils, a small spoon, a maraca, various wooden rattles, a crinkly fabric comforter, a small rain stick, a plastic bottle with its cap, etc. Offer your treasure box to your baby and let them gradually discover all the surprises it contains, commenting on each object with them. Wonder guaranteed!
From 9 Months: Where Did My Toy Go?
Here's a little game that will help your child become familiar with the concepts of appearance/disappearance. Take a sock or a washcloth and a small ball or cube. Show both objects to your baby, then make the ball disappear inside the sock. Then ask your little one: "But where did your toy go?" Let them search for a bit, then, if they don't find the ball on their own, take it out of the sock. Miraculously, the toy is found to the baby's delight! Repeat several times: your little one will enjoy this game even more if it's repeated.
From 9 Months to 1 Year: I Imitate Animals
Long before they can speak, your baby is capable of learning to imitate noises and especially animal sounds. Offer them a small picture book with photos of familiar animals. Go through it together and with each photo, name the animal and imitate its sound: "the cat: meow meow, the dog: woof woof, the duck: quack quack." From the very first time, your child will undoubtedly be very intrigued by these unusual sounds. And if you regularly practice this activity, they will soon be imitating the sound of each animal with you!
From 9 Months to 1 Year: The Pleasure of Water
On a nice day, set up your baby outdoors or on the balcony (or in your kitchen or bathroom, if you don't have a balcony) with a large basin filled with warm water. Place several objects in the basin: bath toys, a plastic bottle without the cap, cups, a colander... and let your baby happily splash around. They will probably end up all wet, but what fun for them to play with water, pouring it from one container to another, or splashing everyone who comes near!
