Cognitive Development Games for Infants

Cognitive development refers to the way your baby figures out the world. Babies are always learning and absorbing new information. Playing games with your infant is a great way to support his cognitive development. The best time to play games with your infant is when she is happy and alert. Stop playing when he starts to lose interest and his attention wanders.

Games

• Most cognitive development games for infants are easy to play and don't take much planning. Play peek-a-boo with your infant. Cover your face with your hands and ask "Where's Mommy (or Daddy)?" and uncover your face and say "peek-a-boo!" You can also briefly cover your baby's face with a shirt or wash cloth and ask where she is? By playing peek-a-boo your baby begins to learn about object permanence, the idea that things are still there even when she can't see them. Another game to encourage object permanence is to show your infant a toy and then hide it briefly under a blanket and reveal it to her. You can also hide a toy behind your back and then show it to your baby.

  Rattles and other toys that make noise are also good for games with baby. Show your infant a rattle or other noisemaker and then shake it in front of him. Move it slowly in front of his face while your shake it, letting his eyes follow it. Then move it away and shake it again. Does he look for it? You can also give your baby a rattle to shake himself or fill a water bottle with beans or rice and glue the lid on. Show your infant how to shake it and roll it. As babies learn how to make noises by playing they are learning about cause and effect. Another way to encourage learning about sounds and cause and effect is to give your infant some pots and pans and a wooden or plastic spoons to play with. Show him how to hit the pots to make and noise and let him experiment with how to make sounds with them. Say the words for the sound he makes, like "Bang, bang" or "Tap, tap."

  Dropping things is another game to play with your baby. Slowly drop a toy in front of your baby. Does she watch it drop? After she has watched you drop things, you can give her toys to drop or attach a few toys to her high chair with short strings or plastic linking rings, so she can practice dropping things and pulling them up to drop again.

  Other great activities to stimulate infant cognitive development are singing songs and saying nursery rhymes. Babies love to clap along with "Pat-a-cake" and listen as you sing "The Wheels on the Bus" to them. Reading is another great activity for cognitive development. Set aside time each day to read to your infant. Choose books with rhythmic, rhyming text and brightly colored pictures. Point to the pictures as you read and talk about what you see.

  Keep playing with and talking to your baby and you will be surprised at how quickly he begins to learn about his world.