What is the purpose of learning games for a 6-month-old baby?
If your baby spends a lot of time playing, it's because learning through fun helps his brain to mature. And learning without constraint and through fun is more effective and more motivating. It's a virtuous circle: the more a baby plays, the more he learns and the more he wants to learn by continuing to play. This learning by doing is done with your help: you are your child's first playmate. There are a number of toys available for your child to play with.
Babies are often very concentrated when they play, and it is sometimes difficult to distract them from their occupation. Early learning games for a baby from 6 months, and even from birth, also contribute to his development. A baby who plays can quickly become tired. If your child does not react to a toy, it is probably because it has been sufficiently stimulated for the moment. Accompanying your child's development with an early years toy does not mean over-stimulating him, as this could make him restless, he also needs to rest.
The benefits of early learning toys on baby's development
Babies develop along several axes: sensory and motor; intellectual and linguistic; social and emotional. Make sure that your baby's early learning toys act on all these elements so that he grows well.
Sensory and motor development
In the first few months of life, your baby's development is mainly sensory. His main toy in the first few months of life is undoubtedly his cuddly toy. He discovers shapes, colours, light... Then come the first experiences of taste, textures and sounds with musical cuddly toys. Your baby starts to manipulate objects and put them in his mouth.
As he grows, he acquires more and more motor skills. At first he plays with his hands and feet. Then he or she picks up objects with the thumb and forefinger. Baby games strengthen muscles, fine motor skills and balance. Pyramids of rings, stacking cubes, puppets...: don't hesitate to vary the toys for the first age to encourage your baby's motor and sensory development.
Intellectual and linguistic development
Toddler toys also help develop thinking skills. At around 6 months, your baby begins to understand cause and effect relationships and to try to solve problems. He or she will have fun dropping toys to pick them up.
You can support this learning process and encourage imagination and creativity by reading books. This is the ideal age to give him his first picture book. This is also an opportunity to develop his language. Even if he doesn't speak, he learns by hearing adults and it will be even more enjoyable with a colourful book. Speech will soon enable him to make himself understood, thanks to the new words he has been assimilating since his first months.
Social and emotional development
From birth, your child gradually learns to live with others and then, very quickly, to share and imitate. Playing with your baby strengthens the ties that bind you and encourages him to express his emotions. A play mat with an unbreakable mirror gives him the opportunity to become aware of himself and others. Recreating and imitating helps them to better understand their surroundings. Early learning games for a 6-month-old baby help him to develop his personality and identity. Later, he will also learn to resolve conflicts that may arise with his peers.
