Long before your baby can roll, crawl, sit or stand, she’ll hit a plethora of smaller developmental milestones. Three months is a particularly exciting time because she’s spending more time awake and is busily discovering the world around her. You can assist in your 3 months old’s development through daily activities designed to stimulate her growth and development in five important categories:
- Social and emotional
- Fine motor skills
- Gross motor skills
- Communicating and imitating
- Learning
Activities for Your 3 Month Old to Jump Start Learning!
Let’s take a look at some specific activities from each of these categories from which your little learner can benefit:
Social and Emotional Activities for a 3 Month Old
Your baby isn’t yet heading off to school to build friendships or practice using conflict resolution skills, but she’s already learning early social and emotional skills that will be the building blocks for those future endeavors. Give her a head-start with activities like:
Eye Contact
One of the best ways to build a social bond with your baby and teach her to be confident in interacting with others is to make eye contact as much as possible. Look her in the eye during feedings, while changing her and while singing songs.
Active Playtime
Let your baby know you enjoy spending time with her by actively playing together. Make sure to smile and laugh while interacting with her, as this builds her confidence in herself and her trust in you.
Meet the World
Introduce your three-month-old to the social world. Take her to the grocery store or post office with you ”“ anywhere she’s likely to encounter other people and experience new faces and voices.
Fine Motor Skills
All the movements we make using the small muscles contained in our hands are referred to as fine motor skill movements. They help us do things like reach, grasp and hold objects as we grow, and babies begin developing these skills from birth. At three months, there is a surge in fine motor development, and you can help your baby meet important milestones through activities like:
Reaching Games
Lay baby on her back and hold a toy above her, just within reach. Encourage her to reach up for it and swat at it, grasping it if she’s able.
Clapping Songs
Sing songs like pat-a-cake and clap baby’s hands for her. Let her watch you clap your own hands, too.
Toy Grasping Activities for Your 3 Month Old
This one can be done while baby is on her back or during tummy time. Place toys at her sides, within reach, so that she can practice grasping them and bringing them to her mouth. (Reminder: Babies can choke on any toy small enough to fit through a toilet paper roll, so only use baby-safe toys.)
Gross Motor Skill Activities for a 3 Month Old
When we use the large muscle groups in our arms and legs to do things like walk and run, we’re using gross motor skills. Babies begin developing this important skill-set very early on, and they can make considerable progress at three months when exposed to activities like:
Tummy Time
Lay your baby face down for tummy time, and encourage her to lift her head and look at you. Use brightly colored toys or your own face to help her look straight ahead, to the left and to the right.
Supported Sitting
Baby can also practice using her neck muscles to support her own head while in a sitting position. You don’t need any special equipment either; simply sit her on your lap and support her waist and chest with your hands as she works to control her head.
Tummy Toys
Place baby on her back and lay a soft toy on her tummy. This will encourage her to tuck her chin and to reach for and grasp at the toy. If she’s wearing button-up clothing, you can even open a button and tuck a stuffed animal partly inside to keep the toy in place more easily.
Communication and Imitation Activities for a 3 Month Old
Babies learn everything they know about the world through us. When they copy noises we make or facial expressions we use, they are learning important communication skills. Help their development along with activities like:
Follow the Voice
Encourage your three-month-old to follow your voice as you move to different parts of the room and call her name. This helps her focus on your words and tone and encourages her to pay attention to you.
Dictate Your Day
The more exposure your baby has to language, the easier she’ll tend to develop communication skills of her own. Talk to her throughout the day about whatever you’re doing, even if it’s something mundane like folding laundry. It’s all new and exciting to a three-month-old!
Baby Mimicking
Babies don’t automatically know that sounds have meaning. Encourage your baby to imitate your sounds by imitating any sounds she makes at you. This tells her that making sounds is a two-way street, and establishes the baseline for interpersonal communication.
Learning
Babies are taking in the world around them all day. You can actively foster learning through activities like:
Tracking
Hold a toy or book in front of baby and move it slowly up and down and from side to side. This encourages her to track the object and hold focus. You can also do this with your hand or face!
Name-Calling Activities for Your 3 Month Old
Use your baby’s name often when you’re speaking to her; include it in songs, rhymes and stories. Her name will be one of the very first words she attaches meaning to as she begins to understand language.
Sensory Experience Activities for Your 3 Month Old
Provide different textures for your three-month-old to feel. You can use a store-bought sensory board, but you can also create your own sensory experiences for baby by exposing her to textures like carpet, grass, a soft blanket or your favorite cozy sweater.
Next time you catch yourself thinking your three-month-old is too young for scheduled activities, remember how quickly her brain and body are developing every day. The above activities will keep her interest and encourage growth in important areas while pulling double duty in an important way: each of these activities ”“ and the time you spend doing them ”“ also strengthens the growing, life-long bond between you and your child.
A Great Education Activity that grows with your baby from 3 months old – 3 years old
Monti Kids is one of our favorite things over here at Rookie Moms. They say that 85% of brain development happens in the first three years. Monti Kids provides educational play from birth to age 3 will help fulfill and expand your child’s potential. Every 3 months you will be provided a new set of educational toys for your baby as they grow and mature. Use promo code: Rookie50 for $50 OFF your first purchase –
Level 1 Ages 0 -3.5 Months
- An adjustable wooden Activity Gym designed to hang Montessori mobiles and toys at the perfect height to engage your baby.
- 4 classic Montessori mobiles to develop your baby’s visual skills and focus.
- 4 reaching, grasping and kicking toys to build strength & motor skills.
- Two rattles sized perfectly for your baby’s hands.
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