Find out more about all areas of baby development. Find out what babies and toddlers should be doing at different stages of their development and gain tips, ideas and activities to support you baby in their development.

How do we make Tummy Time even more fun at Adventure Babies?

Tummy time, that adorable practice of placing your baby on their belly while awake and supervised, is more than just a cute photo opportunity—it’s a vital building block for your baby’s healthy development. The benefits of tummy time extend across various domains, starting with the physical. As babies lift their heads and strengthen neck muscles during these sessions, they lay the groundwork for crucial motor skills. This foundational strength is not only a precursor to crawling and rolling but also essential for achieving later milestones like sitting and standing.

Beyond the physical realm, tummy time enhances sensory and cognitive development. The change in perspective encourages babies to explore their surroundings visually, improving their spatial awareness. This newfound view also fosters an early understanding of cause and effect, as they learn to engage with objects within their line of sight. The sensory stimulation from the different textures beneath them during tummy time further refines their tactile senses.

Additionally, this belly-down playtime serves as an excellent opportunity for bonding between you and your baby. As they begin to engage in tummy time activities, they receive positive interaction, fostering emotional connections crucial for their social and emotional development.

Read on to find out how we make this essential play activity even more fun for your baby at Adventure Babies classes.

  1. Colourful Tummy Mats: Invest in a vibrant and soft mat featuring engaging patterns and high-contrast colours. The visual stimulation will capture your baby’s attention and make the experience more visually exciting.
  2. Mirror Play: Place a baby-safe mirror in front of your little one. Babies are often fascinated by their reflections, and this simple addition can turn this time into a delightful activity as they explore their own faces.
  3. Toys: Introduce age-appropriate toys that your baby can reach for and grasp during tummy time. Toys with various textures and contrasting colours not only make the experience more enjoyable but also encourage motor skill development.
  4. Sing and Chat: Get down on their level and engage in cheerful conversation or sing light-hearted songs. Your voice is not only comforting but also provides auditory stimulation, making the experience more interactive and enjoyable for your baby.
  5. Parent Participation: Make this time a bonding experience by getting down on the floor with your baby. Lay next to them, make eye contact, and provide encouraging smiles and words. Your presence and positive interaction create a shared, joyous activity that your baby will look forward to.

Remember, the key is to keep it light, enjoyable, and stress-free. Gradually increasing the duration of tummy time as your baby becomes more accustomed ensures a positive association with this crucial developmental activity.

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Best Christmas Gift for Baby

It’s been so much fun making and sending out our latest batch of mini parachutes! Our personal Adventure Babies parachutes make the best Christmas gift for baby or toddler for so many brilliant reasons….

  1. Sensory Development: Parachute play engages a child’s senses. The feel of the parachute fabric, the movement of air, and the visual stimulation as it moves up and down can contribute to sensory development.
  2. Motor Skills: Playing with a mini parachute encourages the development of gross motor skills. As little ones grasp the edges of the parachute and move it up and down, they enhance their coordination and muscle strength. For our even smaller adventurers, reaching out for the dangly beautiful fabrics is brilliant motor skill exercise.
  3. Social Interaction: Parachute play can be a group or paired activity, even with our mini ones! It can be a fantastic way for toddlers to interact with others, promoting social skills, cooperation, and teamwork.
  4. Imaginative Play: The versatility of a mini parachute allows for creative and imaginative play. Children can use it as a tent, a cape, or a hiding spot, fostering imaginative thinking.
  5. Physical Activity: In a world where screen time is prevalent, a mini parachute encourages physical activity. It gets kids moving and active, promoting a healthy lifestyle from an early age.
  6. Versatility: Mini parachutes are versatile toys that can be used both indoors and outdoors. This makes them suitable for play in various settings, providing entertainment in different environments.
  7. Parent-Child Bonding: Playing with a mini parachute can be a delightful bonding activity for parents and their little ones. It offers a chance for shared playtime, creating lasting memories.
  8. Entertainment for Various Ages: While initially appealing to toddlers, a mini parachute can continue to be entertaining as a child grows. It can be adapted for different games and activities suitable for varying age ranges.
  9. Compact and Portable: Mini parachutes are typically compact and easy to transport. This makes them a practical gift for families who may be traveling during the Christmas holiday. They fold up and fit inside your changing bag and are small enough that you can play with it in a café or at somebody else’s house.

Overall, a mini parachute combines fun and developmental benefits, making it a thoughtful and engaging Christmas present for a baby or toddler. They can be posted to you or to the person receiving the gift and come in their very own presentation box… Making them the best Christmas gift for baby. Ever 🙂

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Why are sensory development classes like Adventure Babies so good for your baby?

Our classes are designed to support sensory development in babies and toddlers and are crammed full of activities to support this growth in a fun and engaging way.  Sensory development refers to the process through which children acquire and refine their ability to perceive and interpret sensory information from their environment. It involves the maturation and integration of the five main senses.  Providing an environment and activities full of Different textures, sounds, colours, tastes and smells are essential for babies’ development for several reasons:

  1. Sensory Stimulation: Diverse textures and colours engage a baby’s senses, promoting sensory development. Touching, feeling, and exploring various textures and colours help babies refine their sense of touch, sight, and even taste.
  2. Cognitive Development: Exploring different textures and colours encourages cognitive development. Babies learn to distinguish between objects and understand cause-and-effect relationships.
  3. Fine Motor Skills: Manipulating objects with various textures and colours improves fine motor skills. Babies develop dexterity and hand-eye coordination as they explore objects with different attributes.
  4. Visual Stimulation: Bright and contrasting colours are visually stimulating for babies, aiding in the development of their visual acuity and perception.
  5. Creativity and Curiosity: Exposure to various textures and colours sparks a baby’s curiosity and creativity. It encourages them to explore, experiment, and learn about the world around them.
  6. Emotional and Social Development: Colourful and textured toys often provoke emotional responses, promoting social interactions as babies engage with the people around them during play.

 

Incorporating a variety of textures and colours into a baby’s environment and playtime can enrich their overall sensory and cognitive experiences, supporting their holistic development. Sensory development is especially important during early childhood, as it forms the foundation for various cognitive, motor, and social skills.

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When Will Your Baby Say Their First Word

Ah, the delightful journey of language development in babies! As language experts here at Adventure Babies, let me share some insights into when all that charming babbling and cooing typically transforms into their very first word.
Firstly, it’s essential to understand that language development in babies is a gradual process, and the timing can vary significantly from one child to another. On average, most babies say their first word around the age of 9 to 14 months. However, it’s entirely normal for some to start a bit earlier, while others may take a little more time. The key is to provide a nurturing and language-rich environment for your little one to thrive.
Here are some milestones and factors that can give you an idea of when to expect that first word:

1. Babbling Stage: Around 6 to 8 months, babies typically engage in babbling. These are repetitive, vowel-consonant combinations like “bababa” or “dadada.” Babbling is a precursor to spoken language and a positive sign of speech development.
2. Social Interaction: Babies who are approaching their first word often exhibit a heightened interest in social interaction. They may make eye contact, smile, and respond when you talk to them. These interactions are essential for language development.
3. Imitation: Look for signs that your baby is trying to mimic sounds or words you say. They might repeat simple sounds or syllables, indicating their readiness to take their first linguistic steps.
4. Contextual Awareness: As they get closer to that first word, you may notice that their sounds become more contextually relevant. They might say “mama” or “dada” in the presence of their parents, or the name of a favourite toy or pet when they see them.
5. Receptive Language: While they may not say their first word just yet, babies often understand more words than they can express. They may respond to simple commands like “wave bye-bye” or “clap your hands.”
6. Encouragement: Encourage their budding language skills by talking to them, reading to them, and singing songs. This helps build their vocabulary and comprehension.
Remember, the first word may not be crystal clear; it might sound more like a simplified version of the actual word. Don’t be surprised if “mama” is “mamamama” or “dada” is “dadada” at first. These early attempts are adorable and a significant step in their language journey.

While there’s a typical age range for a baby’s first word, it’s important to embrace the uniqueness of your child’s development. Be patient, create a language-rich environment, and savour every moment of this incredible linguistic adventure as your baby takes their first steps into the world of words.

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Grasping is an Important Developmental Milestone

Grasping is an Important Developmental Milestone – Support your baby to reach this

 

Encouraging babies to reach out and grasp objects is an important developmental milestone that offers several benefits:

Fine Motor Skills Development:

Grasping objects helps in the development and refinement of fine motor skills, enhancing the coordination and control of small muscles in the hands and fingers. This is a crucial foundation for various tasks in daily life, such as writing, drawing, using utensils, and more.

Hand-Eye Coordination:

Grasping objects involves coordinating hand movements with visual information. Babies learn to judge distances, angles, and movements, which improves their hand-eye coordination. This skill is essential for activities like catching a ball, using a computer mouse, or threading a needle.

Sensory Exploration:

When babies grasp and manipulate objects, they engage multiple senses—sight, touch, and sometimes taste. This sensory exploration aids in their cognitive development by helping them understand the properties of different objects and textures.

Cognitive Development:

Grasping objects and exploring their properties promotes cognitive development. Babies learn about cause and effect, object permanence (understanding that objects exist even when out of sight), and basic concepts of shape, size, and weight.

Object Permanence:

Grasping objects contributes to the development of object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not seen. This is a critical cognitive milestone for infants.

Curiosity and Learning:

The act of reaching out and grasping objects encourages curiosity and exploration. Babies are naturally inquisitive, and by allowing them to reach for and manipulate objects, you stimulate their desire to learn and understand their environment.

Social Interaction and Bonding:

Encouraging babies to grasp objects can also facilitate social interaction. Parents or caregivers often engage with the baby during these activities, which fosters bonding and a sense of security.

Language Development:

As babies grasp objects, they often engage in vocalizations and babbling, laying the foundation for language development. These actions can prompt adult responses and interactions, which further aid in language acquisition.

Independence and Confidence:

Mastering the developmental milestone of grasping objects empowers babies to become more independent. They gain confidence in their abilities to interact with their environment, which is crucial for their overall development.

Parents and caregivers play a vital role in creating a safe and stimulating environment for babies to explore and develop their grasping abilities. Our Mini Parachiutes is an amazingly inviting way to support your baby reach this developmental milestone. Providing a variety of appropriate toys and objects for them to grasp, offering gentle encouragement and support, and celebrating their achievements can greatly aid how they meet their developmental milestones.

developmental milestones

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Support Language Development

How can I help my baby to talk?

 

There are several ways you can help support your baby’s language development and encourage their talking skills:

  1. Talk to your baby: Engage in conversations with your baby throughout the day. Talk about what you’re doing, describe objects and events, and ask simple questions. Use a higher-pitched, sing-song voice and exaggerate your intonation to make it engaging and interesting for your baby.
  2. Respond and encourage: When your baby makes sounds or attempts to communicate, respond with enthusiasm and interest. Encourage their efforts by imitating their sounds and adding words to their babbling. For example, if your baby says “ba-ba,” you can respond with “Yes, that’s a ball! Ball, ball.”
  3. Read together: Regularly read books to your baby, even from a very young age. Choose books with simple and repetitive text, colourful pictures, and textures to engage their senses. Point to and name objects in the book and encourage your baby to turn the pages. This helps expand their vocabulary and understanding of language. Alternatively, come along to your nearest Adventure Babies class and let us bring a story to life!
  4. Sing songs and nursery rhymes: Singing exposes your baby to different rhythms, tones, and patterns of language. Songs and nursery rhymes often have repetitive and melodic phrases, which can be easier for babies to imitate and remember. Singing together also promotes bonding and helps your baby develop an ear for different sounds.
  5. Provide a language-rich environment: Surround your baby with a language-rich environment by talking to them throughout the day. Describe your activities, name objects, and narrate daily routines. You can also label items in your home, such as furniture, toys, and household items. This exposure to language helps build their vocabulary and understanding.
  6. Play and interact: Engage in interactive activities with your baby, such as peek-a-boo, tickling, and imitation games. These activities promote social interaction, turn-taking, and communication skills. Use gestures, facial expressions, and body language to enhance your communication with your baby.
  7. Limit screen time: Excessive screen time can interfere with language development in babies. It’s important to limit their exposure to screens and prioritize face-to-face interactions and real-life experiences instead.

Remember that every baby develops at their own pace, so be patient and supportive. If you have any concerns about your baby’s language development, consult with your GP or a speech-language pathologist for further guidance and support.

 

Language Development

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Physical Development – Motor Skill Development

Baby Development – Motor Skill Development

What is motor skill development?

 

In the first few years of your baby’s life they will be developing rapidly. Baby Development is a phrase I am sure you are very familiar with now. There are many different stages and types of baby development but here we will give a quick guide to physical development, often known of as motor skill development.

Motor development is part of physical development and refers to the growth in the ability of children to use their bodies and physical skills. Motor development can be divided into gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are things like holding their head up, sitting up unaided and crawling and fine motor skills are things like picking up smaller toys, turning the pages of a book or mark making.

 

Why do children need to develop their motor skills?

 

Motor development is important throughout a child’s early life, because physical development is tied to other development areas. For example, if a child is able to crawl or walk, he/she can more easily explore their physical environment, which affects cognitive development.

 

With practice, children learn to develop and use gross motor skills so they can move in their world with balance, coordination, ease, and confidence!

 

The ability to accomplish self-care and everyday tasks by using fine motor skills helps a child’s self-esteem and confidence grow. It’s important to work with children early on to help fine motor skills develop at a young age. Fine motor skills improve with practice, so the earlier the better!

 

For instance, babies first learn to hold their heads up, then sit with assistance, then sit unassisted, followed later by crawling, pulling up, cruising, and then walking. As motor skills develop, there are certain developmental milestones that young children should achieve.

 

How do I help my child develop their motor skills?

 

As they get older, your little one will be working their motor skills every day just by going about their daily routine and getting more involved in activities! However, for infants and toddlers, they may need extra stimulation to work their motor skills. Make sure you are encouraging physical movement and development of these skills on a daily basis.

  1. Try tummy time. You can start tummy time with your newborn from the day you come home from the hospital. …
  2. Place toys out of reach. …
  3. Support their seat. …
  4. Prop with pillows. …
  5. Offer push toys. …
  6. Kick and throw balls. …

How do toddlers develop gross motor skills?

 

  1. Trampolines. Using a trampoline is a great activity to improve balance. …
  2. Hopscotch. Hopping and jumping require strong gross motor skills, balance, and coordination. …
  3. Martial arts classes. …
  4. Playground play. …
  5. Balloon and bubble play. …
  6. Tricycles, scooters, and pedal cars. …
  7. Dancing. …
  8. Obstacle courses.

This is a great activity to try at home for babies from around 4 months old

 

Baby Surprise – stuff some squares of fabric into an old clean baby wipe container and let your baby pull them out one by one. If you can find fabrics with different textures and colours to stimulate baby’s sense of touch and vision that would be even better!

 

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Join our baby and toddler development classes here 

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Adventure Babies Sensory Storytelling Classes are the best!

Did you know that we have been running for nearly 9 years now? That is amazing, I can’t believe how quickly time has raced by!

 

We always get told that our classes are waaaay the best baby development class around by parents who attend, and I will tell you why….

 

When I started Adventure Babies, I really didn’t want to copy another class. I saw what people did and tried to add something different to the baby class industry, an original idea that would benefit babies and their adults! I know that I did that because there were no sensory storytelling classes AT ALL then.

 

The other thing I wanted to do was just make our classes as brilliant as possible so that parents were getting something worthwhile and good value. We concentrated on having amazing original ideas and resources and then worked so hard to make every parent and baby feel valued so that our classes were amazing, fun and provided great value.

 

I love teaching; I have always been a teacher because I really care about helping children to develop. I personally couldn’t continue teaching to the standard I wanted to and be a good mum too. I didn’t start Adventure Babies to become a big business and over market an average idea or copy a business from somebody else. I really care about the experience that parents and babies have in our classes. Maybe that is why word of mouth has led to so many of our bookings.

 

Anyway, I guess I’m really proud of where Adventure Babies has travelled in the last (nearly) 9 years and I can’t wait to see where it goes next! Thank you for your support everybody and for keeping telling us that we are the best baby development class xx

 

Find your nearest class here

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Tummy Time

Everything you need to know about Tummy Time!

 

Read our quick guide to tummy time. What it is, how to do it, how much your baby needs and how to make it more fun.

What?

The period during the day your baby spends awake and on their stomach.

It is one of your baby’s first exercises—and the most important! It is a crucial exercise for baby’s motor, visual, and sensory development.

Why?

  • To develop the core muscles of the neck, back, and shoulder muscles
  • To meet developmental milestones
  • To possibly help prevent early motor delays and conditions, such as flat head syndrome (positional plagiocephaly) and twisted neck (positional torticollis).

When?

Begin from birth and continue throughout your baby’s first year.

Aim to achieve at least an hour total per day by 3 months of age. This hour needs to be broken up into many smaller parts. From newborn, start with a few minutes at a time and build up to longer sessions. Once your baby is rolling both ways and crawling you won’t need to keep practicing tummy time!

How?

Place baby on their tummy in the prone position whilst supervised to play. Many babies are not keen on tummy time to begin with so have a look at our ideas to make tummy time more fun…

 

How do I make Tummy Time easier?

  • Go chest to chest – this is a great way to start as you can change the angle with your baby laid on your chest.
  • Use props – exciting toys or mirrors make tummy time feel less of a chore for your baby
  • Have a seat – sit on the floor and use your thigh to prop up your baby’s chest making tummy time a bit easier
  • Be entertaining – get face to face so that your baby can see you and entertain them with silly faces.
  • Rock and roll – try lying your baby on their tummy on the birthing ball or a beach ball
  • Take a wander – using a sling or your arms take your baby for a walk.
  • Make a baby aeroplane – lying on your back with your knees up balance your baby facing you and move them around making plane noises!
  • Get naked – great skin to skin bonding time too!

 

There you have it. Everything you need to know about tummy time including how to make it more fun and enjoyable for your baby if it isn’t their faviourite activity.

 

A great way to gain more fun ideas for core strength activities is to come along to one of our Sensory Storytelling Adventure Babies classes! 

 

 

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Weaning a 6-Month-Old Baby – Our 5 top tips to help you get started

Weaning a 6-Month-Old Baby – Our 5 top tips to help you get started

Weaning is huge milestone for most new mums. When is my baby ready for weaning? Should you puree or use the baby lead weaning method? Can you buy pouches, or should you cook it all from scratch? Here we’ll give you our top tips to help you get started and reach the dizzy heights of weaning success.

When do you know if your little one is ready for weaning?

It is recommended that you wait until your baby is close to 6 months to begin weaning. This is so their little guts and immune systems have time to start functioning properly before they’re trying to digest solid foods. The signs to look for are:

  • They can stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady.
  • They can coordinate their eyes, hands, and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth.
  • They are able to swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

Do you need any special equipment for weaning?

Honestly, you don’t really need anything special for weaning your baby. Besides small soft spoons which are gentle on your little ones mouth you don’t really need anything more than you’ve already got in your kitchen. However, some handy things to help you along are small freezer containers for batch cooking and a hand blender if you plan on pureeing.

Puree or Baby Lead Weaning?

There really isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. The main thing is that you are comfortable with the decision you’ve made and that your little one is safe. Often mums use a mixture of both pureed foods and finger foods to let their little ones explore different flavours and textures as well as different techniques to eating such as using a spoon or using their hands. Do whatever feels comfortable for you and your baby.

Can you buy pouches, or should you cook it all from scratch?

Again, this is very dependant on your situation and what you’ve got time for. Many first-time mums want to give their babies the best, for some mums that means slaving away over a hot stove, blending the life out of numerous vegetables and freezing them ready for the week ahead. For others it means buying a variety or different pouches specially made for their weaning stage. Whichever works for you. Neither one is better than the other.

What else do you need to know?

Keep up the milk – when you first start weaning, it’s important that you still combine food with whatever milk they normally have.

Enough is enough – your baby will let you know when they’ve had enough by closing their mouth. Do not try and force them to have more.

Patience is key – It can be frustrating if you’ve spent ages preparing something and your little one won’t even attempt to try it. Keep your cool and try it again later or tomorrow. There’s no rush. Follow their lead.

So there you have it, our main tips are that you follow your baby’s lead and that you do whatever makes you comfortable when weaning your baby.

For more in-depth information you can visit the NHS website – https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/

All Adventure Babies Classes help with weaning, giving your little one’s time to explore numerous edible messy play activities. To find your nearest class have a look on our website here – https://www.adventurebabies.co.uk/classes/

 

 

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