Have you noticed that your baby loves to stare at you ?
The true look of love! Even as a newborn, your baby will love staring at faces.
We can harness that fascination to develop several skills:
Hand eye coordination
language
listening skills
imitation
Once a baby's vision begins to develop, they love to look at faces, even their own. You've probably already introduced your baby to mirrors, but a mirror toy is something they can explore on their own.
Mirror games can help your baby develop their cognitive and physical skills and also learn self-awareness
Here's a simple play activity that your baby is bound to love.
Baby Play With Mirrors
Begin by locating an unbreakable mirror or a mirror that is safely and securely anchored. I get mt bath mirrors from wilko! They are great as they have a soft foam edge and lightweight for babies to be able to hold too.
Position your baby in front of the mirror so that he can see both his reflection and your reflection Great for tummy time if babies can't sit up yet .
Ask your baby to point to his nose, hair, eyes, etc. If he needs help, you can point to your own nose or point to his nose until he grasps the concept. This exercise helps the baby learn the names of his body parts that he may not otherwise be able to see.
Work on imitation skills, by making funny faces in the mirror and asking him to do the same (wrinkle nose, stick out tongue, widen eyes, etc). There are few things cuter than a baby who is trying to mimic you, and there are sure to be many giggles during this activity. This can also be done as a mimicking game facing each other, with you being the mirror!
Use babies favorite toys to perform sort of a "puppet show" in front of the mirror. Invite him to join you in the play, to see if he understands the relationship between himself and the mirror.
Believe it or not, your baby won't realize that he's looking at his own reflection until somewhere around 9 months plus.
You can "test" to see if he's got the concept by placing a small sticker or spot of lipstick on his face. When he sits in front of the mirror, if he tries to wipe it off his own face and not the face of the baby in the mirror then he has it all figured out. This is a pretty significant milestone for babies and will be fascinating to watch the realization dawn on him when he finally makes the connection!
I hope you enjoy some mirror play with your baby
Love Elisa xx