29 Baby Game Ideas for Your Baby's First Year

Are you looking for fun and development-boosting games to play with your baby? Engaging your little one through age-appropriate play is one of the best ways to support their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. Activities like tummy time help build motor skills, while interactive games such as peekaboo encourage social development. Simple play can have a significant impact. Most experts recommend focusing on sensory-rich, repetitive, and responsive games that are tailored to your baby’s age and developmental milestones.

Here’s a quick guide to some popular baby games by age:

• Newborn to 3 months. Smiling games, gentle clapping, face-to-face imitation, tummy time and using sensory toys.

• 3 to 6 months. Bubble blowing, pedal games, mirror play, reading aloud, rattles and gentle tickles.

• 6 to 9 months. Crawling obstacle courses, puppet shows, peekaboo, mirroring and rolling a ball.

• 9 to 12 months. Hide and seek, stacking towers, sing-alongs, simple sorting, animal sounds and baby-led cleanup.

In this article, we will explore the best games to play with your baby at every developmental stage, explaining how each game supports growth, along with tips to make playtime safe, fun and meaningful.

Pampers Picks: Our Favourite Games for Babies

Here are three of our top baby games for early development, complete with step-by-step instructions and a clear focus on the skills each one supports.

Tummy Time

Helps develop: Neck and upper body strength, coordination and sensory exploration.

How to play

1. Lay your baby on their tummy on a soft, firm blanket

2. Lie next to them at eye level and smile or talk gently

3. Use toys or a baby-safe mirror to grab their attention and encourage them to look around

4. Try short sessions of 2 to 5 minutes, gradually increasing as your baby gets stronger.

Why we love tummy time: Tummy time helps develop the muscles your baby needs for crawling and sitting, while also supporting early head control.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Helps develop: Social and emotional connections, imitation, and early communication skills.

How to play

1. Hold your baby face-to-face with you, either in your arms or during floor play.

2. Copy any expressions they make, such as smiles, sticking out their tongue or wide eyes

3. Then switch – make a new expression or gesture and wait to see if they imitate you

4. Narrate the action, for example, ’I’m sticking out my tongue! Can you do it too?’

Why we love this game: ’Monkey see, monkey do’ taps into your baby’s instinct to mimic and helps them learn about emotions and social connection.

Peek-a-Boo

Helps develop: Object permanence, anticipation and emotional bonding.

How to play

1. Cover your face with your hands or a blanket

2. Ask, ’Where’s mummy/daddy?’ and pause

3. Uncover your face and say, ’Peek-a-boo!’ with a big smile

4. Repeat from different angles or with a toy for variety.

Why we love peek-a-boo: This classic game teaches your baby that people and objects still exist even when out of sight, which is an important cognitive milestone in their development.

When Do Newborns Start to Play?

From their very first days, newborns begin to explore the world in their own gentle way – but their version of ‘play’ is quite different from what older babies enjoy. Early play is all about bonding, sensory experiences, and interacting with parents and caregivers, rather than relying on toys.

Simple activities such as talking softly to your baby, making eye contact, and gently moving their arms and legs help support early brain development. As babies reach around 6 to 8 weeks old, they become more alert and may begin to respond to familiar voices, smiles and gentle movement – showing growing curiosity and engagement during playtime.

How to Play With Your Newborn or Older Infant

From Birth to 6 Months Old: Activities to Do With Your Newborn

These game ideas can work well for your newborn baby until they’re around 6 months old and sometimes beyond. Keep in mind that babies develop at different rates, so if a particular developmental game doesn’t work with your 3-month-old baby, it’s worth another try a few weeks or months later.

1. All Smiles

Your baby may begin to smile at around 4 to 8 weeks. This will be a good time to play a smiling game

Helps develop: Social connection, emotional bonding

How to play

Just smile at your baby and wait for them to smile back. Try making silly faces or soft noises to encourage a grin in return.

2. Show and Tell

‘Show and Tell’ isn’t just for school – it’s a wonderful way to introduce your newborn to the world through touch, sight and sound. It’s one of the most engaging sensory activities for newborns.

Helps develop: Sensory awareness, early language exposure

How to play

1. Choose a safe, soft item – perhaps a cloth swatch, a wooden spoon (clean and smooth) or a textured ball

2. Hold it close to your baby and describe it slowly and clearly: ‘This is a red ball, it’s soft and smooth’

3. Let your baby look at it closely, and if safe, gently guide it to touch their hands or feet

4. Swap between different textures or shapes to enrich the experience.

3. Clappity Clap

While newborns can’t clap on their own yet, helping them mimic the action introduces rhythm, sound and early cause-and-effect learning.

Helps develop: Hearing, motor coordination

How to play

1. Sit your baby in your lap or place them on a soft surface when they’re calm and alert

2. Gently bring their hands together in a clapping motion, narrating ’Clap, clap, clap!’ or sing something like ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’

3. Add variety by tapping their feet together or clapping along to simple music.

Be patient, though: The motor skills your baby needs for clapping are quite complex and could take some time for them to master.

4. Pedal Pedal

This gentle ‘leg bicycling’ movement is great during nappy changes or playtime. It supports digestion, helps relieve wind or constipation, and encourages coordination.

Helps develop: Motor skills, digestive comfort

How to play

1. Lay your baby on their back after a nappy change or during awake time

2. Hold their ankles gently and move their legs in a cycling motion: ‘pedal, pedal, pedal!’

3. Chat as you go — ‘Round and round we go’ — then finish with a gentle tummy rub.

5. Tickle Me

Tickling with classic rhymes adds delight, builds anticipation and increases body awareness.

Helps develop: Sensory awareness, anticipation

How to play

1. Use a familiar rhyme like ‘This Little Piggy’, wiggling toes or tracing circles on their tummy while reciting ‘Round and round the garden’

2. Pause just before the ‘tickle!’ to heighten anticipation.

6. Shake and Rattle

Using a gentle rattle or soft noisemaker helps your baby notice sounds and start tracking them visually.

Helps develop: Auditory recognition, hand-eye coordination

How to play

1. Sit your baby in your lap or on a playmat

2. Shake the rattle near one side of their head, then the other, pausing to give them time to turn toward the sound

3. You can also guide their hand to touch or bump the toy. If you don’t have a rattle or squeaky toy, you could half-fill a jar or bottle with dried beans or rice. DIY baby games and toys like home-made rattles can add a personal flavour to play time, but do make sure the lid is secured tightly so none of the beans or rice can escape and present a choking hazard. Never let your child play with a homemade rattle or other toy unless you’re watching closely.

7. Bubble Blowing

Bubbles delight babies and help them practise visual tracking, reach and anticipation.

Helps develop: Tracking movement, eye-hand coordination, sensory engagement

How to play

1. Hold your baby securely or seat them in a safe spot

2. Gently blow bubbles and allow their eyes to follow the floating motion

3. Pop a few near them or encourage reaching. Use excited phrases like ’Look at that bubble!’

4. Be careful not to let bubbles drift into their eyes.

8. Play Ball

Rolling a soft ball encourages movement, reaching and visual tracking – a simple yet effective early learning game.

Helps develop: Gross motor skills, visual tracking

How to play

1. Use a soft, lightweight ball safe for babies

2. Sit opposite your baby or place them on a playmat

3. Roll the ball slowly toward them with prompts like ‘Here it comes’!

4. Over time, they may push it back or try to grasp it. This is a gentle progression of play as they grow.

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Indoor Activities for Babies, Toddlers and Pre-schoolers

9. Baby Gym (Play Gym)

A baby gym offers a safe environment for supervised free movement. Dangling toys tempt little hands and eyes, helping with coordination and curiosity.

Helps develop: Gross motor skills, sensory exploration

How to play

1. Lay your baby on their back under a play gym

2. Let them observe the hanging toys or swat them

3. Narrate colours or shapes: ‘There’s the red star’, or ‘You touched the elephant’

4. Swap/dangle different toys to keep things fresh and engaging.

10. Chitchat

Talking with your baby – even long before they can talk – Is one of the most impactful activities you can do together. It helps build language skills, connections and brain foundations.

Helps develop: Language skills, social bonding

How to play

1. Narrate your everyday interactions: ‘Now we’re changing your nappy’, or ‘I’m folding your blue blanket’

2. Mimic their coos or facial expressions to encourage back-and-forth ‘conversations’. These early exchanges lay the groundwork for communication.

By the way, whichever nappy you use, comfort is key. Pampers Baby‑Dry nappies offer all-round protection and a flexible fit to support your baby’s movement and play – Ideal for these moments of discovery.

11. Fishing for Fun

This playful movement game encourages head lifting, visual tracking and reaching – especially during tummy time.

Helps develop: Upper-body strength, visual coordination

How to play

1. Tie a soft toy securely to a ribbon or string (ensuring safety and supervision at all times)

2. During tummy or back time, slowly dangle the toy in front of your baby, moving it side to side or up and down

3. Say things like, ‘Where’s the teddy going?’ or ‘See the ducky?’ to keep engagement

4. As they grow, encourage them to bat or reach for it

5. Always store the ribbon safely out of reach when you're done.

12. Read Aloud

Reading to your baby is a gentle yet powerful learning game. Early exposure to your voice, rhythm and imagery supports language, attention and listening skills.

Helps develop: Language, attention, listening skills

How to play

1. Choose sturdy baby books with bold, simple illustrations and short phrases

2. Hold your baby on your lap or lie beside them

3. Read with expression, point to pictures, ask rhetorical questions like ‘What does the cow say? Moo!’

4. In the early weeks, high-contrast (e.g. black-and-white) books are especially helpful as babies’ vision develops.

Reading aloud is one of the best calm, alert-time activities you can introduce when your baby is receptive – and it never hurts to plant the seed of a lifelong love of books.

From 6 to 12 Months: Baby Games and Activities

The following game ideas can work well for your baby from 6 months of age to around the time they’re 1 year old.

13. Crawling Course

Between 6 and 12 months, many babies become more mobile and start crawling. Setting up a soft, safe obstacle course is a fantastic way to boost their strength, confidence and coordination.

Helps develop: Problem-solving, gross motor skills

How to play

1. Use soft household items like cushions, pillows, soft toys or a play tunnel

2. Arrange them around the floor to create a gentle course

3. Show your baby how to go over a pillow or under a low table

4. Sit at the end and call them over using your voice or a favourite toy.

There’s no ‘right’ way for your baby to move – whether they crawl, shuffle or roll, the goal is fun, engagement and exploration.

14. Puppet Theatre

Using puppets to tell stories can spark your baby’s imagination and boost early listening and language development. It’s a lovely activity to revisit as your little one grows into toddlerhood.

Helps develop: Imagination, language and listening skills

How to play

1. Create simple finger puppets from old socks, felt or paper, adding smiley faces or googly eyes

2. Sit together and put on a short ‘show’ – talking, singing or dancing

3. Use funny voices, animal sounds or simple scenes like bedtime or mealtimes

4. Let your baby reach out or react to the characters.

It’s a calming play idea that also encourages focus and connection.

15. Mirroring

Mirroring is a great way to help your baby understand their own expressions and emotions. Around the second half of the first year, many babies start to copy what they see – making this a perfect bonding activity.

Helps develop: Emotional awareness, visual focus

How to play

1. Hold a safe, baby-friendly mirror in front of you both

2. Point to your baby’s reflection and say: ‘Look, it’s you!’

3. Make funny faces – stick out your tongue, smile or raise your eyebrows – then see if they copy

4. Clap or cheer to encourage them if they respond.

16. Kickball

This playful activity supports your baby’s leg strength and balance. It’s a simple ball game you can enjoy indoors or out as your baby starts sitting with support.

Helps develop: Gross motor skills, muscle strength

How to play

1. Sit your baby on your lap or floor, supporting them if needed

2. Place a soft ball in front of their feet

3. Gently swing their legs to ‘kick’ the ball

4. Say something cheerful like ‘Kick, kick, hooray!

5. As they grow stronger, let them try kicking on their own.

17. Hide and Seek

This gentle version of hide and seek builds on the fun of peekaboo and introduces the idea that objects and people still exist even when out of sight – known as object permanence.

Helps develop: Memory, curiosity

How to play

1. Hide behind a door, a curtain or even a blanket

2. Call your baby’s name or say: ‘Where did I go?’

3. Pop out and say: ‘Here I am!’

4. Try hiding from different spots or hiding a toy under a cloth

5. Let your baby find you or uncover the toy.

18. Stacking Towers

Stacking is more than fun – it teaches balance, coordination and size relationships. As your baby becomes more active, this is a great game to encourage independent discovery.

Helps develop: Fine motor skills, cause and effect

How to play

1. Use soft blocks, plastic cups or baby-safe containers

2. Help your baby build a short stack

3. Celebrate when it tumbles down

4. Let them try building on their own

5. Describe each action: ‘This one’s big’ or ‘Now it’s tall!’

19. Sing-Along

Singing is one of the most powerful tools for learning – and it’s great fun too! Familiar songs support your baby’s speech, rhythm and memory through repetition and interaction.

Helps develop: Language skills, memory

How to play

1. Choose a classic nursery rhyme like ‘Wind the Bobbin Up’ or ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’

2. Sit face-to-face and sing clearly and slowly

3. Add hand movements or claps

4. Encourage your baby to join in or mimic you

5. Repeat often – babies love predictability.

20. Packing Up

Babies love taking things out – and slowly, they start enjoying putting things back in too! This is a lovely way to begin introducing routine and organisation.

Helps develop: Categorisation, fine motor control

How to play

1. Fill a basket or tub with soft baby toys

2. Let your baby pull out each item and explore

3. Encourage them to help ‘tidy up’

4. Narrate what you’re doing: ‘Here goes the red cup!’

5. Celebrate each successful ‘pack up’.

21. Treasure Basket

Treasure baskets are a brilliant sensory activity for babies who are sitting up and curious about different textures. It supports focus, concentration and independent play.

Helps develop: Sensory skills, attention

How to play

1. Fill a shallow basket with safe household items like a wooden spoon, fabric, silicone brush or textured ball

2. Let your baby explore while you sit nearby

3. Talk about the items: ‘That’s crinkly’, ‘It’s shiny’, ‘Feel how bumpy it is’

4. Rotate items regularly to keep the basket fresh.

22. Highchair Art

Getting messy is a creative and educational part of baby play. Highchair painting introduces your baby to textures and mark-making in a safe and easy-to-clean space.

Helps develop: Fine motor skills, sensory creativity

How to play

1. Place your baby in their highchair with a wipeable tray or sheet of paper

2. Use edible finger paints – such as plain yoghurt with food colouring

3. Let them smear and pat the colours freely

4. Describe what they’re making: ‘A big swirl!’ or ‘That’s lots of blue.’

When it’s time to tidy up, Pampers Sensitive Wipes are a gentle choice for messy hands and faces.

23. Cupcake Tin Sorting

Sorting is a foundational skill that helps babies understand how items relate to each other. This structured activity also encourages grasping and spatial awareness.

Helps develop: Object classification, problem-solving

How to play

1. Place a clean cupcake tin on the floor with small toys in each cup

2. Let your baby pick up and move the items

3. Use phrases like: ‘This cup is full’, ‘Let’s put the duck here’

4. Add colours or shapes as your baby gets older for an extra challenge.

24. Carpet Ride

Looking for a rainy-day activity? This gentle game offers movement, balance and giggles as your baby explores new sensations.

Helps develop: Balance, spatial awareness

How to play

1. Sit your baby on a soft blanket on a smooth floor

2. Slowly pull them around while holding the blanket edges

3. Narrate: ‘We’re going on a ride!’

4. Pause now and then – and always keep it slow and safe.

25. Animal Safari Sounds

Animal sounds are a brilliant way to combine language learning and fun. This is perfect for floor play or wind-down time.

Helps develop: Sound recognition, early vocabulary

How to play

1. Gather animal toys, plushies or books

2. Show each one and say the sound: ‘The cow goes moo!’

3. Encourage your baby to imitate or point

4. Add gestures or claps to make it interactive.

26. Follow the Leader – Crawl Edition

Once your baby’s on the move, crawling games help build strength and coordination. Imitation games like this also support social learning and memory.

Helps develop: Motor skills, copying skills

How to play

1. Get down on the floor and crawl slowly

2. Turn back, make silly sounds or smile to encourage your baby to follow

3. Add a fun twist – crawl under a blanket or tap the floor like a drum

4. Celebrate their effort, no matter how far they go.

Want to learn more about your baby’s next big leap?

Use our Baby Development Milestones Tool to explore what’s ahead – and find playful ways to support each stage.

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The Bottom Line

Playing with your baby can be a lot of fun, create special bonding moments, and be an educational and developmental opportunity for them.

No matter which game you choose to play today, your baby will love the time spent together, and perhaps you can try something else from this list tomorrow! You may also find that playing together becomes a highlight of your day, too, and something you really look forward to.

While you’re having fun with your little one, download the Pampers Club app to earn Pampers points on all those nappies and wipes your little one is going through.