Parents and childminders can stimulate and help develop a baby’s healthy brain through play with Barnardo’s fun new activity programme.
Barnardo’s ‘baby brain workout’ is made up of 15 simple activities that you can choose to do with your baby or toddler, at any time of the day. Playing with water, singing and tickling are just a few of the fun things included.
The activities are based on five key building blocks: talk, play, relax, cuddle and respond. These building blocks fit very neatly within the eight Wellbeing Indicators on the Wellbeing Wheel: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included.
These activities will support a young child as they learn through play, helping them grow up healthy and happy by building their communication skills, learn how to get on with and understand others and manage their personal feelings.
Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said: “Babies’ minds are built through their experiences so playing with them is not just a lot of fun, it’s also really good for their brain development and wellbeing.
“Happy times helps raise happy babies. All parents, childminders and carers want to do a good job, so we hope these simple activities help give children the best start in life.”
Download Barnardo’s Baby Brain Workout Pack.