BABIES MAY

• Show interest in people by changing behavior.
• React to new voices or sounds by turning in the direction of sound.
• Show interest, explore, manipulate, or stare at new objects in the environment.
• Use all senses to explore the environment (reaching out to touch rain).

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Create an inviting environment for the child to explore with a variety of different materials, toys, textures and sounds.
• Respond thoughtfully and promptly to the child.
• Read a variety of books and tell stories to child every day.

BABIES MAY

• Establish eye contact with caregiver(s).
• Recognize caregivers and show emotion.
• Examine a face, toy, or rattle for brief period of time.
• Repeat simple motions or activities (swats at mobile, consistently reaches for objects).

YOU CAN

• Imitate or copy infant.
• Engage in play often (songs, chants and finger plays).
• Name objects as the child focuses on them.
• Play hiding games (lap games and peekaboo).
• Attend to child’s needs.
• Promote routines.

BABIES MAY

• Engage in and actively explore new and
  familiar surroundings.
• Engage familiar adults and children in interactions ( smiling, approaching, not withdrawing).

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Follow child’s lead and/or choices in daily activities.

BABIES MAY

• Inspect own hands and feet by mouthing.
• Mouth, shake, bang, drop, or throw objects.
• Change behaviors and responses based on other’s expressions and motions.

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Provide toys and experiences with a variety of colors, textures, sounds, shapes, and smells.
• Change the materials, toys, and objects in child’s environment regularly (rotates toys weekly and introduces new experiences – lifting a clean sheet over a baby’s face).
• Provide child time and opportunities to be spontaneous, silly, and messy.
• Play with child in creative ways (use soft toys to create a puppet show, tell imaginative stories using familiar characters).
• Follow child’s lead during play.

BABIES MAY

• Track people and objects by moving his/her head as adult or object moves.
• Behave in consistent ways to elicit desired response (kick a mobile).
• Play games with primary caregiver that involves repetition (peek-a-boo).
• Experiment to see if similar objects will cause similar responses (shake a stuffed animal in the same way as a rattle to hear noise).
• Use senses to explore objects and toys.

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Interact with child in consistent and predictable ways.
• Provide child with toys and objects that react to specific actions (rattles, ball with bell).
• Provide opportunities for child to try same action on a different object (shake a rattle, shake a stuffed animal, shake a ball).