DENVER DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS These activities are designed to help your child with the following basic skills: Developing a Routine — Develop a regular routine for caring for your baby. Have meals, baths, naps, and bedtime at about the same time each day. As your baby gets older, change the routine to meet your baby’s changing needs, Feelings of Security and Love ~ When your baby is fussy, try to find and fix the eause. Pick up your baby and talk to him or her in a soft, soothing, ear- ing tone. Hold, hug, and cuddle your baby often. Carry your baby with you as much as you can as you go about your home, Responding to Cries — Respond right away when your baby cries. Crying is a baby’s only way of telling you something is wrong. You will not “spoil” your baby by picking it up when it cries. Smiling — Smile often at your baby, especially when your baby smiles at you. Make happy sounds and talk to your baby when you smile, Observing — Carry your baby around in a cuddled “sitting” position and show him or her things such as lights or brightly-colored objects. Prop your baby up often (such as in an infant seat or swing) so (s)he can see what goes on around him or her. Imitating — Watch what your baby does and imitate his or her activities, faces, or movements. Your baby will try to imitate you Rocking — To soothe your baby and relax yourself, roek your baby in a rocking chair. Hold your baby close enough so (s)he ean touch your face with his or her hands. As you hold your baby, show love and affection by touch and tone of voice. Bedtime — Sometimes, sing quietly to your baby before bed, or rock your baby to sleep. Lifting Head — Put your baby on his or her stomach. Dangle a bright toy in front of your baby or make happy sounds from in front of him or her so (s)he will} learn to lift his or her head. ($)He will gradually use both arms to push up his or her head and chest. Rolling Over — Encourage your baby to roll over. Get him or her to look at a favorite object while you slowly move i from one side to the other, At first, you may need to help by gently pulling your baby’s top Tag across his or her body. When yoiur baby rolls over, smile and show affection. (Be eareful that the baby doesn't fall from a bed, changing table, or other height while you do this.) Holding Head Steady — Hold your baby in a sitting position often so that (s)he will learn to hold his or her| head steady. ‘© Copyright 1987, W.K. Frankenburg © 2008, Wilhelmine R Frankenburg Watching Moving Objects — Babies like to watch faces, bright patterns, and brightly colored objects. Get your baby to look at your face, a picture of a face, the soft light from a small flashlight, or a colorful object (such as a red mitten). Move your face or the object slowly in different directions to see how far your baby will watch it. Grasping — Put a small rattle or other object into your baby’s hand and watch him or her take hold of it. This is due to a reflex. As your baby grows older, ()he will try to hold small objects that are touched to the back or tip of the fingers. (Be careful that the object eannot hurt or choke your aby.) Feeling and Touch — Let your baby feel different textures, such as stuffed animals, plastic toys, or pieces of terry cloth, rubber, ete. (Since your baby may put the objects in his or her mouth, be sure they are not too smalll and that pieces cannot be torn off and swallowed.) ‘Talking — Talk to your baby often each day, during dressing, feeding, bathing, and household chores. ‘Your baby is never too young to be talked to. Imitating Sounds — Imitate your baby’s cooing, Jabbering sounds. Later, (s)he will learn to repeat the ‘sounds that you make. Awareness of Sounds — Let your baby hear many different sounds, such as music, radio, TV, and telephone bells. Also make sounds with a rattle, squeeze toy, or bell. See how your baby responds to these different sounds. Quiet Times — Babies need some quiet time to babble, play, and explore their world, so don't leave a radio, TV, or stereo on for long periods of time. Instead, provide quiet time for your baby each day. Revision, July 1988 All previous 0-3 months DDAs should be withdrawn from use.DENVER DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES 3 TO 6 MONTHS These activities are designed to hel Activities to continue: — Soothe and calm your baby when (s)he is fussy, and respond promptly to cries — Smile and talk to your baby often. —Rock and love your baby, and sometimes sing or rock him or her to sleep. - Prop your baby up so (s)he can see what goes on around him or her. Massage — To relax your baby, sometimes gently rub his or her back, arms, or legs. Bathing — Run a shallow bath of warm (not hot) water. Hold your baby firmly so (s)he will feel secure, and let him or her splash, kick, and enjoy a bath. Never leave your baby alone near water, even shallow water. Playing Peek-A-Boo ~ Play “peek-a-boo” with your baby. Hold a magazine or piece of paper between your face and the baby, or peek around the baby’s crib or a door. Another way to play this game is to cover your baby’s face with a diaper and to say “peek-a-boo” as you remove the diaper. The main thing is to keep the baby from seeing your face for a moment, then have your happy face re-appear suddenly. Looking in Mirrors — At this age, babies like to look at themselves in mirrors. Let your baby see her- ar himself either in a small, mirfor that will not break, or in the bathroom mirror. Working to Get a Toy — Put a favorite toy just out of reach of your baby. Bounce the toy in front of your baby and talk to him or her so (s)he will work to get the toy. Don't keep it out of reach so long that your baby gets upset. ‘Activities to continue: ~ ‘Talk to your baby often as you dress, feed, or bathe him or her, and imitate cooing, jabbering sounds {he makes, — Continue to let your baby hear many different sounds. — Provide some quit time when the radio and TV are not on Locating Sounds — Try to get your baby to turn his or her head toward sounds. At first, you may need to gently turn your baby's face toward a sound. Or you may take the baby toward the radio, TV, or telephone from which a sound is coming. Imitating Speech Sounds —As you talk to your baby, repeat some sounds often and try to get him or her to say them back. “Da-da” and “ma-ma” sounds are usually easy sounds for a baby to imitate, although they do not have any meaning at this age. (© Copyright 1987, W.K. Frankenburg © 2008, Withalmine Fi. Frankenburg| sour child with the following basic skills: ‘Activities to continue: — Encourage your baby to raise his or her head and push up on the arms to watch what is happening around him or her. ~ Try to get your baby to roll over from stomach to back and from back to stomach Bearing Weight — Hold your baby upright under the arms. Slowly lower your baby until his or her feet touch the table, bed, or your lap. Try to get your baby to bounce up and down and take some weight on her or his legs. Developing Head Control — To make your baby's neck muscles stronger, take his or her hands and wrists when (s)he is lying on his or her back. Slowly pull your baby up into a sitting position. If (he has, little head control, do not try this again until (s)he hhas more neck strength. Sitting — Help your baby sit up alone. Start by having your baby sit in a corner of a couch or chair which prevents falling over. While (s)he is in that position, help your baby hold smalll toys with the hands. When your baby can sit well propped up, encourage him or her to sit up on a blanket on the floor without back support. Activities to continue: — Try to get your baby to follow faces or bright objects with his or her eyes. ~ Let your baby feel many different textures. — Let your baby explore bits of cereal or smail crumbs placed on the table in front of him or her. Looking at Small Objects — Hold your baby on your lap at the table and drop a small object on the table in front of him or her. This can be a small bit of food, such as a pea. You ean also roll the object on the table to see if your baby watches it. (Be careful that your baby doesn't put the small object into his, or her mouth if (s)he might choke on it.) Holding On — Put a rattle or other small toy into your baby’s hand, and pull on it gently to teach him or her to hold onto things. Using Both Hands — Put a toy or other object in your baby's hand and see if (s)he changes it to the other hand, Also try to get you baby £0 hold two objects - one in each hand - at the same time. At first, you may need to place something in one hand and then try to get him or her to pick up a second toy with the hand (s)he uses most often. Picking Up Small Objects — Help teach your baby to pick up small objects, such as crumbs or small bits of food. (When your baby can do this, be sure to keep pills and other small, harmful things out of your baby’s reach.)DENVER DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES 9TO 12 MONTHS: ‘These activities are designed to help your child with the following basie skills: Activities to continue: - Hug and cudille your baby often, + Soothe and calm your baby when (s)he is fusey. ~ Smile and talk to your baby often. = Rock and love your baby, and sometimes sing or rock. him or her to sleep. ~ Play social games such as “bye-bye,” “pat-a-cake” with your baby. Drinking From a Cup —Help your baby learn to hold a cup and drink from it. A small plastic cup without a ‘over and mouth hole is good to start with. Put only a small amount of liquid into the cup at first. Since a lot of the liquid may be spilled at first, you may want to begin by giving your baby water in a cup while (s)he is outside. Meals With Family — Your baby can join in your fam- ily’s meals. Have your baby sit near the family for a short time during meals. Getting Toy Out of Reach — Show your baby how to pull a toy. You ean make a pull toy with a shoebox and a string. (To avoid the danger of choking, be sure to keep toys with long strings put away when you cannot be watching your baby’s play.) Activities to continue: = Talk to your baby a lot and respond to the sounds (sJhe makes, Look at picture books with your child often, and name the picture you see, - Provide some quiet time when the radio and TV are not on, Puppets — Buy puppets or make them from old mittens or socks by drawing faces with marking pens. Pretend the puppet is talking to your baby and get your baby to talk back to the puppet. Nursery Rhymes and Songs — Sing songs and read nursery rhymes to your baby often, Scrapbook — Make a scrapbook of pictures of things such as a ball, animals, ete., from old magazines. As you look at the scrapbook with your baby, help him or her point to the pictures as you name them. Try to get your baby to repeat your words. Ct 97, WK rer 2008 Acti ~ Help your baby put small objects into a container and take them out again. - Encourage play with bathtub toys, - Give your baby chances to pick up food and feed him- or herself. At first, this may be done with dry cereal, crackers, or cookies. ities to continue: Stacking Blocks and Toys — Show your baby how to stack large blocks. (These can be made from milk car- tons, by folding and taping heavy cardboard, or by using ‘old pieces of lumber.) Other things that can be stacked are small empty cans, or toys such as the tower ring. Kitchen Play — Let your child play in the kitehen while you cook, Have one low drawer or eabinet in the kitchen that is just for your child. ‘This should not be near the stove. In the drawer or cabinet put plastic con. ‘tainers, lids, spoons, and other safe kitchen objects that will not break Activities to continue: - Help your baby walk with (or without) support. - Encourage getting toys out of reach by crawling or walking to them. Provide push or pull toys for your baby to play with. Playing Ball — Roll a ball to your baby and get him or her to roll or toss it back to you. A large ball will be easier for your baby to play with at first. Slowly play with different sizes. Do not use balls small enough for your baby to put in the mouth and choke on, Do not use balloons, Stooping — While your baby is standing up, put a toy on the floor. Get him or her to bend over and pick up the toy without holding on to anything. Starting to Learn to Walk — Try to get your baby to walk a fow steps without hanging on to anything. Make a game of having your baby walk into your arms to get a toy or a hug and your praise. If your baby is not yet ready to walk alone, wait for a few weeks and then try it again.