0-4 weeks: Sing to baby

Listening to lullabies helps with

language development
1 month: Story-time
Birth to
3 months Reading develops listening and
language skills
2 months: Splash in the bath Does your baby….
Talking at bath-time helps to build • React to loud sounds
language skills
• Make cooing noises

Play, Hear, Thrive 3 months: Clap hands

Clapping hands encourages
• Respond to speech by
looking at your face
listening skills

Play is a great way to monitor your child’s responses to

sound. The following provides a handy list of playtime 4 months: Shake a rattle
ideas which will give you a chance to monitor your
Does your baby….
Rattles stimulate awareness of
child’s 0-24 months hearing milestones.1 • Turn their eyes or head
different sounds
toward sounds
5 months: Make animal noises
3-6 • Make speech-like
months Animal noises help with early
sounds
speech development
• Laugh or make noises
6 months: Food-time fun
to indicate pleasure and
Making ‘train’ noises at mealtimes
displeasure
encourages listening skills

7 months: Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo helps to build language
and cognitive skills
6-9 8 months: Take a nature walk
months Pointing and naming everyday
objects helps to build vocabulary
9 months: Dance with baby
Dancing to music encourages
listening and gross motor skills
Does your baby….
• Babble or say words
like ‘dada’ or ‘mama’
• Shout to get attention
• Respond to singing
and music
 10 months: Find teddy
Hiding toys stimulates language
and comprehension skills
9-12 11 months: Make music
months Banging pots and pans helps to
explore rhythm and sound
12 months: Bouncing Balloons
Repeating action words like
‘up’ and ‘down’ encourages
language and listening skills
13 months: Building blocks
Stacking blocks helps to build
fine motor and listening skills
14  month: Parts of the body
12-18 Pointing to body parts
months encourages language and
listening skills
15 months: Tea party
Pretend play helps with
language development
16 months: Finger painting
Painting (with edible colours)
helps to stimulate creativity,
language and fine motor skills
17 months: Rhymes
Reading rhymes help to
develop language and expand
vocabulary
18 months: Water play
Filling cups with water
encourages comprehension,
listening and dexterity
Does your baby….
• Imitate speech sounds
• Understand simple
words like ‘hat’, ‘ball’,
‘daddy’
• Turn their head to soft
sounds
• Respond to their name
Does your baby….
• Appear to understand
some new words each
week
• Follow simple
instructions, e.g.
‘Come to Mummy’
• Say new words,
although some may
be unclear
19 months: Drawing rainbows
Using paint or chalk is a fun
way to learn colours and build
fine motor skills
18-24
months 20 months: Activity Books
Pointing out objects in a book
helps to build language and
listening skills
21 months: Throw the ball Does your baby….
Throwing balls into buckets • Listen to short stories
promotes fine motor and or songs
communication skills
• Combine two or more
22 months: Hide and Seek words into short
Playing hide and seek phrases
stimulates curiosity, e.g. ‘More food!”
communication and physical • Understand ‘no’ or
movement ‘no more’
23 months: Freeze dancing
Dancing then stopping
encourages listening,
concentration and movement
24 months: Scavenger hunt
Running around and looking
for objects encourages
listening, speech and
physical movement
If you would like to discuss your child’s hearing and language
development further please contact your hearing health professional.
For more information visit www.cochlear.com/sg
1. Cochlear Ltd; Z60407. Book Listen Learn and Talk. 2014; JUN
This Playtime Ideas Checklist is a guide and is not intended for diagnostic purposes nor to replace medical advice. Please consult a hearing
health professional for a hearing test for your child. Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss.
Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always follow the
instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.
Cochlear, Hear now. And always, the elliptical logo, and marks bearing an ® or ™ symbol, are either trademarks or registered trademarks of
Cochlear Limited (unless otherwise noted). © Cochlear Limited 2022 D1999917 V1 JUN2022