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Chat, Play, Read

Building Babies' Brains Through Play

Play is Critical to Early Development. For babies and toddlers, simple, playful interactions with adults help develop sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience

Chatting with your baby or toddler

Every chat you have with your child helps them develop their social skills. Children’s brains are like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. Kids love it when you chat, play and read with them. And it sets them up nicely for school. Find more about chatting withy our baby or toddler here.

Chat rhymes with cat, hat, and splat. That’s so funny, you really make me laugh!

This box is a car. No, a truck. No, a monster truck, yeah!

Remember these skills when chatting with little ones.

Talk
Pause
Listen
Respond

Did you know?

when babies babble or toddlers make noises, they are chatting to you and love it when you chat back
spending 10 minutes focussed time each day chatting, playing or reading with your child can make a huge differ when they start school
getting down on the floor and playing with what interests your child each day can help their speaking and listening and their behaviour
chatting, playing and reading sets your child up nicely for school

Why is chatting important?

Talking to your baby is important for their development because it helps them learn language and communication skills, and it also builds your relationship with them:

Language and communication: Babies learn to speak by imitating the sounds they hear around them, so talking to them often helps them acquire speech and language skills faster.
Brain development: Talking to your baby stimulates their brain, which helps strengthen the connections that make learning possible. 75% of a baby’s brain development happens in the first two years of life.
Social and emotional development: Talking to your baby helps them develop social skills and good relationships. It also shows them that you love and respect them, which can enhance their self-esteem.
Bonding: Communication is the basis of your relationship with your baby, so talking to them helps you form a close bond.

Where and when

Try action nursery rhymes like ‘row, row your boat’ or ‘wind the bobbin’. The rhythm and repeating words are loved by babies and help them learn in an easy fun way.

Watch a mum talking to her baby while she’s completing chores and tasks. She takes her baby with her and explains what she’s doing from Start for Life..

Find out more

The National Literacy Trust have some great activities from chatting about the day ahead to taking photos and talking about them.

Here are some tips for talking to your baby:

Play games in which you give instructions for them to do things.
Talk to your baby often, especially in a warm, happy voice.
Use baby talk, which is a high-pitched voice with exaggerated expression.
Repeat simple words like “mama” and “bottle” often and clearly.
Talk as you’re feeding, dressing, carrying, and bathing your baby.
Give your child choices and wait until they respond.
Allow them to help you sort out things like the washing, naming the clothing.

Play

Playing isn’t just fun: it’s also the best way for young children to learn. By playing, children can practise all the skills they’ll need as they grow up and parents and carers are a baby’s favourite playmate. You don’t need expensive toys - just a few minutes at a time to have fun together.

Playing isn’t just fun: it’s also the best way for young children to learn. By playing, children can practise all the skills they’ll need as they grow up and parents and carers are a baby’s favourite playmate. You don’t need expensive toys – just a few minutes at a time to have fun together.

Remember this when playing with little ones. Make every day special with your little one: play, talk, and read together to build a loving and connected bond. Bring the play into everyday.

Your baby or toddler’s favourite playmate is you – so try to spend time playing with your baby or toddler every day. Did you know that playing actually requires a lot of your baby or toddler’s brain and muscle power? You can find some great ideas and activities for baby moves at Start for Life or activities for toddlers.

It helps develop their social, intellectual, language and problem-solving skills – and is one of the main ways they learn about the world.

Play is so important that it is considered a human right for children.

Why is play important?

Playing with children throughout their baby days and childhood will build strong and lasting bonds. It helps build their self esteem, confidence and gives better life chances.

Play is good for us. Children learn best through play and this learning happens every day through the experiences and the fun they have.

Get down at your baby’s level. Talk about what they are looking at.
Describe what they are doing – use short simple sentences ‘you are holding the red car’ and make the noises ‘car goes brumm, brumm’.
Respond to the sounds and noises your child makes – even if you are not sure what they are saying take a guess – ‘yes that is your duck’ add some extra detail to what you think they are saying/thinking ‘ducks go quack don’t they?’.
Try action nursery rhymes like ‘row, row your boat’ or ‘wind the bobbin’. The rhythm and repeating words are loved by babies and help them learn in an easy fun way.

Find out more

This short video from Watch Me Play shows how parents and carers can feel more confident and closer to their baby or child through play. Find out more about Why Play Matters here.

The N ational Literacy Trust have great activities from playing Peek a boo to having a mini beast exploration.

Things to try at home

To grow and develop, children need time and attention from someone who’s happy to play with them.

Children learn from everything they do and everything that’s going on around them.

When you’re washing up, let your child join in – for example, by washing the saucepan lids. When you cook, show them what you’re doing and talk to them as you’re working.

Getting them involved in the things you do will teach them about taking turns to help and being independent. They’ll also learn by copying what you do.

Sometimes things have to happen at certain times, and it’s important that your child learns this. But when you’re together, try not to have a strict timetable. Your child is unlikely to fit in with it and you’ll both get frustrated.

There’s no rule that says clearing up has to be done before you go to the playground, especially if the sun’s shining and your child’s bursting with energy.

As far as you can, move things around to suit both your and your child’s mood.

Building babies brains through play

Join Center on the Developing Child Director, Dr. Jack Shonkoff, for a “mini masterclass” with UNICEF Canada on the importance of playing with young children.

Role play or pretend play

What is role-play?

If you’ve spent any amount of time in a nursery, you’ll know that children love role-play! Apart from being fun, role-play offers lots of learning opportunities for children and allows them to develop new skills. Role-play activities involve a child reenacting adult behaviours, such as driving, cooking and shopping. They may also pretend to take on a different state such as being asleep as well as mimicking others’ voices, dress and mannerisms. They also enjoy role-play scenarios, such as going to the doctors, dentists, hairdressers and restaurants to name a few.

What are the benefits of role-play?

Role-play offers lots of opportunities for children to experiment with a new tone of voice and accents. This is great for developing language and communication skills
Role-play allows children to act out real-life scenarios, which can often help them make sense of the scenario, for instance, a child facing a hospital stay may benefit from playing hospitals prior to or after the visit
A lot of children enjoy role-play activities as a group, which allows them to build bonds with one another and develop their social skills
Role-play activities allow children to express their feelings in a relaxed environment

How do I incorporate role-play?

There are so many different ways you can incorporate role-play into your practice, but a great starting point is making sure there are lots of real-life objects and dressing-up clothes for the children to explore.

Role-play is also a great way for you to disguise learning as play. For example, if a child is role-playing cooking in a kitchen, you may be able to lay out the utensils they’re using and ask how many there are. Children are much more likely to be engaged and motivated to learn in this scenario rather than if they were sitting at a table and asked to count something.

Take a look at this great video from BBC Tiny Happy People, the shopping game

Don’t forget

Every time you give your baby attention, chat and smile, or let them know you are there for them when they are upset, they are learning to trust you.
Every time you talk, sing and read to your child you are helping them learn the words that they need to communicate their thoughts and feelings.
Every time you help your child to learn a new skill or understand a new experience, you are helping them feel good about themselves and make sense of their world.

Reading with your baby and toddler

Reading can make us laugh, cry, stir-up emotions to make us think differently or help us to walk in someone else’s shoes. Being able to read can help our children unlock the magic of books and develop a lifelong love of reading. Nurturing reading skills is important to set the foundations for a child's early language, thinking and writing ability.

Make every day special with your little one: play, talk, and read together to build a loving and connected bond. Remember to have fun when reading with little ones.

Share books.
Share words.
Share everywhere.

Reading with your child, even for just a few minutes, can make a huge difference to their learning. Children’s brains are like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. Kids love it when you chat, play and read with them. And it sets them up nicely for school.

Did you know?

Sharing books together chatting about the pictures helps learning to read
spending 10 minutes focussed time each day chatting, playing or reading with your child can make a huge differ when they start school
Sharing a story supports cognitive development and improves language skills, increases concentration, improves imagination and creativity
Sharing books cultivates a lifelong love of reading and develops a special bond with your child

Find out more / helpful websites

The N ational Literacy Trust have great activities from bonding with you bump to sharing stories together.

Ideas to try at home

For Babies:

Interactive Storytime: Use books with textures, flaps, and bright colors. Let the baby touch and explore the book while you read.
Sing and Read: Combine reading with singing. Many baby books have rhymes that can be sung, making the experience more enjoyable.
Routine Reading: Incorporate reading into daily routines, like before naps or bedtime, to create a comforting habit.

For Toddlers:

Picture Books: Choose books with large, colorful pictures and simple text. Ask questions about the pictures to engage them.
Reading Nook: Create a cozy reading space with pillows and their favorite stuffed animals to make reading time special.
Storytelling with Props: Use puppets or toys to act out stories. This makes the story come alive and keeps toddlers interested.

For Young Children:

Reading Challenges: Set up a reading challenge with a reward system. For example, a sticker chart where they earn a sticker for each book read.
Library Visits: Make regular trips to the library to pick out new books. Let them choose what they want to read.
Family Reading Time: Set aside a specific time each day where the whole family reads together. This shows that reading is a valued activity.

More Ideas for Toddlers:

Themed Reading Days: Choose a theme for the day, like animals or colors, and read books related to that theme. You can also do related activities, like drawing or playing games.
Book and Craft Combo: After reading a story, do a simple craft related to the book. For example, if you read a book about fish, you could make fish out of paper plates.
Story Walks: Create a story walk by placing pages of a book along a path in your home or garden. As you walk, read each page together.
Reading Apps: Use interactive reading apps designed for toddlers. These can make reading more engaging with sounds and animations.
Character Dress-Up: Dress up as characters from the book you’re reading. This can make the story more exciting and memorable.
Reading Picnic: Have a picnic in your living room or backyard and bring along some favorite books to read together.
Book Swap: Organize a book swap with friends or family. This way, you can introduce new books without buying them.
Storytelling with Music: Incorporate musical instruments or background music while reading. This can enhance the storytelling experience.
Interactive Questions: While reading, ask your toddler to predict what will happen next or to find objects in the pictures. This keeps them engaged and thinking.
Personalized Books: Create a simple book with your toddler as the main character. You can use photos and simple text to make it relatable and fun.

These activities can make reading a fun and interactive experience for toddlers, helping to foster a love for books from an early age.

Tips

Be a Role Model: Let children see you reading. They are more likely to read if they see adults enjoying it.

Discuss Books: Talk about the stories you read. Ask open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking and comprehension.

Variety of Books: Offer a range of books, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and even comics. This helps find what interests them the most.

Mark Making

Mark Making

Find out why mark making is so important and discover our top tips for supporting this in the early years.

Making scribbles with pens, creating hand prints with paint and drawing patterns in the sand, aka mark making, are all signs you’ll see on the lead up to writing in the early years.

Did you know?

You can use a paint brush and water to make marks outside.

You can use a stick to create marks in the sand at the beach.

You can press objects into playdough to make marks too.

Mark making is the beginning of a child’s journey to writing and is an important step in a child’s development. It also helps with fine and gross motor skills.

What is mark making?

If you work in early childhood education, you’ve likely heard the term “mark making” quite often. But what exactly does it mean, and how does it benefit children’s development?

Mark making encompasses all the scribbles and patterns that children naturally create. Whether it’s drawing patterns in the sand with their fingers, scribbling on paper with a crayon, dipping their fingers in spilled food, or drawing lines in the mud with a stick, these activities are the beginnings of mark making. Children do this almost instinctively, without needing any instruction.

When babies and toddlers start making marks intentionally using their bodies or various tools, they are taking their first steps towards writing and drawing. No matter how children mark make, this is a very important step in both physical development and cognitive development and should be encouraged whenever you spot it!

How does mark making encourage writing?

When children create marks through art or by drawing patterns, they are using essential physical development tools needed for writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t encourage mark making in other ways. In fact, engaging in mark making on a larger scale outdoors is particularly beneficial as it promotes ‘whole arm’ movements. These movements help build the foundation of muscle control necessary for holding a pencil correctly.

The benefits of mark making include:

Physical Development
As children experiment with making marks, they learn to use their bodies in various ways. This promotes fine and gross motor skills, different grips, and body control, all of which are essential for writing.

Expressive Arts & Design
Mark making and drawing lines or patterns that represent something else allow children to express themselves creatively. It provides a new way for them to convey their feelings more permanently, rather than through sounds and movement. This activity sparks their imagination and helps them share their thoughts through pictures and stories.

Mathematics
Mark making can lay the foundation for understanding numbers and shapes, leading to the development of mathematical skills.

While some children may already know how to write numbers or form simple words, it’s important to encourage them without rushing through this stage, as children progress at different rates.

Tips for Encouraging Mark Making at Home

Supporting mark making at home can be both fun and beneficial for your child’s development. Here are some practical tips for parents:

Provide a Variety of Materials: Offer different tools like crayons, markers, chalk, paint, and even sticks for outdoor drawing. Having a range of materials can make mark making more exciting.

Create a Dedicated Space: Set up a specific area for mark making, whether it’s a small table indoors or a spot in the garden. This helps children associate the space with creativity.

Encourage Outdoor Activities: Use chalk on the pavement, draw in the sand, or make patterns in the mud. Outdoor mark making allows for larger movements and can be very engaging.

Incorporate Everyday Activities: Encourage mark making during daily routines, like drawing shapes in spilled flour while baking or using a finger to draw in condensation on windows.

Celebrate Their Work: Display your child’s creations around the house. This boosts their confidence and shows that you value their efforts.

Join In: Participate in mark making activities with your child. This not only makes it more enjoyable but also provides an opportunity for bonding.

Encourage Experimentation: Let your child experiment with different grips and movements. This helps develop their fine and gross motor skills.

Use Technology Wisely: Digital drawing apps can also be a fun way for children to engage in mark making, but balance screen time with physical activities.

Read and Draw Together: Combine storytelling with drawing. Ask your child to draw scenes from their favourite stories or create their own illustrations.

Be Patient and Positive: Every child progresses at their own pace. Encourage their efforts and celebrate their progress without rushing them.

By incorporating these tips, you can create a supportive environment that nurtures your child’s mark making and overall development.

Indoor Activities

Mark making on 3D objects uses different muscles than making marks on a flat piece of paper, strengthening muscles in fingers, hands, arms and shoulders.

Marks can also be made in materials such as dry sand, flour, glitter etc using use a finger. If in individual trays, children can make their marks then when finished, give the tray a shake and you have a blank canvas ready for more marks to be made.

Finger Painting: Use washable paints and let your child create patterns and pictures with their fingers.

Chalkboard or Whiteboard: Provide chalk or dry-erase markers for drawing and writing. Chalk is chunky and easy for little hands to hold to draw and doesn’t require much pressure for a mark to be made.

Scribble Station: Set up a table with paper, crayons, markers, and coloured pencils for free drawing.

Playdough Patterns: Roll out playdough and use tools or fingers to make marks and shapes.

Water Painting: Use a brush and water to paint on a chalkboard or a piece of dark construction paper.

Sand Tray: Fill a tray with sand or rice and let your child draw patterns with their fingers or small tools.

Stickers and Stamps: Use stickers and stamps to create pictures and patterns on paper.

Drawing in Flour: Spread flour on a baking tray and let your child draw with their fingers.

Outdoor Activities

Pavement Chalk: Draw on the pavement with colourful chalk.

Mud Painting: Use sticks or fingers to draw in the mud.

Nature Brushes: Create brushes from leaves, twigs, and flowers, and use them to paint with water or mud.

Water Play: Use a paintbrush and water to draw on the pavement or fence.

Sand Art: Draw patterns in a sandbox or at the beach.

Leaf Rubbings: Place paper over leaves and rub with crayons to create leaf patterns.

Garden Drawing: Use sticks to draw in the soil or sand in the garden.

Creative Activities

Story Drawing: Read a story and ask your child to draw scenes from it.

Shape Tracing: Provide stencils or objects to trace around.

Collage Making: Use different materials like paper, fabric, and natural items to create a collage.

Bubble Wrap Painting: Paint on bubble wrap and press paper onto it to create textured prints.

Shadow Drawing: Place objects in the sunlight and trace their shadows on paper.

These activities not only support mark making but also encourage creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. Enjoy creating and exploring with your child!

More ideas

Take a look at our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram for more ideas like the ones below.

Messy Play

Babies and toddlers have a natural curiosity to discover using all of their senses and messy play provides an opportunity for them to enjoy exploring objects and materials such as sand, water, paint, playdough and gloop.

Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes

Singing a nursery rhyme is a great way to bond with your little one, at the same time as teaching them new words.

We're going on a bear hunt

Out and about

Letters and Numbers

Encourage your child to look for letters and numbers in your house and out and about. You'll be surprised how many there are. Clocks, TV remotes, phones, kitchen scales, on buses and so many more places.

Sensory Play

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles can help to develop motor skills, visual skills and oral language.Blowing long streams of bubbles strengthen a child's core muscles and promote eye contact.

Ice play for babies

One of the best thing about activities with ice, is that they address all 5 senses. If a child has a sensory processing need or not, sensory play is a vital part of a child's development. Ice makes an amazing sensory play material and it is practically free.

Playdough

This super-easy playdough recipe is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. It's quick enough to hold a young child's attention and you only need a few store cupboard ingredients.

Sensory Play

Babies and toddlers are constantly developing and a big part of how they learn is through their senses. Itis great to give them opportunities to explore through stimulating, sensory play.

Babies and toddlers are constantly developing and a big part of how they learn is through their senses. It
is great to give them opportunities to explore through stimulating, sensory play.

Before children use and understand language, they make sense of the world around them using their senses. First they want to find out what objects are like. To do this, babies use their senses to mouth objects to help them discover more.

As a baby becomes more mobile, they become keen to explore how they can make an object interact with the environment and so explore what they can do with it to an ever greater extent. Then they want to find out what the object can become. As their language develops, they use their imaginations to find a functional use for the object.

Sensory play is a vital part of early childhood development, allowing children to make sense of the world around them through their senses. By engaging children in sensory activities, children develop language skills, problem solving abilities, fine and gross motor skills and cognitive growth. Find out more about sensory play and why it is great for your child’s development here.

Did you know?

Sensory experiences build nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways. You can find out more about brain development here.

You can help stimulate the senses in the following ways

Smell – scented playdough, oranges, herbs added to water.
Sight – Mirrors, bold contrasting colours (black & white for babies), bubbles.
Taste – jelly, cooked spaghetti, cooking together.
Hearing – Foil blanket, shakers and bells, saucepans and wooden spoons.
Touch – Wood, metal, ice, shells, fir cones, pebbles.
Vestibular (sense of balance) Action songs, rolling, jumping, crawling, hanging upside down.
Proprioception (awareness of position and movement of the body – Pushing and pulling objects, cardboard boxes, riding trikes/bikes.

Here’s some ideas you can try at home.

Playdough

This super-easy playdough recipe is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. It’s quick enough to hold a young child’s attention and you only need a few store cupboard ingredients.

Little hands can play with the results straightaway, so there’s immediate fun for all involved!

Playdough microwave Download

Lots more information and ideas from BBC Tiny Happy people

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles can help to develop motor skills, visual skills and oral language.
Blowing long streams of bubbles strengthen a child’s core muscles and promote eye
contact.

If you’ve run out of store-bought bubble mixture or need a quick entertainment idea for the kids, it’s easy to make your own bubbles from washing-up liquid and water. But what’s the perfect ratio, and what can you use if you don’t have a bubble wand?

To make the bubble mixture

1 Dessertspoon of caster sugar
2 Dessertspoons of washing up liquid.
1 Cup of warm water

Mix it all together until dissolved and have fun.

Homemade bubble wands

If you don’t have a wand from a store-bought pot of bubbles, don’t despair! You can have fun by looking for different items around the house that can be used to make bubbles. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Paperclips – bend them into wands or use as they are
Straws
Biscuit cutters
Pipe cleaners
Fly swatters

View or download our bubble recipe here.

Ice play for babies

One of the best thing about activities with ice, is that they address all 5 senses. If a child has a sensory processing need or not, sensory play is a vital part of a child’s development. Ice makes an amazing sensory play material and it is practically free.

Benefits: Toddlers and children process information through their senses. Sensory play is unstructured and is the purest sense of exploratory learning.

Adult supervision required at all times.

What you need:

Ziplock bag
Ice Food colour {optional)
Lemon juice (optional)
Towels

Fill the ziplock bag with ice and secure it. Encourage the child to explore.

Tips: When the child is ready to explore more, you can start introducing the ice in a tray with plastic toys. You can also use lemon flavour to explore taste. Enjoy exploring with your baby!

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