The floor mat is meant to aid babies in crawling, playing, and discovering. But more than these functions, parents can also play mentally stimulating games with their baby while on the floor mat. These activities help your baby’s brain further develop during their early months.
The cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of playing mental games are huge. They help a baby’s brain develop and construct an important foundation for reasoning and communication skills. They also lay down the foundations for memory and attention.
Toys aren’t enough to keep your children entertained. So, we’ve put together a list of mental games that you can play on a baby floor mat to help you. These mental games will stimulate your child’s brain and provide hours of fun.
- Lesson of Colors
The baby play mat can be an exciting way to expose colors to your child. First, show your toddler vividly colored objects and describe their hues. Continue doing so until your kid begins to link toys with distinct colors. Also, make sure you practice this activity with your child using a variety of toys and in different locations so your little one can learn to tell them apart.
- Introduce New Shapes
The babycare playmat can also be used as a training tool to familiarize your toddler with different shapes and objects. Start with simple patterns like squares, circles, and triangles before progressing to more complex shapes like cubes, pentagons, and hexagons.
It’s necessary to present these shapes one at a time so that your youngster doesn’t become confused when learning all of them at once. Introducing new shapes will enable them to learn more quickly and become more familiar with each shape’s qualities.
- Playing with Numbers and Letters
Playing with numbers has many benefits for children, including developing skills like counting numbers and recognizing letters. For numbers, you can do it by placing a few toys on the mat and help your child match each toy to a number. When it comes to letters, simply place the mat in front of your child and point out the different letters. You can then help your child identify the letters by saying their names aloud.
As your child becomes more familiar with numbers and letters, you can challenge them to identify them in different orders or to find specific ones among a group of others.
- Physical Puzzles
Placing a puzzle on the baby floor mat is also a smart option during playtime. Let your child locate the edges first, then demonstrate how to connect the interlocking sides. If your puzzle comes with a picture to help you put it together, lay the picture out on the left side of the floor mat and start fitting the pieces together.
You can also turn physical puzzles into an impromptu memory game by showing them how to flip over all of the pieces so that their interlocking sides face down, then mix everything up. After that, tell them to flip over two pieces at a time until they’re all matched up again.
- Peekaboo
The classic peekaboo game is as entertaining for adults as it is for children. This method teaches babies about object permanence or the idea that objects exist even if we can’t see them. You can play peekaboo by covering your face with a blanket, a piece of cloth, or an object from around the house.
- Pat-a-Cake
Pat-a-cake helps toddlers become accustomed to tiny gestures such as clapping, which they will begin to do more repeatedly before you realize it. It also demonstrates how touch and movement may elicit a response in others as well as themselves, and how two people interacting can result in something enjoyable.
- Card Matching Game
The card matching game is a common pick for a mental exercise that aids your child’s memory. It is ideal for children who cannot read just yet because it just asks them to recognize colors, numbers, and other symbols on each card. It’s best to have a couple of decks of cards to play the game. Place all of the cards face down on the floor, and then let your baby flip two cards at a time to try to match them up.
- Hiding Objects
The game of hiding objects is extremely basic, yet its benefits for your baby’s development are incredible. You can hide objects on the mat, such as toy cars and blocks, and let your child find them. This pastime will surely please toddlers who enjoy playing hide and seek. Moreover, it also contributes to expanding their motor abilities, as they will be moving around and crawling to find the objects you’ve hidden.
- Talk, Talk, Talk
Talking games are some of the most important mental activities you can play with your infant. Your little one learns about communication and language when you talk to them. But, more than that, they notice patterns in speech when they hear how different words sound.
Begin with simple greetings such as “Hello, honey,” or “How are you?” You can also look about the room and say, “See the ball?” or “The dog is sleeping.” The more words you say to your infant, the better they will learn about speaking and language.
The Best Partner for Mental Games: Ashtonbee’s Baby Foam Play Mat
One of the best things you can do for your baby is to provide them with a multitude of learning and exploration opportunities. Thankfully, Ashtonbee’s baby play mats are an excellent parenting tool that serves this purpose.
The mat’s smooth, colorful floor tiles provide a secure environment for newborns to explore interesting shapes and textures, keeping them fascinated for hours. It also has an antimicrobial and hypoallergenic material, making it safe for babies to eat on, have tummy time, and even nap. Furthermore, the foam mat has shock-absorbing properties that help babies to hold and control their movements.
Let Babies Learn and Grow Even Indoors
A playmat is a perfect option if you’re looking for a fun way to keep your baby stimulated while helping with their development. They’ll have a great time playing on it, but they’ll also be gaining experience and expanding their minds. Most importantly, make sure to join them.
