Hi-Five, Mama! You’ve made it through pregnancy and birth. And now you are tasked with meeting every need of this little tiny person. Feed, bath, sleep (hmm, what is that?!), keeping them safe and cosy, adequate tummy time, some outdoor time without overstimulating, rolling, crawling… yup, this first year is a whirlwind of learning for new parents.
Amidst all of that, one of the most important things for bubba is baby play. But it’s not something that comes naturally to many parents. What do babies find fun? What is going to help them developmentally? And how do I squeeze that into my hormone-frazzled brain?
What is meaningful play?
Children are naturally inspired to play. Meaningful play and play-based learning builds on that motivation, creating fun games and activities that also support their development.
Learning through play stimulates a baby’s mind and cognitive skills that are already being developed during that natural play process.
From the moment they are born, a baby is learning. They are developing how they think and explore. Learning how to move, feel, respond and interact. They develop a sense of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. It is in this time of early childhood growth that there is an opportunity to potentially enhance a child’s developmental learning outcomes because structured play-based learning can potentially increase academic, social and critical-thinking skills.
Therefore, as parents and caregivers, how we play with our babies in this early window matters. And not all toys and types of play have the same results.
Baby’s 5 key developmental areas
Toys need to capture the imagination and be entertaining but they also need to facilitate learning in the five big developmental areas:
- Cognitive development;
- Speech, language and sensory development;
- Social and emotional development;
- Fine motor skill development; and
- Gross motor skill development.
Toys must be purposeful and engaging, as well as interactive for Mum and Bub to explore together.
“Time spent playing with your baby, is never wasted”
Easy Peasy Meaningful Play Box
When Easy Peasy Play co-founder Yolande had her first baby, she found she wasn’t sure how play with her daughter. And, when co-founder Deidré’s second bub was around 3 months old she was looking for some inexpensive sensory play ideas and items to help fill those long days in a way that would support her baby’s development.
The pair realised there was a need for a set of sensory play-based items for mums to use with their babies, but also, importantly, a guide on “how to” best play with these items in a meaningful way.
After extensive research, Easy Peasy Play was launched and now delivers a wonderful play resource through specially designed boxes that focus on those five big developmental areas in that baby stage, each coming with a sophisticated play guide. Providing parents with a meaningful way to bond with their baby.
Step-by-step guides to baby play
The step-by-step play guide in each box is what takes the Easy Peasy Play range to that next level. It teaches parents how to facilitate play with purpose and they can trust in the knowledge that every activity is tested and beneficial to their baby. Knowing this also helps to increase confidence in the parent, who is often navigating parenting for the first time.
Deidré and Yolande founded Easy Peasy Play to give parents the play tools they needed, because they knew parent interaction and understanding is essential to successful baby play. The popular guides are lifesaving for parents, taking all the guess work and time-consuming research out – so they can just focus on meaningful, fun play with their babies.
Parents are busy enough already and the overload of information out there can be overwhelming without something definitive, like these guides, to cut through all the jargon and research. Baby play time should be fun and stimulating, not a source of stress and pressure on parents. With designed themed boxes and play guides, parents can enjoy their baby’s play times, relaxed in the knowledge that the activities are developmental AND fun.
Baby play ideas that are safe for babies
While the baby play toys are specifically designed for supervised activities with the parent and baby, everything in each Easy Peasy Play Box has also been independently safety tested against the Australian and New Zealand standards AS/NZS ISO 8124-1/3. Making all the toys safe for babies under three years.
Environmentally conscious
It is important that anything babies come into contact with, is also kind to the environment. Taking this on board, Easy Peasy Play incorporated environmentally responsible ideas into the design of the boxes. Every single item – right down to the tissue paper – can be used in a learning activity with your baby, all coming with instructions on how to do that too!
Baby play ideas delivered straight to you
The best part about Easy Peasy Play? Their boxes are delivered directly to your door. Easy!
Recommended by the experts
You know a purchase for your baby is sound when it is independently safety tested, backed by the latest industry research and recommended by mums, midwives, speech and language and occupational therapists.
“Playing with your baby creates memories and experiences that last a lifetime.”
Visit Easy Peasy Play for more play ideas and to see their range of baby play boxes.
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