Between birth and two years old, your baby will develop at an extraordinary rate, and each milestone will be a new source of wonder for you. Discover with us the major stages of their development and how to communicate with them to help stimulate their learning.
During their first year, your baby gently awakens and gradually discovers the world around them. Interactions and play with you are essential for their development and for them to move forward with confidence in their new environment. Get inspired by our activity ideas to share moments of tenderness and joy with them!
From birth: skin-to-skin contact with mom
During its first few months, your baby has a vital need for contact with you. To promote its well-being, you can offer it one or more sessions of contact each day. skin to skin In a warm room, place your baby naked (or in a diaper) against your bare chest, then cover them with a soft blanket. Make sure their head is against your heart so they can hear the heartbeat that accompanied their life in the womb. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact for newborns are now widely recognized by scientists, and you will soon see for yourself how much this contact soothes and relaxes them.
From birth: a tender rocking
Your baby lying down In your arms , gently rock your baby while humming a nursery rhyme or lullaby in a low voice. This steady movement is extremely soothing for newborns, as it reminds them of the gentle rocking they experienced in the womb. Turning your baby tummy-to-arm can also help relieve minor tummy aches.
From 3 months old: whistling like a finch
Stand facing your child, close to their face, and then make a short whistle: your baby will likely be surprised by this unusual sound. Repeat this with a slightly longer whistle, and so on until you're whistling a real melody. The sounds made by adults' mouths are fascinating to babies, and they also love watching mouth movements. Your child might even try to imitate you by rounding their lips!
From 3 months old: the game of reflections
Show your baby a mirror and let them look at themselves in it: at their age, they can't know that it's themselves they're looking at, but their curiosity will be piqued by this baby face! Repeat this activity regularly, sitting with your baby in front of the mirror, making faces and expressions... Little by little, they will become familiar with this object and will realize that they are a person in their own right, independent of their mother.
From 6 months: the angel's caress
Settle your baby comfortably in a diaper on a large bed or a soft rug in a warm room. Gently blow on them, following the contours of their body: feet, legs, tummy, neck… If your child enjoys this, continue on their face: blow on their cheeks, forehead, hair, ears… This surprising sensation will be very amusing for your little one and will help them become aware of their body's boundaries. For a change of pace, you can also gently stroke them with a feather instead of your breath.
From 6 months: the talking roll
Babies are very curious about all the variations of human voices. Take a cardboard tube, like a paper towel roll, bring the end of it close to your child's ear, and whisper something, or simply make various noises: "ah," "ooh," "ooh"... Your baby will probably be very surprised by the depth of your voice coming through this improvised speaker! Then let them examine the tube at their leisure: they might even try to coo through it themselves.
From 9 months old: the treasure box
In a basket, gather a variety of objects with different textures and sounds, such as: a small bell or rattle, a tightly sealed jar of jam half-filled with lentils, a small spoon, a maraca, various wooden rattles, a crinkly soft toy, a small rainstick, a plastic bottle with its cap, etc. Offer your treasure box to your baby and let them gradually discover all the surprises it contains, describing each object with them. Guaranteed wonder!
From 9 months old: where has my toy gone?
Here's a little game to help your child become familiar with the concepts of appearance and disappearance. Take a sock or a washcloth and a small ball or cube. Show both objects to your baby, then make the ball disappear inside the sock. Ask your little one, "But where did your toy go?" Let them search for a bit, and if they can't find the ball themselves, take it out of the sock. Miraculously, the toy is found, much to your baby's delight! Repeat this several times: your little one will enjoy this game even more if it's repeated.
From 9 months to 1 year: I imitate animals
Long before they can speak, your baby is capable of learning to imitate sounds, especially animal noises. Give them a small picture book with photos of familiar animals. Look through it together, and for each picture, name the animal and imitate its sound: "The cat: meow meow, the dog: woof woof, the duck: quack quack." From the very first time, your child will likely be very intrigued by these unusual sounds. And if you practice this activity regularly, they will soon be imitating each animal's sound with you!
From 9 months to 1 year: the joy of water
On a sunny day, set your baby up outside or on the balcony (or in your kitchen or bathroom if you don't have a balcony) with a large basin filled with lukewarm water. Place several objects in the basin: bath toys, a plastic bottle without the cap, cups, a colander... and let your baby splash around happily. They'll probably end up soaking wet, but what fun for them to play with the water, pouring it from one container to another, or splashing everyone who comes near!
