Pass the ball

(Babies)

You will need:

• a ball, any size
• a small comfortable space, inside or out

Even better, a range of balls. They could be different sizes, materials, colours and textures.

What to do

Start by sitting on the floor opposite your baby and roll the ball back and forth to each other.

To keep the ball contained, you can sit with your legs open in a V shape and touch toes with each other.

Get your baby's attention by making eye contact and repeating a phrase like "Ready…roll it!"

To change it up you could:

• try rolling it at different speeds, repeating the words "slowly" or "fast".
• add different textures and take time to comment on how it feels: "This one is soft!", "This one is bumpy!"
• count out loud every time you pass the ball from one person to another to practice counting

Once you get the hang of it, you can start from further away to make aiming more of a challenge.

For younger babies, lie them down on their back and try rolling the ball gently on their tummy while making eye contact and talking or singing to them.

Skills your child will learn:

• speech - you can repeat lots of new words as you play, in time, your baby will begin to repeat words back to you
• taking turns - an important skill and passing the ball is a fun way to begin to teach this concept
• grip - balls can help strengthen your baby's hand muscles as they grip the ball, which is good practise for holding smaller objects
• balance and coordination - balls help build these skills and allow little ones to practise transferring an object from one hand to the other