How to play with your baby, 5 months old

With everything going on right now (if you’re reading this during the COVID-19 quarantine period), you can find just about any app or resource you need for homeschooling and engaging older children. But we know that staying home with an infant has its challenges, too. 

Even if you have always stayed home with your little one, things are different now since you can’t head to your city’s children’s museum, zoo, or favorite park. Your options may be limited to your home and backyard. So, this month’s  “How to Play” post will focus on how to keep your baby intrigued and learning with common household supplies. 

For instance, if you are struggling to put dinner together each evening with an antsy five-month-old, we have a quick and simple activity to throw together in 30 seconds to keep them occupied through sensory play. 

**If you’ve found other activities that your 0-12-month-old enjoys, please feel free to share them in the comments. We’re all in this together, and the more community support the better!

Five Month Growth, Discoveries, & Milestones  

During month five, your baby is developing three key areas:  core strength, dexterity, and communication ( Grow by WebMD ), so our activities will center around those areas.

Core – During month five, babies are gearing up for sitting and crawling. Even though they are probably still using a Boppy or pillow to prop up their chest, they are gaining strength to wiggle and push around from side-to-side. Some babies can sit assisted at this stage while others are still working on it. If your baby can roll both ways, you may notice him trying to get to all fours or even rocking back and forth by the end of this month.

Dexterity – The pincer grasp doesn’t come until around 8-12 months, but your baby is coordinated enough to reach out and grasp objects with her fist. She opens and closes her fingers intentionally at this stage, and her hand coordination and arm coordination are fairly strong at this point. (This is a crucial time to babyproof your house. If you have older children, remind them and watch out for small toys that could pose a choking risk.)

Communication – Baby can’t talk yet, but you’ll probably find that he’s babbling up a storm! Your baby will begin experimenting with different sounds and going beyond the typical ‘coos’ you’ve been hearing. It’s important to encourage your little one to keep trying new sounds, and show him how they’re used to communicate.

Comedian DJ Pryor’s son was almost two years old at the time, but their  candid conversation video is a great example of how to chat with your baby even if the words aren’t there.

Fun & Simple Activities for a Five-Month-Old

1.     Squish the Peas – In the aforementioned scenario, try this little trick to occupy an impatient baby while preparing dinner. If you have a can of peas, beans, or diced carrots (anything small and squishy), put a handful in a Ziplock bag, and seal it well with tape. Place the bag on your baby’s infant seat (if it has a tray), or you can use this as tummy time by placing a pillow under her chest. Let her experiment and work on her dexterity by trying to squish the veggies inside the bag. 

* Upseat is a good floor seat recommended by therapists. However, floor seats aren’t intended to be used for long periods of time, so others are just fine when used according to the label and guidelines.

2.     Finger Games – Have fun with engaging song-games like Pat a Cake, The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, and This Little Piggy. He won’t be able to do them quite yet, but these games will encourage him to use his hands more. Ask him to touch his toes, and then guide his hand to touch his toes. Place him in your lap, and with your hands on his, help him do Pat a Cake with a sibling or other parent.

3.     Squeeze Play – Find different textured items around your home that are a good size for Baby to grasp (that are not small enough to fit in her mouth). Examples might include: a sponge, a fuzzy stuffed animal, a large stress ball, an orange or other fruit, or textured sensory balls. Let her test her grasping skills, and see if she can move the object from one hand to the other. 

4.     Hide & Seek  – This is the baby version. During tummy time, place a favorite toy under a small blanket and see if your baby can uncover it. As he gets the hang of it, place it farther away, or encourage him to twist to each side to get to it.

5.     Out of the Box  – Find a small, light box (cut the top off of a tissue box), and place a few toys inside. Give your baby a peek, then place it in front of her to see if she can reach out and tip it over to get her favorite toys. If she has mastered this, try placing the toys  under the box and encourage her to roll or lift the box off to uncover the toys.

6.     Tummy Soccer – If you have hard floors, dress your baby in pants and a tucked-in shirt, and motivate your baby to scoot around by placing a ball in front of him and seeing if he will chase/roll it around. (We won’t judge you if you get on all fours and play, too.) To keep your baby’s interest, continue rolling it back toward him.

7.     Music Time – Babies love tunes other than lullabies. For language development, find some fun kids’ songs to play, dance, and listen to. The Baby Einstein, Karma Kids Yoga, Sesame Street, and String Quartets  Pandora stations have a good variety. Rather than leaving the music going in the background, make it a distinct, intentional activity so Baby can focus on the words and sounds.

8.     Alphabet Sounds – Start at the beginning of the alphabet, and cover just three sounds per day. Beginning with ‘A’ say, “A says, ‘ah, ah, ah,’” and encourage your baby to mimic it back.  It is completely normal if she doesn’t. Any sound is great at this age! Then, move on to, “B says, ‘buh, buh, buh” and so forth. Once she loses interest, move on to another activity. The point of this is to simply introduce her to sounds she will use later.

Thanks so much for following along with our blog! We encourage you to check out our other posts as we publish monthly resources for parents.