Your little one is born with the capability to learn many skills. All they need is your cooperation in developing those skills timely. Playing with your baby is extremely important for giving them a laugh and fun and also for their cognitive and psychological development. So, if you are a new mom and wondering what will be the best way to develop your baby’s gross motor skills as well as social skills, bubble play for babies is an excellent and entertaining option.
Bubbles are exciting, eye-catching, and a fun play item not just for babies but for adults too. Whenever we see bubbles floating around in the air at a festival or fair, it immediately grabs our attention. So, you can utilize this tendency to initiate the visual development of your little one. Babies tend to grab things that attract them. The tiny and shiny soap bubbles will allure them to make their first movement to grab them. Here are all the benefits that your baby can get through bubble play and also different bubble play activities that you can try with your baby.
In This Article
- What is Bubble Play?
- When to Introduce Bubble Play For Babies?
- Benefits of Bubble Play For Babies
- Bubble Play Activities You May Want to Consider For Your Baby
- FAQ’s
What is Bubble Play?
Bubble play is a fun game for babies in which the parents blow bubbles, and the babies try to grab them. This fun game can be beneficial for infants and older babies too.
On a warm summer holiday, you can spend quality time with your baby in the backyard with bubbles. Lay your little one on a blanket and blow bubbles to help improve visual skills. During tummy time, bubbles will encourage babies to lift their heads and strengthen their neck muscles. If your baby is trying hard to crawl, then the swift movement of the bubbles in the air will insist him/her move forward and thus assist in crawling.
You can buy the soap water solution for bubbles from your nearest store but check if it is baby-friendly or not. It is best if you make the bubble solution at home. You will need just one cup of water, one tablespoon of glycerin, and ¼ cup of biodegradable dish detergent.
When to Introduce Bubble Play For Babies?
There is no specific age when you can introduce bubble play for babies. But at around 3rd month of age, your baby has a better vision development and is able to differentiate colors. Babies also start developing head control and you can introduce bubble play as an activity during their tummy time. This will help them work on their various skills.
Benefits of Bubble Play For Babies
Bubble-play game can benefit your baby in multiple ways. Here are the benefits your baby will get from this fun playing activity.
1. Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills are your baby’s ability to use small muscles of fingers and hands to complete a task. Proper development of fine motor skills is required to complete any minute task such as holding a pen and writing, eating, dressing or tying shoelaces, etc. Bubble play can develop fine motor skills in your baby as they use their fingers to grab and pop the bubbles. Your baby will also try to hold the bubble wand in curiosity from your hand by using the small muscles of their hand. Let them explore new things but obviously under your supervision.
2. Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skill is the ability to use larger body parts to complete a movement or task. It is important in developing the abilities of walking, running, and jumping. Playing with bubbles will develop the basic gross motor skills in your newborn such as turning the head left or right, and up or down. As soon as your baby gets strong enough to move forward the bubbles will help them to attempt their first crawling. And as soon as they learn how to crawl, they will chase after the bubbles. Some gross motor skills like changing directions, moving forward, stopping, squatting up or down, etc. will develop in your baby as they chase to grab the bubbles around them.
3. Hand-eye Coordination
Bubble play is an excellent way to improve your baby’s hand-eye coordination. While trying to grab those bubbles you blow, the eye and the hand movements of your baby will synchronize. Gradually your baby will try to pop the bubbles with one hand or both, with the whole hand, or just by using the fingers. You can initiate your baby’s lower body movement too when they lay on their back as they try to grab the bubbles by lifting both legs and hands.
4. Social Skills
Bubble play can also develop social skills in your baby. For the first two or three months, you may find your little one to be unsocial. But gradually your baby will show attachment and affection towards you and get more aware of your presence. Playing games with your baby will strengthen your bond and prepare your baby to interact using social skills. You can invite kids in your neighborhood to come and play bubble games with your baby to further encourage social skills.
5. Visual Development
The most important developmental milestone for a newborn is developing visual tracking skills. Bubble games are perhaps the best way to improve your baby’s visual skills. Bubbles are eye catchy, so your baby is bound to notice them when they slowly float in the air around them. Thus, bubbles will help them to track, follow, focus, or fix their eyes on the object of their attention. You can check your baby’s eye movements through bubble play and inform the pediatrician if you have any concerns. An early medical rectification of any eyesight problem will increase the chances of its cure.
Bubble Play Activities You May Want to Consider For Your Baby
Now that you know the benefits of bubble play, here are some exciting bubble play activities you can try with your baby.
1. Bubble Bath For babies
Bathing is one of the favorite activities for babies. They love to splash and spill water. You can make bathing time more enjoyable for your baby with the help of bubbles. The shiny reflective bubbles in the water will provide your baby immense joy during the bath. The sensory experience of your baby will develop as they can touch the bubbles, smell the sweet aroma of the soap water, and watch the bubbles move in the water. Many brands sell baby friendly and safe baby bubble baths and gaining access to these products can be quit easy/
2. Rainbow Bubbles With Watercolors
Bubbles can get more colorful and eye-catchy if you sprinkle a bit of watercolor in them. Take a small bathtub to make bubbles with soap water then sprinkle some drops of different watercolors to create rainbow-like bubbles. Your baby will learn to differentiate between different colors and touch the colorful bubbles. You may get to know the favorite color of your baby through this fun activity. But instead of using chemical colors try to use organic watercolors as they will be harmless for your baby.
3. Catching Bubbles
This is the best bubble play activity to encourage your baby to move forward. Your baby will try to catch the attractive bubbles and, in this process, they will eventually learn to crawl and stand or even take their first steps. You can create an obstacle course by using cushions to make your baby crawl through uneven surfaces.
Thus, you must make bubble play for babies and an important part of their activity list. For babies under 1 year, you should take the responsibility to blow the bubbles, and for older babies, you can gradually let them do it by themselves. Also, bubbles and soap water can make your floor slippery and cause accidents so take extra care. Play bubble games either in your garden area or inside the bathtub to avoid such mishaps.
FAQ’s
1. Why is Bubble Play Good For Babies?
Bubble play keeps babies not only entertained but works on their tracking skills, visual development, gross and fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Babies get excited with bubbles and bubble play is a good way to keep them busy when they are really bored or getting cranky.
