The Baby Connection, Week 1: Playing With Balls

Hello Brooklyn Parents! 

I’m so excited to start this column with Meredith of Macaroni Kid Brooklyn NW and you all. My name is Vered. I’m the creator of Baby in Tune, a music therapist, psychotherapist, and mom of 3 Brooklyn kids. Maybe you’ve heard of me? There seem to be a lot of Brooklyn babies waking up to my morning song and going to sleep to my sleep song. Many have taken our classes where we teach parents how to speak their baby’s language, get more rest at night, and find many more joyful moments during the day. Basically, my mission is to help you deepen your CONNECTION to your baby. Did you know that research shows that your connection is the most important thing to work on? More than any of the other stuff we tend to obsess about as parents. So let's do this!

Here's what you can expect to find in The Baby Connection column: Every week I’ll give you a new activity to try with your baby or a new way of understanding your baby and yourself as a parent. The tips will be short and actionable. I hope that you’ll reach out and email me to let me know what you find helpful. 

The Magic Toy You’ve Been Neglecting
I’m all about connection - Helping you find joyful and peaceful moments during your day to bond with your baby. Well today let’s talk about a much neglected toy in your home that can actually be a connection-maker/brain-enhancer/ body-developer.

Know what it is? BALLS. 

Here’s what playing with balls can do for your baby:

1. Develop their physical skills.
2. Develop awareness of their surroundings.
3. Develop their social skills.
4. Develop language skills.

Wow! In the words of my friend Mindy from one of our favorite podcasts “Wow in the World,” that’s Bonker Balls!

There are so many ways to play with balls that your baby will surely learn when they are school age. But playing with balls can start as early as now and will have much of the same benefits.

Try this Ball Activity With Your Baby:

Roll a ball between you and your baby, or around your baby while singing the song below.

Pre-Sitting Babies:
Roll the ball around your baby, bringing it close to them and then close to you.

Sitting and Standing Babies:
Sit with your legs open creating an enclosed rolling area and roll the ball back and forth to each other.

Have a few balls around in case your baby wants to explore the texture and shape of the ball through their mouth.

Benefits of playing ball with this song:

• Gross and fine motor skills
  Let’s start with the simple act of rolling. When you give your baby balls of different sizes they learn how to manipulate large and small objects. They use their fingers to push and pick up a small ball, which develops their fine motor skills, and they use their full arms and sometimes whole body to pick up and roll larger balls. This develops their gross motor skills.
  
  
• Develops hand-eye coordination
  This one seems like a no brainer – moving an object entails hand eye coordination. But there is another aspect to this. When you play together with a ball with your baby, you are both focusing on the movement of the object. And this is crucial. Studies show when your baby develops the ability to look and manipulate an object, they elicit YOUR joint attention to that object. And that, dear Tunie, elicits joint play=CONNECTION.
  
  
• Spacial awareness
  Simply rolling and throwing a ball develops spacial awareness because it teaches them concepts of direction, distance, and location.
  
  
• Object Permanence
  It was once thought that object permanence develops at 8 months but now we know that it actually starts to develop around 4-7 months. Basically it is your baby’s ability to know that something exists even when it disappears. Playing games to help your baby understand this is great for their development. And a ball, that comes and goes, is a perfect toy for the job.
  
  
• Language Skills
  If you are using the song below while you roll the ball back and forth, then you are teaching your baby your name and their name. The ball is acting like a pointer, explaining to your baby that that when the ball is near them you say their name, and when it is near you you sing your name. By using the space, you are illustrating the idea of labels to your baby.
  
  
• Social Skills
  This game is so simple and yet teaches your baby so much. It is the beginning of teaching them the concept of sharing. By having a joint toy that is being passed back and forth, you are teaching your baby that it is ok to release it because it will come back to them.
  
  
• Connection and Bonding
  Simply by taking a moment to have a joint focus with your baby while doing something playful and open ended, you are engaging in some high-quality bonding time 

 
Looking for more musical activities to do with your baby to get through the rest of winter? Try these.

Ok Tunester, go forth and play ball! And email me to let me know how it goes.

The Baby Connection archive: 
Drumming • Baby Buddha • Music Activities • Ball Play • Making Mistakes

Want to advertise your locally-owned business? Email me at MacKidBrooklynNW@macaronikid.com