Your Baby's Playmate

“When she wakes up in the morning, she gets all excited when she sees or hears me.
You can’t buy that type of feeling.” — Veteran Dad

Your Baby's Playmate

“She gets all excited when she sees or hears me.
You can’t buy that type of feeling.” — Veteran Dad

Get a Great Partner

From the world famous Daddy Boot Camp, a new moms-to-be email series on helping your dad-to-be get ready for your baby. With advice vetted by over 500,000 new fathers, it’s full of tips you’ll only find here.

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Your Baby's Playmate
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 Of all the powerful roles in humanity, a father teaching his baby to play has got to be the coolest. Playing, your baby’s main job, teaches him how to laugh and take risks. It develops his motor skills and speeds the development of his brain and nervous system. Very serious stuff.

As a father, you’re designed to be his perfect playmate. Flight lessons, peek-a-boo and wrestling all come naturally. A bonus: playing is bonding at its finest. Dads elicit the most radiant smiles and infectious belly laughs, sometimes with just a wink. 

It’s a Dirty Job and It’s Dad's

Research has found that you’re destined to become your baby’s primary playmate. Despite the obvious advantages moms enjoy in terms of baby appeal (breasts), two-thirds of six-month-old babies choose Dad when it comes to playtime (likely the other one-third were just hungry).

So when you’re crawling on the floor, perhaps barking like a dog as you chase him around, remember it’s a dirty job and it’s dad’s job.

Cutest Way For Daddy To Exercise

Exercise for dads and fun for babies (0:15).

Nothing Better for A Baby 

U.S. pediatricians are now supporting the importance of play for children. When roughhousing with Dad, a baby learns coordination, problem-solving, managing emotions, combining thinking and physical action, self-confidence, concentration, balance, trust, timing and creativity.  Add in a sense of achievement when he "defeats" Dad, then learns to overcome defeat by trying again when Dad decides he “wins.” 

How to bond with your baby, cut her nails, and learn they're never too young to mess with you (1:06)

Guidelines for Playing 

While playing with babies comes naturally to dads, there are a few things to keep in mind:

Games To Play

Here are things to do with your baby from birth through six months. Try them, see what works, and then come up with your own. Getting in even five minutes of play each day is a good start. 

0 to 2 Months 

There's always something you can do to engage your baby. Here are some ideas to get you going:

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2 to 4 Months

Your baby will become more active at two to four months, smiling and starting to coo and babble away, and responding more during playtime. She’ll love having fun with you, especially when you smile and talk to her. The possibility for games increases; examples include:

“When I come home, she's doing something new or different every day. She crawls a little better; she pulls up on things. Starting about 3-4 months, you'll really start to notice that.”  - New Dad

4 to 6 Months

Your baby is quickly becoming bigger, stronger, more active and responsive. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities. Babies love to be cheered on at this age, so don’t hold back.

Russell: Baby's First Song (0:17)

Consider Baby Sign Language

The stereotype has been that sign language was something compulsive mothers taught their babies, bragging about how many words their child knew. Dads tried out sign language too, and many reported their baby learning just a few words worked out well for them:

  • Babies can start at six months and it takes a few months to pick it up
  • A baby learning about five words is the target
  • Beyond five words, the value is questionable
  • Babies don’t need to be signing experts; anything they learn works
  • Babies enjoy it; it makes communication about eating much easier
  • This is something Dad can do
sign language
sign language

1st Year Game Cheat Sheet 

This lists 30 things your baby can naturally do as he grows, how you can leverage them into an activity, and the skills and abilities it imparts. Ex. infants will follow things with their eyes and you can slowly move bright objects side-to-side so he tracks it (great peripheral vision is a key asset for football running backs). 

Rich Experiences Produce Rich Brains

A stimulating environment is deceptively simple: babies learn by reacting to the sights, sounds, smells, and shapes around them. They also learn by meeting challenges put before them—reaching, grabbing and getting you to pay attention. 

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Show Him The World

As Chief Adventure Officer in your new family, showing your baby the world is your job. When you show him the world, you’re continually adding information to his data bank and building his curiosity about what’s out there.

Babies are very curious and become mesmerized with anything new to check out, so walking around the garage can be exploration at its finest. If he’s fussy, it’s also distraction at its best.

“For in the child lies the future of the world. Mother must hold him close, so he knows it is his world. Father must take the child to the highest hill so he can see what his world is like.”
— Mayan Proverb

Russell: "We go on Adventures..." (1:01)

Raising A Road Warrior

With babies, there’s always a reason to be stuck at home. “Don’t interrupt the baby’s schedule…" or  "It might rain…” Just loading the car with all the baby stuff you need is a chore. As a result, many new families end up cooped up at home, isolated from their former lives and friends, and often getting on each other’s nerves. 

What to Bring

Beyond the first six weeks when their immune systems are just cranking up, there’s no reason to keep a healthy baby at home. Make sure the diaper bag is fully stocked for an outing that will last more than several hours; if all day, add a daypack with extra diapers, undershirts, footed pajamas, an extra blanket, bottles and a few of his favorite toys. Include a plastic bag for diaper disposal.

If the temperature is over 75°, a diaper and t-shirt underneath a pair of footed pajamas is usually good enough. If it’s breezy, add a light jacket and a hat to keep the sun off his face and his head warm, and add layers as the temperature gets lower. 

Toys For Babies & Dads

Babies have a natural tendency to like what their parents like, so introduce your child to your favorite hobbies, music, whatever you do for fun (all age appropriate of course), and see what sparks his interest. Worst case scenario, he’ll hate everything you like, giving you the chance to explore new things you would never have discovered otherwise. 

Girls Can Do Anything Boys Can Do

We often relate to our babies by imagining them growing up to do the things that, well, we imagine, so there are lots of great boy athletes about 2’ tall. Picturing our sons playing in the NFL comes naturally, but our girls, well, not so much. 

In fact, no matter how committed to equality, your instincts will tell you to roughhouse with your son and hug and protect your daughter. So it’s easy to shortchange our baby girls’ opportunities right from the start (same with our baby boys when it comes to hugs).

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