One of the first visible expressions of curiosity and will that your baby can show is reaching. It’s adorable and exciting to see his mind and motor skills kicking in, until you find yourself sitting at a nice restaurant with all the plates, utensils, and salt and pepper shakers just barely beyond your baby’s reach…
But, nonetheless, it’s a crucial milestone that you can help your baby conquer, all with the help of Otteroo and some clever bath toys that make practicing reaching fun and rewarding!
Otteroo Bath Activities - Practice Reaching
How?
Whether it’s in his bouncy seat, stroller or floor mat time, reaching for hanging toys is a common thing to do to promote motor and cognitive development. Otteroo lets your baby do the same, but in an environment where it’s easier (thanks to water’s buoyancy) for them to move towards and reach for a toy!
Why do it?
- Your baby can move around the tub to approach and reach toys even if they can’t roll or crawl on land yet.
- Encourages your baby to reach, move and grab toys in a comfortable, empowered environment.
- Protects your baby’s head as they try to reach for things (and miss or lose their balance).
- Practice reaching while working on other skills like balancing, sitting, and core strength building!
- Floating toys turns reaching into a fun, confidence-boosting game.
How to do it:
Activity 1: Set Toy Goals
For young babies that don’t know how reaching feels or how it works, try this activity first!
- Put toys around the tub to give your baby things to reach for. These foam decals are great because they come in bright, bold colors.
- Focus your baby’s attention by showing them their favorite decal first and then sticking it on the tub.
- Help your baby move toward the decal in the tub and guide their arm so their hands can touch it. This teaches them that they can reach out to touch their toy.
- Also, try helping them move the toy with their hand so they can see it’s possible. Your baby will eventually learn to grab it off the tub wall, too!
Activity 2: Sitting & Reaching Practice
Is your baby working on sitting up? This more advanced reaching activity is for you!
- Adjust the water and sit your baby on the tub floor, so the water line falls somewhere between his chest and belly button (so yes, the Otteroo would be out of/above the water! That’s OK!).
- Put a floating toy that’s easy to grab in front of your baby. We like this ball with lots of holes that babies’ small hands and fingers can hold.
- You can also position your baby facing the tub wall with suction toys, mirrors or foam decals for them to play with!
Tips:
- If your baby is too young to sit up on their own, you can help them by propping them up with your hands so they can focus on reaching, all while practicing sitting!
Most importantly, please remember to ALWAYS stay within arm’s reach of your baby while in or near the water.