I really need some good activity/game ideas for what to do with my 6 month old!

[Lacrymosa]

Really need some ideas for developmental or educational activities I can do with her! DH lets her watch him on the computer/play video games and I am so sick of it, I've told him not to several times and sometimes he even watches t.v. with her. Finally today I researched a bunch of articles (linking t.v. to autism, adhd, developmental problems) and made him read them, he's agreed to try and not do that with her anymore (though I still don't know if he takes it as seriously as I do) but he needs ideas on what to do with her. To be honest I'm not even that creative myself. During the day I mostly do the following: Tummy time on floor with toys, read books to her, let her play in the bouncy while I clean, sing+dance to music, and lately I've been getting her to use her walker more. I know that now that she's 6 months old there has to be so much more I can do to help her development.

Any ideas you guys have would be so appreciated, I am a first time mom and need some help!

[Bokonon]

It sounds like you are doing fine! Cause and effect activities, peekaboo, songs, dancing, reading; these are all good activities for babies. They don't need anything elaborate.

Walkers are highly controversial though. They may actually impede development of the muscles needed for walking.

[Lacrymosa]

Really.. I will research that.. what about jumpers?

[Icehockey18]

A favorite game around here is turning on and off the lights. We do it for a while, and then switch rooms. Ds gets really excited when he manages to do it himself. We also play peek a boo in the kitchen and i hide behind the island and switch up where i 'peek' from... it's funny because he will anticipate me coming from one side, and I surprise him from another. Ds also enjoys looking at pictures on the wall and we 'talk' about them.
But really any day-to-day activity can be 'learning' for a baby. I 'explain' things as I'm doing them to ds, i.e. "see mommy pour the water in the glass", "add two eggs to the bowl and stir". I wear him as I do "chores" so he sees them at eye level.
Hope this helps...
Oh, and about the jumper, physiologically I couldn't see it 'helping' walking. I'm not sure if it is detrimental or not, I've not read anything regarding that.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by Icehockey18

But really any day-to-day activity can be 'learning' for a baby. I 'explain' things as I'm doing them to ds, i.e. "see mommy pour the water in the glass", "add two eggs to the bowl and stir". I wear him as I do "chores" so he sees them at eye level.

I don't think babies need to have adults play with them 24/7 in order to develop correctly. I wear my LO or let her play on the floor next to me while I do household chores. Honestly she just wants to do whatever Mommy is doing most of the time anyway.

[mrstanimal]

My DS is 7 mos, and I kind of just cycle through various activites throughout the day. I wear him a lot on my back, and we do have a walker, but he's not in it for longer than 15 mins, but it changes the pace of things, which is great on days when it's just the two of us. I have a big rug in his room with a bunch of wooden toys, a xylophone, toy truck, etc. He likes to sit and bang around, practice crawling, and the like. I try to go on at least one walk a day. We're doing BLW, so that in itself is a fun activity. I agree with the previous posters, just staying close to mama, and being her sidekick is great.

[jammomma]

My 6 1/2 month old son LOVES peek a boo. He laughs like crazy every time we play it. Sometimes I'll just put a wash cloth on my head and let him take it off, other times either me or DH will hide behind furniture and then pop out and say "peek a boo" and he just goes ape over it. And it also teaches him object permanence.

[sunshynbaby]

I detest some of the stuff/philosophies on this site, but the games and activities are fun and age specific. Here is the page for 6 months, week one: http://www.babycenter.com/0_lets-pla...ove_1498464.bc

[liseux]

One of the best things for development under a year old is babywearing. They see stuff at our level and they are forced to use their limbic system more than if they're not worn. Babywearing totally takes the place of tummy time & its fun to dance or point stuff out with baby on your back.