Below are some ideas for activities to promote your baby's hearing and listening skills. They can be adapted according to your baby's age and stage of development. Keep play sessions short, and have fun with your baby.
Shakers
Fill several small plastic bottles with a variety of items which will make different sounds when shaken.
Examples might be - dried pasta, rice, beads, cotton wool balls, cheerios, paperclips. (make sure the lids are on securely)
Show baby how to shake the bottles and talk about the different sounds they make - loud, quiet etc. Let baby play with the different bottles and choose which interest them the most.
To develop this game make a second set of each bottle and help baby to shake them and find the sounds that match.
Musical Statues
Help your baby to distinguish between sound and silence with a game of musical statues. Play some music and dance with baby in your arms. Stop the music, say "quiet" and stand still and silent, start the music again and say "music" then dance again with your baby. Continue this game for as long as you both enjoy it.
Listening Tubes
To help baby understand that they use their ears for hearing, hold a cardboard tube (kitchen or toilet roll) to baby's ear and whisper through it. You might want to say their name, or a loving message. Move the tube to their other ear and whisper through it again. This is starting to teach baby that they have two ears to hear through.
Keep Talking
The most important way to develop your baby's listening skills (as well as many others!) is to keep talking to them. Describe what you are doing as you go about your day, ask questions of your baby, talk about what you see them doing (eg I can see you are reaching for your ball), or what you think might interest them (eg look, there's a duck on the pond).
(lots more about talking in future posts)
Hints to help get the most out of your playtime.
Keep background noise to a minimum when doing any of these activities, as babies are unable to "tune out" such distractions and focus just on particular sounds initially. Keep the sessions short and develop your baby's focus and concentration for a particular activity over time.
IMPORTANT NOTE
These activities are designed for children whose hearing is identified as being within normal ranges. If you have any concerns at all about your baby's hearing, please seek advice from your health professional.
For more ideas, a range of sensory play activities are on offer every week at our Discovery Tots classes.
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