What you need to know

  • Give yourself and your baby lots of playtime. These periods of play will probably be very short, because your newborn will get tired easily and can’t focus on anything for too long.  
  • For young pēpi, play isn’t about toys and games, it’s all about connecting and interacting. Your face, voice, and body is all you need to entertain them.  
  • Play helps you and your baby get to know each other, teaching your pēpi to trust and depend on you.
  • Play may feel a bit one-sided in those first few weeks, but your baby will soon start to respond and join in.

Why play is important

Babies are born to learn and their brains develop through use, forming connections as they watch, listen, play, experiment, and explore their environment. You’re their first teacher, and they keep learning from you as they get older.  

Give yourself and your pēpi lots of playtime. These periods of play will probably be very short, because your newborn will get tired easily and can’t focus on anything for too long.  

Connections are made in the brain as you interact and play with your babySimple “serve and return” interactions - where your pēpi connects with you by ‘serving’ a movement, facial expression, or sound and you ‘return’ by responding to them and then waiting for their reaction - help make strong connections in developing brains. 

Center on the Developing Child - Harvard University

For babies, play isn’t about toys and games, it’s all about connecting and interacting. Your facevoice, and body is all you need to entertain them.  

Play:  

  • helps you and your baby get to know each other, teaching your pēpi to trust and depend on you.  
  • helps your newborn feel loved and secure, and the bond between you and your baby gets stronger.    
  • gives babies different physical, sensory and cognitive experiences, and those experiences build connections in their wee brains.  
  • helps them learn to understand words, and soon, to talk 
  • helps them learn what their bodies can do as they experiment with movement. 

By playing with your baby, you help them learn about themselves, you, and the world around them.  

Watching your pēpi and seeing how they play and react to play can teach you about their personality. Some babies will watch you with raised eyebrows and a serious face when you’re making funny faces at them, others will clearly find you hilarious. Their reactions will show you what they like.  

Follow your baby’s cues of when they want to play, and when they’ve had enough. Pēpi have different states of being alert. The best time to play with them in when they’re in a quiet alert stateIf they become unsettled or look away, give them some time to calm and then they may be ready to play again.  

Newborn play

Play may feel a bit one-sided in those first few weeks, but your baby will soon start to respond and join in. Try: 

  • making funny faces, smiling, poking out your tongue 
  • sing, chat, tell stories, enjoy nursery rhymes together. Rhymes like “this little piggy went to market” and “round the round the garden” are really fun
  • reading to your baby, holding the book close so your newborn can see the images
  • tickling, blowing raspberries, counting fingers and toes 
  • giving your baby different things to look at – outside, inside, different people and different places 
  • help them explore their senses – let them splash in the bath, feel different textures, smell different scents 
  • use rhythm and motion – play music with them, rock them gently as you hold them  
  • mix it up – they need variety to make new connections in their brain and body. Vary the pitch of your voice when you talk to them, take them into different rooms, show them new places, introduce them to new materials they can touch and move
  • tummy time and floor play can be fun right from the beginning – babies spend a lot of time lying on their backs and tummy time is great to support their development. You can give pēpi tummy time lying on the floor, across your lap or on your chest. This helps them practise holding their head up, and gives them a different view of their world. Tummy time might be very short to start with as your baby builds up strength. Lying with them, talking and singing to them, or showing them a toy or book may help encourage them to spend time on their tummy. A little frustration is normal and helps them learn, but be guided by pēpi as to how long they can tolerate it – and always stay with them to keep them safe. You are your baby's playground at this age, so make the most of this special time together. The below links contain some more info and ways to do tummy time with your baby.  

Play takes lots of energy, so your baby might get tired or need a break. They’ll let you know by looking away from you, getting restless, getting grumpy, or seeming disinterested 

When they’re ready to play again they may turn towards you, look at you, move their arms and legs, or make sounds.  

Fact Sheet: Tummy time for your baby

Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne

Visit Website

The Royal Children's Hospital is a major specialist paediatric hospital in Victoria.

Tummy time, rolling and crawling (PDF)

Sport New Zealand | Ihi Aotearoa

Visit Website

Sport NZ promotes and supports quality experiences in play, active recreation and sport to improve physical activity and wellbeing for all New Zealanders.