Babies at the Playground
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As soon as he was crawling, one of my favorite places to take my son was our local playground. You might assume the slides and swings are for toddlers and preschoolers, but even before they are crawling, babies can have a lot of fun at the playground.
Swings are a classic favorite. Babies need to be about six months old before they are big enough to go in the swing. if you are with a friend who also has a baby, you can get two babies in one swing back-to-back. This is good because they are in more snugly, so they can enjoy swinging longer without having to use so much energy sitting upright.
Slides are also lots of fun for babies. Little ones need to have good head control to go down a slide on their own - and when I say “on their own” I mean with you holding their hands of course. They probably won’t be ready to go down solo until over a year. But at almost any age many babies love to ride down slides sitting on your lap. My 5-month-old used to go down huge slides on my lap with a big toothless grin on his face.
Crawling babies love to climb, and they love the new textures in the playground. Sand, grass, squashy padding or rubber much under the playground equipment is all fun to crawl on. And climbing up steps on the playground equipment is also a great challenge for crawling babies.
And being outside, and in the company of other children and moms, is so good for babies.
Yes I know: you are worried about germs on the floor. Yes, you’ll have to watch like a hawk if your little one is the type to shove everything in his/her mouth, but bring baby wipes to wipe off little hands and that will get rid of most of the germs.
When my son was a baby, we used to visit the playground early in the morning, when it was quiet and the bigger kids were in school. We’ve been having fun at the playground ever since.
Winter is breathing down our necks, so if you are wondering what to do today, head out to the park with your baby!
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