# Play by Age, Birth to 12 Months (and How an Older Sibling Can Join)

> Play ideas month by month, and how older siblings can join in.

Stage: baby - Topic: Play and development - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/baby/play-by-age-birth-to-12-months

Grounded in: AAP HealthyChildren, CDC developmental milestones and the WHO 2019 guidelines for under-5s, with Magda Gerber's simple-objects approach. General ideas; every baby moves at their own pace.

Reviewed: 2026-10

## TLDR

- Early weeks: faces, talking, singing and short tummy time. 3-6 months: reaching, rattles, peekaboo and board books.
- 6-12 months: sitting, crawling, stacking and rolling a ball, on a baby-proofed floor.
- Older siblings can join with peekaboo, faces and songs. No screens under 18 months-2 years other than video chat.

## Weeks 0-2

- Skin to skin, talking, singing and reading aloud; newborns see best about 8-12 inches away, so
  hold them close to study faces.
- Older sibling: stroke the baby's feet, sing, or "read" to the baby.

## Weeks 2-6

- Short tummy time sessions, back-on-the-mat floor time, high-contrast cards, daily walks in the
  shade, and bath time once the cord is off.
- Older sibling: lie face to face during tummy time, shake a rattle softly on one side then the
  other, help push the stroller with an adult.

## 6 weeks to 3 months

- Smiles, tracking, head lifting. A play gym, a baby-safe mirror, gentle massage, and back-and-forth
  "talking": when the baby coos, pause and answer.
- Older sibling: choose which toy hangs down, make faces in the mirror, copy the baby's coos.

## 3 to 6 months

- Reaching, grabbing, laughing, rolling. Toys just out of reach, rattles and teethers (nothing
  small enough to fit through a toilet-paper tube), peekaboo, supported sitting around 4-6
  months, and board books.
- Older sibling: peekaboo often gets the biggest laughs; offer toys from the baby's basket only.

## 6 to 12 months

- Sitting, crawling, pulling up. Cushion tunnels, stacking and banging cups and pots, rolling a
  ball, songs with actions. Keep the floor baby-proofed.
- Older sibling: build towers for the baby to knock down, roll a ball back and forth.

## Screens

The WHO advises no screen time under age 2; the AAP advises none under 18 months other than video
chatting.