The Play Space

Pivoting in circles.

There are some big changes here. The focus begins to shift toward creating height and distance within the play area, and it’s time to ditch the socks and footy pajamas during playtime!

• 1. Create distance.

  Now that your baby is rolling, it means pivoting in circles on their tummy, army crawling, and crawling are all coming down the developmental pipeline. And it’s time to start playing in some larger areas with distance.

  In order to encourage your baby to explore, consider removing the overhead component of your baby’s play gym if you haven't already.

  Once it is removed, you may notice that your baby becomes interested in objects that are farther away and outside the confines of their play gym.

  Start placing their toys further away outside of their reach. And try sitting a little farther away when you are on the floor with your baby.

• 2. Create height.

  Creating height means creating ways to elevate your baby’s gaze and attention up from the floor, so that they want to push up through their hands.

  You can do this by elevating their favorite toy from the floor by holding it up or putting it on a pillow, cushion, or box.

  You can also choose to play with toys that are taller and require your baby to push up through their arms, and bring their gaze above the horizon to interact with the toy.

• 3. Mindful toy placement.

  In order to encourage your baby to pivot on their tummy in a circle, place their toys to the side, slightly outside their reach.

  You can also try arranging their toys in a circle around your baby, like the numbers on a clock.

• 4. Choose a mat that is not too soft.

  Your baby’s ability to push up through their arms is vital to being able to pivot.

  And just like in the previous stages, the surface that your baby is on impacts their ability to do so. You’ll want to continue to play on a surface that is not too soft, but still protects their head if they accidentally face plant.

• 5. Free their toes.

  Mobility on the floor requires your baby to be able to push through their feet into the floor.

  Take your baby’s socks off so that their feet can make direct contact with the floor.

  This brings heightened awareness to the role that their feet play, and also eliminates slippery socks that make it difficult to move around.