This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
As a play therapist, I can truly see a difference in children that are given opportunities to play outside compared to those that are kept indoors. Being outside is so great for a baby (and mom!) Today, Babies”R”Us, Pampers and I are teaming up to remind moms how to best prepare for the First 100 Days with baby… this includes heading outside for some much-needed fresh air (Those daily walks during the first few months were my sanity-savers!) .
The average American boy or girl spends only spends around 30 minutes outside each day (in unstructured play). This means that between the ages of 9-13, only 6% head outside on their own during a typical week. We can change this. It starts early, even when they are babies… it starts now.
Being outside & giving our kids the outdoor experiences promotes early langugage development, among other things. It gives them more sensory experiences, too. When an infant feels the grass and touches the leaves, they want to tell you about it. When they hear an airplane or feel a raindrop, they express their feelings. The more that they WANT to say, the more it will be recipricated. They “talk” to you, you talk to them. This promotes social & vertbal development. In additon, play is extermemly important and the outdoors are like a giant playground.
1). Touching a variety of things.
Letting your baby lay on different textures is great for a baby when they are learning. Let their feet touch the sand… Let your baby lay on the grass, lay on a quilted blanket outdoors, lay on a picnic blanket. Let your baby and hold different things: a leaf, a pinecone, grass (just watch that they don’t eat it). I like to touch our baby with silk, leaves, flowers, tissues, wool, terrycloth, even harder plastic toys. I talk about the way that it feels and if it feels good or if we don’t like the way that it feels.
2.). Be prepared.
We always have what we need: Pamper Swaddlers are a must, an extra bottle, etc… We stock up at Babies R Us and I fill up my diaper bag every weekend. It’s nice to have a few extra Pampers Swaddlers for my on-the-go to enjoy outdoor activities. Whether you’re taking a walk, a wagon ride, heading to the park or going on a weekend trip, we just try to stay prepared. Babies R Us and Pampers help with everything. Babies “R” Us has always been the one-stop-shop for every baby need (especially purchasing Pampers! A leaking diaper is not what I want to be dealing with when we are out & about!)
3) Read to your baby!
When we are going on a picnic, I would read a book about a picnic before we left. Heading to the zoo? Prepare at home by reading a book about the zoo. It is proven that even babies as young as eight months can recognize words in a story if it is read twice in a row. This will help your child learn their language and learn to appreciate books, not to mention the bond built between the two of you. You can even head out and look at the stars at night…. We love to read Goodnight Moon outside on our back porch at night!
4). Sign with your baby.
Sign language is a great way to teach new words. Did you know that babies that learn sign language actually talk sooner than babies that don’t? Signing can be very easy! I always start out with More, Mine, Drink and Eat. You can find these & more by just doing a simple Google search for Baby Signs. Then, when you are outside, start signing what you see.
5). Talk to your baby
Simple, right? This is SO powerful. Talk to your baby all day long.
Changing their diaper? Talk to your baby “Do you have a dirty diaper? That’s OK! Let’s change it! Do you see the new Pampers Swaddler? Let me put it on you.” Feeding your baby? “Do you want a bite of these bananas? They are yellow. Let me open the lid. Here comes a bite!”
Cleaning the house “I am going to fold this shirt. You spit up on it and I cleaned it, so now I can fold it and put it away. It is white with blue letters. Do you like the color blue?” Talk as much as you can. Your baby is learning from you… every minute of every day.
All in all, be sure to be prepared. Buy what you need in advance. For both pre-natal and post-natal moms, Babies”R”Us has everything you’ll need to have the best products during those First 100 Days with baby (and beyond). We registered there when I was pregnant (we loved the playpen that we got) and we shopped there when our babies were born.
OH and be sure that you take advantage of sales & stock up. Here’s a good one:
- From 3/29-4/12: Get a FREE $20 GIFT CARD WITH ANY 2 PAMPERS VALUE BOXES OF DIAPERS REG 42.99 at Babies R Us (in store only)
- From 3/29-4/22: For onely 12.99, you can get PAMPERS WIPES (Normally $15.99). Gotta love a good deal!
Giveaway
I’d love to help you bond even more with your baby, so we are giving away an awesome prize pack! How do you win? Just leave a comment telling me your favorite outdoor activity with your baby…
- Babies”R”Us gift card (Woo-hoo!)
- Dreft Pen (you will be needing this)
- Pampers Wipes (our go-to!)
- Brown Bear & Friends Board Book Gift Set (Love these books!)
- Goodnight Moon Book (our favorite!)
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pampers. The opinions and text are all mine.
Bubbles,sandbox, and walks.
I’m a stay at home mom of 4, 6 years old and younger so we are always outside! It gives them the chance to play together on their own and truly become friends. We love jumping on our trampoline and building sand castles in our sand box!
We love pretend gardening and playing in the dirt!
My little likes to look for colorful strips or any color things that I hide outside and ask him to go and find them , it’s like color hunting outside for some yummy treat afterwards, and he’s only two !
I love to play I Spy outside! Great time to build vocabulary and create awareness of our place in the world.
My favorite thing to do was blowing the dandelions that have turned to seed. Now she is older we do a fairy garden. But I would like to donate my win, that is, if I win, to my cousin who is pregnant so she can make her own memories.
In the fall we take poster board and zip tie it to the fence. Then we paint fall leaves and pumpkins in the crisp air.
In the spring we get all the flower beds ready and he gets to pick his own “babies” to take care of.
Our family loves swimming and fishing! Everyone remembers when they caught their first fish : )
My have baby isn’t norm yet, but she’s just a few weeks away. I think my favorite activity with her will be reading to her on the front porch, taking her to the pool, and giving her all the grandma kisses I cab get in!
We love to be out fishing on the beach as a family
I love setting up the water table for my toddler. Sometimes it’s just a bucket of water and a small watering can. We have one section of our yard that is shady so I set up a blanket for the baby to lay on and do tummy time. Fun for everyone!
We love to go camping. Family time with all 4 kiddos. Our baby loves being outside in the grass and we make smores by the campfire and have movie night with a projector under the stars. We love just exploring nature and being together as a family away from the hectic schedules 🙂
We live right next to a park and our favorite thing to do is hike up to the top where there’s a tower from an old fort and you can see all of San Antonio.
We love to blow bubbles and watch siblings run around.
I have three active boys so we love to be outside! Our favorite things to do are playing in the water table, setting up different sports stations (baseball, football, basketball) going for nature walks, blowing bubbles, getting ice cream from the ice cream truck, or just playing on the swing set. I can’t wait for summer!