While newborns won't be actively crawling or walking, having a designated play area is a must. Why? Play unfolds at birth!
How play begins at birth
Your baby’s development is already in high gear. It might not look like much at first (hello sleepy newborn days and back-to-back feeds), but infancy—defined as the period from birth through 3 years old—is a period of extensive learning. As pointed out by Zero to Three, babies form an impressive 1 million neural connections per minute, compared to the 700-1,000 connections per minute we make as adults.
This heightened capacity to learn is also time-sensitive, meaning all babies have this potential, but if not provided the right conditions, it will be a missed window.
How do they learn?
Through play, of course! Play is not this frivolous thing to your baby that entertains them. It is how they adapt and develop.
What exactly are they developing this early?
As your baby interacts with you and explores their surroundings—even if it’s just on their tummy before they can crawl—these brain connections lay the foundation for future cognitive, emotional, and physical development.
How to set up a play space for a non-mobile baby
Maybe you’re considering setting up “stations” for different baby containers. While some supervised time in baby containers is generally okay, these provide limiting play experiences for your baby and can hinder the movement milestones you’re trying to support.
The best way to facilitate play for your non-mobile baby is to set up a space on the floor where they can:
Freely move, even if movement is just stretching, batting, kicking, or tracking objects with their eyes at first.
Choose what interests them. You’ll filter what items are safe and developmentally appropriate, but offering various options keeps things interesting for your little explorer.
It can help to go beyond a small tummy time mat and opt for a larger floor mat, space permitting, where baby can grow into rolling, planking, and eventually crawling. You might also consider a neutral floor mat without busy patterns. This is because the floor mat will serve as a backdrop for your baby’s toys, and the neutral backdrop makes it easier to see the toys.
To complete this baby play space, consider adding the following:
A floor mirror helps baby see more of the room before they can fully move around.
A low shelf to hold 3-4 options of developmentally appropriate toys.
Alternatively, you can just use a few baskets placed near the baby to organize the toys you want accessible in this corner.
Your role: keep the space safe and uncluttered and supervise your baby when using it. Bring the toys to your baby’s line of sight and reach when they can’t yet do so, but let your increasingly mobile baby scoot over to the toys themselves as they’re capable.
In short, a space to support early play is one of the most significant ways to support their development because play is how they develop.