Customer Reviews

Baby Games: The Joyful Guide to Child's Play from Birth to Three Years

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a cracker - what fantastic fun!

There are pages of songs and nursery rhymes you thought you'd forgotten...

creative and original ideas to stimulate your child's imagination...

games that will bring the spirit of youth back!

AND BEST OF ALL, GAMES YOU CAN PLAY WITH YOUR NEWBORN BABY, not just the older kids...

ENJOY!

I have three sons, ages 6, 4, and 2. We have all enjoyed the ideas and games in this book so well that I've started giving this book as a gift to new mothers. We've used all the recipes in here countless times, especially those for the various forms of play doh, bubble soap, and paint. I still turn to this book for inspiration on rainy, and sunny, days. I do think an improvement would be a spiral binding, as one reviewer suggested, so that the book would lay flat while in use, and I also agree with several of the reviewers who suggested that many of the song lyrics aren't very helpful without music. Having said that, the reason why I love this book best is that it helps me to foster the kind of homelife I envision for our family. My personal philosophy is that, as a society, we place too much emphasis on doing rather than being. Our young children are often signed up for multiple activities, from baby gymnastics to music class and swimming lessons, from the time they're 12 months old or even younger. Sometimes, for me, the tendency to "sign 'em up" comes from a feeling that they'll be "behind" all the other kids if they don't start T-ball by age 4; it also comes from a sense that I'll have fewer endless hours to fill for them, if they've got scheduled activities to attend. But I've come to realize that children need those endless hours of "down time" more than the activities. They need moments of spontaneous play, songs, giggles, rhymes, and cuddles. They need messy art projects, play dough and cookie cutters. And I've found that I enjoy our family life more when I spend the time playing with them at home, rather than arguing with each of them about getting into the car so we won't be late. Sometimes I skim through this book just to remind myself how quickly childhood passes, and to find one or two new inspirations (or even old, familiar inspirations)to try out during the day. Yes, there are ways in which it could be improved. But even as it is, it's an old friend our family wouldn't do without.

I wasn't very impressed with this book. The games for infants suggested are very obvious, common sense ideas, like picking your baby up and flying her in airplane style. I don't think anyone who has an imagination will get much new out of this book. Also, it gives you song lyrics without the tunes/music, which isn't very helpful. While there are some good ideas, they are too few to make this book very worthwhile.

I received this book as a gift when my first child was born and still refer to it occassionally for those "what can we do today?" times. Chapters are arranged according to appropriate activities ranging from birth to age 3 years. Most important to us were the ideas of what to do with your newborn. Topics in each chapter include MOVEMENT, MUSIC, WORD PLAY, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, QUIET TIMES AND INDOOR GAMES. There are also chapters on various entertainment media, toys and parties. This book is full of FUN things you can do with your baby. The only minus is that if you don't know the tunes to some of the songs, you'll have a hard time singing to your little bumpkin.

I didn't care for this book and returned it. My child is only 3 months old, and I didn't find much for her here at all. Lots of the text is devoted to nursery rhymes and songs. The rhymes you can get from other sources. A lot of the songs are obscure, and there's no music. Not too useful! In addition, I found that the manner in which the text was arranged didn't make the book user friendly. Games Babies Play is a better choice.

I have a limited repetoire of rhymes and songs - half of which I got out of a magazine (probably the most useful reading of my life!) and half of which I got from this book. A good number of the songs provided in this book are useless - they are polite limericks that are short and uneventful, but a few have been enjoyable - pop goes the weasel & the bear went over the mountain, for example. However, I have found the activities to be totally lacking - there's no way that I'm going to swing my baby by her limbs, nor am I going to sing about baking her up & eating her. The majority of the activities are things you already do - like peekaboo. One thing that she did really enjoy was "baby rolls" where I tuck her arm against her and roll her over a few times on the bed - she really liked that before she could roll on her own. She also likes it when I gently pull her across the bed by her ankles (satin sheets are great!). Another unfortunate aspect of this book is that I don't have a clue about the tunes for most of the songs - except "bah bah black sheep", which is a GREAT one! Ham it up - they love it! Anyways, the two BEST interactive songs I have are still from the magazine - with your hands doing the motions, they go like this: "open shut them, open shut them, clap clap clap them, open shut them, open shut them, put them in your lap lap lap, creep them crawl them, creep them, crawl them, right up to your chin chin chin, open up your little mouth , but do not let them in!" & "X marks the spot, with a dot dot dot, and a dash dash dash. Tickle up, tickle down, tickle all the way around, with a hug and a squeeze and a cool summer breeze." Blow on her hair for the last part. I also like "these are baby's fingers, these are babys toes, this is baby's belly button, round and round it goes!" I think the book suggests Simon Says - which is a good one too. They should make this type of book with a spiral binding & huge letters so it stays open and is readable while you play with baby - who has time to memorize songs beforehand? They should also focus on giving us 30 really good ones instead of 100 bad ones that we have to sort through. P.S. baby's all time favorite activity is a tearless bubble bath followed by an oil massage!

Lots of nursery rhymes, fun game ideas for even very young children and suggestions for music recordings to inspire your singing. A big variety og games that makes good reading when you're up late at night and need a quick idea. I just wish they had a summarized list of music recommendations in the back.

Wife loves it and is buying it for every new mother we know

Just when you thought you knew all the games to play with your baby, you read this book and realise there is SO much more!

I must say I have very rarely referred to this book, or felt the need for it, BUT - on one or two occasions when the weather has been wet for several days on end, I have got it off the shelf looking for some "inspiration" in order to inspire the pre-schooler.

It is a bit mundane though, and you wonder whether anyone really needs a book to pint out that "zoos are marvellous for the whole family". If they do, perhaps they won't be reading the book. There are some titles of good books for young children, and they suggest asking the children's librarian at the local library for other suggestions.

I suppose there are parents out there who need taking by the hand and shown pretty obvious things, but somehow I don't think they will have wandered into the bookshop and chosen this title! It might be useful in parenting classes and high school child development classes. As a parent, I have NOT found myself poring over it looking for inspiration!