Customer Reviews

Baby Play (Gymboree)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am always on the look out for books that can help busy parents come up with creative ways to engage their babies in simple ways that may make a lasting contribution both in their loving relationship as well as help the baby's development over time.

This title does both nicely with colorful, inspiring illustrations as well.

Especially valued as well is the authors intentionally chose activities that are loosely structured, don't require purchase of special stuff and create the context for a lot of loving interaction between the baby and parrent.

Even as a creative parent, I run out of new ideas and love finding new techniques in one place, as Gymboree lays out here.

With little time to read these days we found this book easy to get through quickly. It's broken down in age ranges so you can read as far as you need to at the time. We got some great ideas from it. My daughter loves the songs and games. You really forget all those little things from childhood and need a refresher. The thing I love most is that it uses things you have around the house. Batteries are not necessary!

As other reviews clearly state, this is an excellent book! I'll give some main reasons why:
1. Provides TONS of ideas for age-appropriate games to play with baby (gets rid of repetitiveness that comes from singing one song or playing one game OVER and OVER...and takes the guessing game out of "What can I do to entertain my baby?")
2. Has vibrant illustrations/photos showing parents and babies playing/bonding during the games (which draws my attention even more to the book)
3. The games can be played practically anywhere, often not requiring toys or juggling acts on the part of the parent (thus leaving the games very versatile, functional, and practical)
Overall, this book is a MUST HAVE for any parent with an active baby. I just wish more "baby games" books were like this one!

I purchased this book hoping it would have good ideas on things to do with my 9-month-old. However, it really adds nothing new at all. Most of the so-called "age-appropriate activities" are common-sense things I do with my baby anyway. For example, the first activity for a newborn is "rock and sing your baby a lullaby". Well, duh! How many of us need a book to tell us THAT? For older babies, suggestions include playing ball or peek-a-boo (gee, now isn't that original!), purchasing a stacking toy, rolling a ball, or reading a book. Virtually all of these suggestions can be found in any general book about babies, e.g., Dr. Sears' Baby Book.
This book also contains lyrics to several children's songs but does not contain the melody - so they're worthless if you don't already know the song. You're much better off purchasing a book-CD set instead, e.g., "Wee Sing for Baby" is AWESOME!
Skip this one- save your money and spend it on a good children's book or CD instead.

Sometimes when you look at your infant, you may wonder...what can I do to entertain him...and myself? This book is full of wonderful songs, games, and activities to foster the growth of your child's budding senses and motor skills. It's broken down into sections of appropriate age games...the nice thing is that while it offers many fun and different songs and activities, it also tells you exactly what and how they are helping your child to develop. Full of vibrant, color photographs, this book is, in my opinion, the best baby game manual on the market. Look also for Toddler Play to continue the fun!

I got this as a gift when my son was almost 5 months old. I wish I had gotten it sooner because it has so many great ideas. The book is laid out according to age and the games you can play at those ages. Each page describes an activity you and your baby can do together and then explains what motor skills are used and developed. What I really like about this book is that it uses items that you already have around the house to make interactive "toys" for your baby. It just goes to show that you don't have to spend a lot of money to occupy their time. Oh, I almost forgot about the songs. The authors include lyrics to songs that you may have long forgotton since your youth. I had run out of songs to sing until I read this book. Now we have a whole new library!

We love this book. This is an absolute must for any new parent. The activites are divided into age appropriate sections (0-3 mths, etc) that offer the right balance of activities and expert knowledge. On the days that you had no sleep the night before and you can not possibly think of an activity yourself, you can open the book right up and the big color pictures are self-explainatory. As my daughter grew, the book became a picture book that provided us with endless stories about the pictures. Also, great to leave out for babysitters and grandparents.

I was first time parent and never really been around with other kids before. I didn't know what to do or how to interact with my baby. Playing with your baby is such important thing and will help them develop physically and mentally. This book helps a lot and is very easy to read. I would recommend to new parents that are not very experience with kids.

This book has really given me some good ideas on games to play with my 10 month old. As a first time parent with little experience playing with babies, I really appreciate the help! The book is very well laid out with activites based on ages from 0 to 9 months and up. Each activity is pictured and described in detail with instructions for making any accesories to the activities that you don't have or want to buy. Also, the book includes lyrics to rhymes, songs and lullabies that you may have forgotten. I was concerned that this book would just be a big advertisement for Gymboree, but it is not. I would recommend this to any parent with a baby under one, especially if you're inexperienced or low on imagination (due to lack of sleep!)

This book is very nice and has lots of ideas for stuff to do with babies. A lot of the stuff are things most people do with babies anyway (Peek-a-boo, stretching and cycling) but it does have some ideas for songs you can sing while doing them and lots of great stuff to encourage babies development. Everything is categorized in age-appropriateness and skills. The index can be used to find activities using the skill you want to encourage in your baby (grasp and hold, coordination etc) If you have a new baby or are a caregiver or grandparent get this book of fun things to do with baby. This book also includes inexpensive toys you can make at home using stuff around the house.