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Tell Fairy Non Bio about your experience of play with your baby - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

224 replies

JustineBMumsnet · 06/07/2017 11:24

As part of our partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced the Mumsnet Babies Podcast. There are ten episodes in the series, and episode six is about play - you can listen to it here. Whenever you get the chance, Fairy Non Bio would like you to have a listen to the podcast and join the discussion on this thread.

As babies grow and develop, their experience of play is constantly changing thanks to their still-developing perceptions of colour and sound and awareness of the world around them.

Fairy Non Bio would like you to share your experiences of playing with your baby, whether you can’t get enough of role playing games, or you force yourself into fancy dress with gritted teeth. Perhaps your baby can easily amuse her/himself with everyday household items such as wooden spoons, or maybe you invest in elaborate mobiles and brightly coloured floor mats, in the hope to keep them occupied while you have some ‘me time’.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

If you’d like to rate the Mumsnet Babies Podcast, please go to the iTunes store to add a review.

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw!

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Tell Fairy Non Bio about your experience of play with your baby - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
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Sleepysausage · 07/07/2017 15:15

Our daughter loves to play at tea parties she is 20months old and will line up her toys and play for ages. Until very recently she wasn't great at independent play, but the tea set has changed that

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MakeTeaNotWar · 08/07/2017 21:50

Mine loved to play with very simple things - pots and their lids, tupperware, cardboard boxes. But also - they loved my iphone and some of the cute baby apps that are available.

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georgedawes · 08/07/2017 21:53

I loved playing with baby DD, anything would do, a spoon, a colander, ribbon, toys etc.. I actually found it much harder when she was a toddler and more into imaginative play which I don't really enjoy. Not sure why, as I adored it as a child, but find it hard going now I'm an adult.

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gd2011 · 08/07/2017 22:02

Role playing games are fun - especially if you do a different voice.

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RACHELSMITH45 · 08/07/2017 22:05

I had a really good baby book , called something like 'Happy baby book". It was my bible in those early months as I really needed ideas!! We played games like peek a boo and sang rhymes. We did the actions to row, row your boat!". We built towers, played in water, with jelly, cream.. anything sensory!! We tickled toes.. and played this little piggy... and as a result we got some lovely happy smiles. :-)

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maryandbuzz1 · 08/07/2017 22:07

Making mud pies has always been a favourite activity in our household. I remember doing it as a child with my brother and my son lives it. We have an old set of pans and spoons and baking cases. We allow them to dry in the sun on the path! ... especially fun when we know visitors are about to arrive!

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fld14 · 08/07/2017 22:13

My son loved playing guitar. Even from about 15 moths he would get his dads acoustic which would tower above him. He would then take my lead from my shaver and 'plug' it into the guitar to make it an 'electric guitar' . He was so cute.

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Jesswoods1992 · 08/07/2017 22:14

We love playing in gloop! Water and cornflour brilliant for sensory time and easy to clean up last for hours of fun too! X

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BMacklin · 08/07/2017 22:21

My 18 month old DS is currently obsessed with playing with the washing machine (with it off and under my supervision of course). He loves putting clothes into the drum, one item at a time, then turfing it all back out, then starting all over again. He does it at home, at my mum's and even my friend's house!

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mave · 08/07/2017 22:22

My youngest daughter plays quite well by herself but loves me playing shop, dolls, playdough, whatever takes her fancy! Sometimes I enjoy playing, sometimes I have so much to do I try and let her down gently!

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Sid98 · 08/07/2017 22:24

My kids love playing with the play doh or lego

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freefan · 08/07/2017 22:27

Pretend play is great fun and good for developing imagination, lots of playdoh animals and finger paint people and all easy to clean up at the end of the day

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Ganne1 · 08/07/2017 22:29

Give them what you would like to play with. Touchie-feelie play mats, and musical mobiles are great.

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Lisapaige24 · 08/07/2017 22:41

Were going through the dress up stage in my house at the minute my youngest DD is so girly and loves to be a fairy princess 👸 And like to have tea parties,My youngest DS is obsessed with spider man🕷 and won't take off his suit but it keeps them happy and after they use their imaginations even if I do have one trying to climb up walls and the other wanting to be a pampered princess

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gamerwidow · 08/07/2017 22:54

My DD has always loved role play and I hate it but I play it through gritted teeth because I can see how much it makes her happy.

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MrsDramaQueen · 08/07/2017 22:55

I remember at Christmas with my daughter, I'd brought her all these great toys for her the first Christmas she was into playing, and all she was interested in was the big box that everything came in. We had great fun for hours playing make believe.

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Ellamar · 08/07/2017 23:00

Our little boys favourite game is being swung back and forth in his multicoloured parachute. He gets so much enjoyment out of it and lies there like a little lord while me,dad and his brothers swing him.

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sosotalk · 08/07/2017 23:03

I absolutely love playing with my baby - I loved watching my DD interact with everyday objects for the first time and view them as the best toys ever! The first time she jangled my keys she was sooo happy!

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buckley1983 · 08/07/2017 23:11

I love playing with my son - to be honest, it's the one thing I always felt confident about doing! I found the newborn stage reeeaallly tough (whereas I know others love that bit!) & couldn't wait for him to start communicating with me in any way that wasn't crying!
I picked up loads of play ideas from playgroups - shredded paper, shaving foam, jelly, homemade playdoh & enjoyed trying these out at home.
I love playing with my son - always have & always will. When we're playing together, laughing together & acting silly - it's my favourite bit about being a parent :)
When he was really little - he had a great little wooden Noah's Ark which we would play with together - naming the animals, making the animal noises, lining them up, building towers with them & knocking them over.
We're always making up silly songs (he joins in with this now!) & creating games out of things we find lying around - we chalked targets on the fence earlier & fired water pistols at them.
It really isn't about the toys they have to play with (although I do love picking up board games & puzzles at jumble & car boot sales!) - it's about the time you give them & that undivided attention.

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beckyinman · 08/07/2017 23:20

Weirdly my daughter finds the snooker on the TV absolutely hilarious. She also loves pushing a broom around - we have the cleanest kitchen floor in about 100 miles!

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glenka · 08/07/2017 23:21

Building things out of Lego is a great time to spend together, it keeps them quiet for a while and gets us all involved at the same time.

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Cuddleymum · 08/07/2017 23:25

My two little girls love to play with Mummy and I love playing with them. I also home school my two daughers so we spend lots of time together in play and learning. They love role playing games such as pretending to cook for each other, taking turns or playing at shops together. They are happiest when I am playing with them but will play alone when household jobs need to be done :)

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katastrophy13 · 08/07/2017 23:50

No matter what I buy mine to play, all he wants to do is pull my boxes out the cooking cupboard and bang things together :)

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frances93 · 08/07/2017 23:51

My baby was always happiest playing with cardboard boxes spoons and pans, anything but her vast array of toys. She now absolutely loves dress up which is perfect for me as I can re live my childhood and sing Disney songs till my heart is content

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KittyKat88 · 08/07/2017 23:55

Both my DDs loved their jumperoo and also their play mats with lots of dangling toys when they were babies. As toddlers, it was all about the dressing up - I got to be Queen Mummy and wear a tiara a lot! Grin

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