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

[JustineBMumsnet]

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!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

[Cintacmrs]

DS loves anything that makes music his DS got a toddler pink guitar - he wont let it go he loves it and holds it like it is a security blanket and if you strum it - he just bum dances and gigglesxx

[BadlyWrittenPoem]

My baby loves to do the actions when I sing action songs.

[ClaireJ89]

I love getting pots and pans to play with my little one. Despite the noise they love clanging about with spoons and whisks

[ThomasRichard]

I didn't really like playing with either of my babies, but then I was suffering from PND and didn't enjoy anything much. I forced myself to do it and found things much easier when I took them to rhyme time, baby massage, rhythm kids and other structured activities. I liked having a set time frame, which I could prepare myself to enjoy, and then know I could have a break driving home and making lunch etc.

Not the fluffiest answer, but maybe helpful to someone!

[HELENSCRESCENT]

My youngest has always been attracted to anything that has bright colours and makes lots of noise/ plays music. A lot of the activity toys that make different sounds when you press different buttons have been a big hit.

[daisyduke66]

Despite numerous toys of all kinds, the simple things were always the best! - be they boxes, kitchen pans as drums and so on (making music and lots of noise always great fun!) - just goes to show that imagination can be stimulated by anything and everything with no need to spend huge amounts of money on the 'latest' toy or gadget.

[JasmineGreen]

I loved the Primo baby lego. It has some that could be attached to a play gym, so from the very start, we had lego out.

And I love playing games with babies. Play is one of the best bits of having a baby!

[Pipstarz41]

I have a 3yo and an 8mo, and they love playing with mummy and daddy. 3yo loves dressing up games and being Elsa, as well as puzzles, shopping list game, and board games. My 8 month old generally wants whatever my 3yo is playing with, so she end's up playing with Elsa's wand and crown. She also loves peekaboo and being lifted up and down.

[emzlovesyou]

My two year old LOVES role play and she knows every single name of peppa pig, shimmer and shine, ben and holly! She loves playing with barbies and dolls and I love listening to her play! We love having tea parties and colouring together! xX

[sm2012]

My toddler loves doing puzzles which is great as we can both join in. She also enjoys play dough which again is a winner for us both to play with. What I don't like is when she insists on washing her hand for the upteenth time and even before and after her bath - do I have an OCD child on my hands?!

[SpottyShoes123]

My daughter (and me) loves doing art work/messy play. She loves mixing colours with hands or brushes! We have done painting in the garden very often and regularly in the house.
It's great seeing her concentration develop as she can concentrate for longer periods.

[tillymint21]

Mine loved simple household things to play with like empty Pringles tubes and wooden spoons. Rhymes and stories involving repetition and funny noises/faces were always a winner too.

[Hairq]

I loved playing with DS as a baby - playing with musical toys, tickles, making him laugh, hiding games etc, but found t very difficult once he was older and wanted to play cars all the time (seriously, I challenge any adult to get into brumming a toy car around the floor for hours on end).

[sashet21]

My 18 month old will happily play and copy what his 3 year old sister is daughter. When she was little she needed constant play and attention, she was quite hard work as she always wanted occupying constantly.

[toopeoply]

My youngest will play for hours with a fairly simple toy box. But only if I'm not on my phone or computer because if so that's far more interesting! So I just get down on the floor with her and play too. Simple things like rolling balls to one another or peek a boo

[Starlight85]

I have a 7 month old little girl and love playing with her. She loves toys or anything that we can make a noise with such as a wooden spoon and a saucepan. She also loves when we sing together particularly songs wugh actions like row row row your boat.

[tishist]

I like trying to be creative with play using everyday objects rather than rely on expensive toys.

[vickyors]

We love teasing. As a family, my husband always teases us all. We blow raspberries, play peek a boo.. we hide under things and jump out. We lie our head on the tummy of the next person and say 'haha'.. try not to laugh when there are four of you! We play hide and seek. We make dens. We laugh a lot. And the baby loves being teased by her four year old sister. A house of giggles. I love it.

[purplepandas]

We always used everyday objects and made a treasure chest. Way more fun.

[catgirl2]

I wish I had a longer attention span for imaginative play. I do engage in it but soon find my mind wondering onto household tasks and then I feel bad.

[andbabymakesthree]

I find play hard but recently started a baby group and was fab indulging him in play with different toys

[FlukeSkyeRunner]

My two loved to play in the high chair watching me cook etc in the kitchen. And they have always loved books. I never liked playing role play games but there are worse things to endure! I prefer doing baking with they kids, or gardening with them.

[TorNayDoh]

Raiding the kitchen for plastic beakers, pans, wooden spoons and other "safe" stuff always went down well with my DC. Or bubbles, bubbles would transfix them for... well, minutes, but it felt like a welcome relief!

[JustineBMumsnet]

Thanks for all your posts, the winner of the prize draw is @beckyinman