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Ban cabin fever with our easy, fast and, best of all, cheap ways to keep babies, tots and pre-schoolers happy...
Entertaining your baby
Entertaining your toddler
Entertaining your pre-schooler
Reproduced with the permission of Practical Parenting. Subscribe and save up to 25 percent
Entertaining your baby
1. Babies are fascinated by faces. Cut out a large photo of someone's face from a magazine and stick it in a place where your baby can easily see it, but not grab it. You'll be surprised by how long this will fixate her.
2. Give your baby a massage. Undress her, lie her on a towel in a warm room and then cover your palms in oil (baby lotion or even olive oil will do). Put on some relaxing music and talk to her softly while you gently massage her arms, legs and torso with circular movements.
3. If it's a warm day, put a bowel of water on the lawn and let your baby splash her hands in the water. Add bubbles for extra fun! But never leave a baby unattended near water.
4. Have a dance. Put your favourite song on, pick your baby up, and move her arms and legs in time to the music.
5. Give her scrunched-up paper to play with (but not newspaper because of the print) - babies love the rustling noise. A shiny, thermal blanket looks great and makes an even better sound (from camping stores or simplehike.co.uk, £3.99).
6. Do finger painting! If it's a nice day, strip her down to her nappy and move outside for less mess. Try the ELC for finger-paints or add food colouring to custard. Yum!
7. Put some jelly or cooked spaghetti on your baby's highchair tray for her to play with! Make sure you've covered the floor with plastic sheeting. Try small pieces of cereal to keep your baby busy practising her pincer grip!
8. Fill a small, plastic bottle with rice (put the lid on!). She'll love the noise it makes when shaken.
9. A baby who can sit up will enjoy making music with a pan and wooden spoon.
10. A garden centre with a pet section is a great place to visit. An older baby will love a trip to look at animals.
11. Young babies love lying under trees so they can watch the leaves moving.
12. Sit her in front of a mirror for a few minutes. She'll be fascinated by the other baby!
13. Babies who can sit unaided will love putting things in and out of containers. Show her what to do first with a tub of blocks.
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