Here is a fun balloon kicking activity for babies. Great for developing their eye tracking ability, understanding cause and effect (ie. when I kick the balloon moves), concentration and gross motor skills. As we know, learning begins long before a child can crawl or walk. Let your own baby have a go at this one. I feel confident they will love it.
Little Boo (5 months) has reached an age that she will express how much she loves the smallest of interactions and opportunities to play. She giggles and reaches and grins from ear to ear. One of her favourite games to play is this kicking activity using a balloon that I saw here on Pinterest.
Recommended age – 1 month to 5 months
(Strict supervision is required on all my activities at all times)
It’s always difficult to know what age to recommend these activities for as each child is different and they reach milestones at different times. I would, however, strongly recommend you do this with your child when they are not able to roll and not yet interested in eating everything. Active supervision is required for this activity as it could be a choking hazard. Lets keep things safe and fun guys.
You will need –
- Helium inflated balloon (latex isn’t recommended, we chose foil)
- String
Simply make a large loop in the string and place it carefully over your child’s foot. Of course for extra fun you could use two balloons on string and place them on each foot.
Boo quickly learnt from her natural kicking behaviour that when she moved her legs the balloon would move, cause and effect. For a long time she would kick her legs and watching the balloon dance above her. It was a wonderful way to entertain her, provide her with some positive words and sounds of encouragement and see her really enjoying this age appropriate activity.
They say the days can be long but the years are short and in many ways that can feel true. Entertaining babies can be challenging, especially when you’re unfamiliar with simple ideas like this one. Hopefully you and your baby can find some time to enjoy this one. Remember to always be present and discard the balloon and string at the end of the activity being completed. Have fun!
Do you have a baby that would enjoy this?
Here are some more fun baby play ideas you’ll love –
Follow Kate @ LaughingKidsLearn’s board Laughing Kids Learn on Pinterest.
Unfortunately my babies are all grown up but what a fantastic idea!!! I just love this and will be telling all of my new mum friends with babies to read your blog post.:)
Wow. Thank you so very much Kat! I very much appreciate your support. My little girl had so much fun with this activity. The giggles were absolutely adorable. 🙂
My 4 month old is always kicking and moving his feet around — then I saw your brilliant idea and decided to tie a balloon to each foot and WOW!!! Talk about entertainment for mommy AND baby! Thank you so much, I will definitely be doing this again and again
Thank you so much Amie! I really appreciate your feedback and it’s wonderful you both had fun. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve that might suit your 4 month old so please stay tuned. 🙂
Kate
It was balloon ‘punching’ that helped our daughter recover after brain surgery at 2 years old. Nothing made her smile, talk or want to move – until friends sent a balloon to our room. She would yank down on that thing as hard as she could and we saw her first smile after surgery – then heard her first giggles. That balloon was part of her rehab and is tacked onto her wall as a decoration now (she’s 7).
Sarah your message has literally brought me to tears. What an amazing little girl you have and I’m so pleased that something as simple as a balloon was able to play such a massive part in her recovery. My goodness. Thank you so very much for taking the time to comment and let me know your story. It has really warmed my heart. Thank you. X
Aww this is amazing and heart warming for sure. God bless your family ♡
This is genius!! I cant wait to try it!! x
This is a really cool idea! Our youngest son is almost 6 months and he kicks like crazy. He would love this game.
Our little ones are very close in age Jeremy so be sure to watch my blog closely for more ideas like this. Thank you so kindly for your lovely comments. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with me. 🙂