Your baby is reaching, grasping, and exploring with real intention now—curiosity is taking shape.
These activities develop hand-eye coordination, early problem-solving, and the purposeful reaching that marks a major cognitive leap.
Your baby is learning through purposeful action now. They reach for objects deliberately, study them with concentration, and experiment with cause and effect — shake this rattle and it makes noise, bat that toy and it swings. These aren't random movements; they're the beginning of scientific thinking.
Encourage this curiosity by providing responsive toys and narrating what happens. 'You shook the rattle and it made a sound!' This connects action to outcome and builds the cognitive foundation for problem-solving.
Intentional reaching and cause-and-effect experimentation at three months mark the transition from passive to active learning.
Your baby is reaching for things now! Hang a toy within arm's reach and watch them bat at it—this is hand-eye coordination in action.
Shake a rattle to one side, then the other. Your baby is learning to turn toward sounds and track moving objects—building foundations for attention.
First laughs are happening! Play gentle peekaboo and make silly faces. These joyful moments are actually building social-emotional circuitry.
Hide a musical toy or phone playing music under a blanket and let your baby search for the sound source. Builds listening skills and early problem-solving.
Create a simple board with different fabrics and textures for your baby to touch and explore. Builds sensory awareness and early reaching skills.
Stack soft blocks into a tower with your baby and let them knock it down. The build-and-crash cycle teaches spatial reasoning, cause and effect, and pure joy.
Introduce your baby to a simple shape sorter — but forget the rules. At this age, mouthing, banging, and experimenting with the pieces is the real learning.
Count to three and lift your baby into the air during play. This anticipation game pairs number words with a thrilling physical payoff babies adore.
Hide a favorite toy under a scarf and let your baby find it. This classic peek-a-boo variation builds object permanence — a major cognitive milestone.