After the first days of discovery, the fumbling of brand new parenthood, the upheaval of daily life, the inevitable question arises: " But how am I going to keep him busy ?"

There are thousands of toys on the market, just take a look on Google or in a toy store to find yourself drowning in an ocean of stuffed animals, rattles, balls and cubes of all kinds. We sometimes have It’s hard to find your way around , to know what to choose, to find what will be best suited to our child.

What if you turned to DIY, Do It Yourself ("Do it yourself" in French)? In the first years of his life, the child will favor the sensory. That is to say, he will explore the world by touching, tasting, looking, listening, smelling everything around him.

It is the richness of his sensory experiences that will allow him to give a sense of his environment, there is no point in offering him 10 different stimuli at once, you have to be able to give him time to live every experience to the fullest.

Watch your baby when you introduce him to a new toy with a texture or color he has never seen before: you will see how focused and attentive he can be to this new experience.

Take the time to observe your baby playing : What colors, materials, or sounds interest him most? How is his motor skills progressing? Does he spend his time opening cupboards, trying to empty his glass of water onto his plate at the table, or stacking objects?

From these observations, you will be able to propose activities that really match to your child's current needs and interests.

I compiled for you a game idea by age group which really takes 5 minutes to prepare and which (generally) keeps a child busy for at least 10 minutes, the time to tidy the kitchen or watch your offspring while lounging on your sofa drinking a (hot) coffee

Your baby is between 0 and 3 months old , he spends most of his time sleeping, but during his waking hours he carefully observes the world around him. He soaks up the smells of the house ("Hey, we cooked cauliflower today!"), the surrounding noises (his brothers arguing, his parents' sweet words, a dog barking, dishes rattling together, etc.), he feels the weight of his body on his rug, he looks around him and gradually sharpens his immature vision at birth.

You can easily make a mobile with next to nothing to stimulate your vision a little. To do this, you will need:

⁃ A thick sheet of paper / black paint and a brush (or a thick black pen) / a pair of scissors / thread

On the sheet, paint a few black lines (you can even ask your older children to do this step!). Once your work is dry, cut the sheet into a spiral and pierce a small hole in the center. Pass the thread through the hole, a small knot at the end and voilà, your mobile is ready to be hung! We recommend positioning it on the side or at the level of the baby's hips / feet, and not making this activity last too long.

Between 3 and 6 months, your baby will become more active and spend more time on their tummy. You can easily create small sensory bags to encourage them to stay on their tummy for a little longer.

You will need: freezer bags/ water/ small items such as glitter, sequins, foam shapes, pom poms, small shells, flower petals, etc./ food coloring (optional)

Half-fill a bag with water, add a few drops of food coloring and your choice of ingredients. Seal the bag, trying to squeeze out as much air as possible.

Offer the bag as is to your baby or tape it to their mat.

Place your baby on their tummy so their arms reach into the sensory bag. Your child's movements on the bag will cause the treasures you've placed inside to move, much to their delight.

And if you don't have anything on hand to put in the bags, simply fill one bag with cold water or ice cubes and another with hot water: your child will be able to feel the temperature difference between these two bags, it's also a good sensory experience. 

Your baby continues to grow and open up to the world.

Between 6 and 12 months He wants to touch everything around him and puts everything in his mouth. It's difficult under these conditions to suggest that he paint when you're dying to hang his first works of art on the fridge.

The solution is very simple and can be found in your kitchen: Natural yogurt / food coloring / a canvas (let's be crazy) or leaves

In an (unbreakable) bowl, put a few spoonfuls of yogurt, add a little food coloring, mix and your painting is ready! Place the canvas on the floor, in the bathtub or better, on your living room mat and let your child splash around in the colored yogurt and spread it everywhere!

From the age of one, your child likes to move around everywhere , he observes you carefully and sometimes tries to imitate you.

He may be starting to say a few words and is able to let you know what he likes and dislikes. He probably enjoys spending time in the bath, so why not suggest playing with the foam outside of the tub?

3 ingredients are needed for this refreshing sensory activity: 250 ml of water / 3 or 4 tablespoons of soap (preferably one that doesn't sting the eyes!) and a few drops of food coloring

Mix the ingredients for a few minutes with a blender or an electric whisk, pour the colored mousse into a tray, a tub, a cake mold, add spoons, spatulas, ladles, bowls and other containers so that your child can transfer the mousse, fill and empty glasses, etc.

Let him explore with his hands, watch him spread the foam on his stomach or on the floor, hide small figurines under the foam so he can try to find them, don't hesitate to put your child in diapers so as not to stain his clothes.

Your child is 18 months old, he is starting to develop his own personality , to tell you (more or less loudly) when he does not agree with you, he enjoys playing outside, scribbling on everything he finds (including the sofa and walls), listening to you tell stories, dancing and repeating the words he hears around him.

The activity I'm suggesting here has always been a huge success, from 18 months to... 6 years old! It's truck painting.

You will need: Trucks, small cars, trains of all sizes / Liquid paint, I use large bottles of water-washable gouache / Plastic trays / Rolled paper or several sheets of paper taped together / A pencil to draw roads (optional)

Set up this activity outside, in the bathtub, or even on your living mat covered with its All-Terrain cover to have less cleaning to do!

Spread a long strip of paper on the floor.

If you're doing this activity with a child aged 3-4 or older, you can draw roads; for younger children, this isn't necessary. Arrange the vehicles throughout the sheet of paper.

Ask your child to choose one or more paint colors, pour some into a plastic container, take a truck, and roll it through the paint and then across the sheet of paper. The wheels of the vehicle will leave colorful trails behind them.

Take your time showing your child how to do it and accompany them at the beginning. To make the activity last, don't hesitate to offer a car wash station by filling one tub with soapy water and another with clean water. Children will enjoy playing with the water to clean the cars, and that will be one less thing to wash!

These ideas are just suggestions; they may not interest your child right away. If you see that he or she isn't interested in an activity, offer it again a few weeks later; your child may be more willing to invest in what you're offering.

Whatever happens, have a great time splashing around, manipulating, kneading and brushing together!

Marie Vallet, psychomotor therapist DE @psychomot_usa