Infant Playtime with Cups
You are your baby’s first teacher. Your baby makes sounds with the cups and looks at you. By looking at you, they are saying, “Look what I did!” They also look at you to get new ideas, like how to put one cup on top of another.
- Audience
- Caregiver
- Subject
- Open-Ended Play
- Age
- Infant
- Languages
- EnglishHaitian CreoleSpanish
- Materials
- Cups
Play is a natural way to support the parent-child bond. Try engaging your infant in playtime with cups!
Get ready
Sit on the floor and place some cups in front of your baby. Hold a cup in front of your baby’s face. Smile and say, “Cup!” You know your baby is ready to play when they look at you or the cups.
Try this!
Exploring cups
Give your baby one cup and say, “cup.” Watch what they do. Do they hold or shake it? Show them how to put two cups together. Say, “in” as you put a smaller cup inside a bigger cup. Say, “out” as you take the smaller one out. Do it a few times. Does your baby try too?
Make some noise!
Place your baby on their belly for tummy time. Or sit them up between your legs. Tap a cup on the floor to get their attention. Then put some cups close to them, so they can reach. “Bang, bang, bang!” “Tap, tap, tap!” Say the sounds the cups make when your baby hits them together or on the floor.
Wear a cup
Put a cup on your head like a hat. Move your head so the cup drops—it’s silly and fun for your baby! Say, “head” and put the cup on your baby’s head. Then say, “toes” and put the cup on their toes. Put the cup on different body parts, and say their names too.
Safety tip!Tummy time can only happen when your baby is awake and you are watching them.
If you need more cups, use things you already have. Most plastic drinking cups or containers are great to play with. Just make sure the plastic is not sharp if it breaks!
While you play...
Watch carefully. What is your baby doing with cups? Are they looking at them? Grabbing them? Putting one cup on top of another? What are they interested in doing with the cups today?
Practice together. Your baby taps on a cup with their hand. So you tap with your hand. Then you do something first, like rolling a cup. And see if your baby copies you. It’s okay if they don’t. But keep rolling your cup—and they might decide to try too!
Say, “Yay!” Focus on having fun together. Did your baby stack two cups? Clap your hands. Point and count, “One cup. Two cups.” Did the cups fall down? Keep smiling and say, “Uh oh!”
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