Fantastically Fun Ways to Play with Your Baby or Toddler with Ball Play

It happened by accident. I was sitting on my living room floor playing with the daycare kids surrounding me. I grabbed our large ball and staring bouncing the children on it. The bounds of laughter and shrills of excitement made me wonder what else could I do with ball play with these children? I can't tell you with words how much fun your children can have doing these simple ball play exercises. Try them for yourself.

Where to get the ball for ball play: You can buy the balls at any toy store. They do not have to be extra strong, especially when you are doing ball play with young children (5 and under).

What kind of ball to buy for ball play: Try and find a large ball. When you are sitting on the floor, it should come up to your belly, at least. Any size can work but the bigger the better. Later, when you see how awesome ball play is, you might want to purchase balls of a certain color or size depending on your needs and the size of the children who will be doing your ball play. For now, use any ball that you can get your hands on to try ball play for yourself.

Ball Play Exercise 1: Bouncy Bouncy- This is the easiest and the best place to start with ball play. Simply sit the baby on the ball and bounce him gently up and down. If you are playing with a toddler, you can bounce a bit faster and harder but never shake the baby while on the ball. Light bouncing thrills the child. You can either be sitting or kneeling while doing most of the ball play exercises.

Ball Play Exercise 2: Cliff Hanger- This is the thrill ride of ball play. While kneeling over the ball, sit the child on the ball facing you. Hold onto the feet and hands of the child. You should have one foot and one hand in each of your hands. Slowly tip the child back until he begins to hold his own weight up trying to stay on top of the ball. You can say "Whoa" as you tip. You can rock back and forth with your baby or child. They love this ball play exercise and it builds their neck muscles as they try and hold themselves on top of the ball.