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0-6 months

If babies at this stage could talk, they might say, "Meet my needs and I'll feel secure," and "fill me up with love and affection." Babies begin this stage focused on building a secure attachment, and end it by looking outward as they start to crawl, reach, and explore the world around them. As you and your baby cuddle, play together, and take care of basic needs, you will learn each other's rhythms and begin to interact in tune with one another.

You may expect your baby at this stage to: Gaze at objects nearby, especially faces, discover their fingers and toes, and recognize themselves in the mirror, Move his or her body to the rhythm of music and nursery rhymes, and babble in response to singing or talking, Communicate emotions and wishes with cries, coos, gestures, and facial expressions.

Play Tips: Encourage Eye Movement. Move your face or a toy slowly from side to side so baby can follow it with her eyes. Make Faces. Mirror the faces that your baby makes. Stimulate the Senses. Provide objects to grasp, poke, feel, shake, and opportunities to discover how things smell, sound, feel, taste and look. Make Time for Cuddle. Does your baby like lots of stimulation or just a little? Sad or upset babies may need some extra comfort and love after their needs are met, and they may need to let out their feelings in your loving arms. Play peek-a-boo, a giggly game that builds closeness and teaches children that even though you go away, you will always come back.

12-18 months

Play Tips:

Help Practice Fine-Motor Coordination. Provide opportunities for fine-motor coordination: buttons, zippers, and turning pages; and large-motor coordination: simple obstacle course, Ring Around the Rosie, London Bridge, Pat-a-Cake.

Promote Play with Everyday Objects. Provide blocks, sand, water, pots and pans for discovery play.

Develop Vocabulary. Introduce concepts and words for up/down, fast/slow, in/out and so on.

Encourage Creativity. Bring out the fingerpaints and thick crayons for baby's first creative experiences.

18 months-2 years

The motto of this stage is "I'm on the move." As toddlers develop, they like to feel big and grown up, but they still need lots of comfort and cuddling. You can think of yourself as a "refueling station," where your child comes back to fill up with confidence, love, and affection before heading back out to explore the wide world. Along with their exploration and growing independence comes a strong sense of self (which is why they love to say, No!")

You may expect children at this stage to: Walk up and down stairs, fit shapes into spaces, begin to sort and stack objects, Start to recognize that other people have feelings, which helps them play cooperatively with other children, Use whole sentences and understand complex stories. Take their first steps in fantasy play, such as calling a block a bottle and pretending to drink from it.

Play Tips: Read Aloud. You can start reading to babies as soon as they are born, but at this stage make sure to do lots of reading aloud and making up new stories to go along with picture books. Start a Collection. Provide a variety of materials from nature and from around the house for them to collect, classify, sort, and count. Encourage a Gentler Side. At those rare moments when these kids slow down, they continue to need and love lullabies, rocking, and soothing, especially in the evening or when they are upset.

2 years-3 years

The motto for this stage is "I'd rather do it myself." Children begin this stage with a strong drive for independence, and end it with new-found abilities in cooperation and connection. Skills such as sharing and taking turns develop gradually during this stage, with some setbacks along the way.

You may expect children at this stage to: Pretend they are another person, animal, or character, Enjoy lots of time with playmates, mostly engaging in parallel play (side by side activity without much interaction, but still enjoying playing together), Feed themselves (although messily), Become engrossed in play for longer and longer periods of time.

Play Tips: Play more complex physical games such as freeze dancing (stop the music and everyone freezes in place), follow the leader, hide and seek. Form a "band" with you, your child, and playmates each playing a different instrument (real instruments or sticks and pans). Choose toys that promote playing together, or have several duplicate toys to ease sharing.

3 years+

The motto for this stage is "Let's pretend." As they learn more and more about the world, their favorite word seems to be "why?" By the end of this stage, children are able to engage in cooperative play, keep a fantasy game or an activity going for a long time, and see another personÕs point of view.

You may expect children at this stage to: Understand the rules of games, and understand what other people are feeling, Dress themselves with help, Have more self-control, better ability to handle frustration, and increased patience (but they are still a long way from perfect in these areas).

Play Tips: Act Like an Animal. Show your child how to hop like a bunny, slink like a snake, flap wings like a bird. Play Ball. Increase play with all types and sizes of balls, but don't expect expert throwing or catching. Encourage Imagination. Provide opportunities for expanding fantasy play, such as dress up clothes, stuffed animals, action figures, dolls, a puppet stage made from a cardboard box, props.