An infant's cognitive development is how he gains intellectual abilities, such as recognizing your voice, developing memory and logical thinking. Games help your baby develop his memory for your voice, the ability to think abstractly and the ability identify and name objects around him. Games can also help develop his attention span and the concept of play. The wonderful thing about these games is that once you start, you can play them for years and still have fun together.
Abstract Thinking Games
For infants, once an object disappears, it no longer exists. To help develop the abstract concept that objects still exist when not in view, play a peek-a-boo with your baby starting when she's 6 to 9 months old. Facing your child, and with his gaze remaining on you, put your hands in front of your face and then separate them so that your face reappears and say "boo!"
A similar game is to hide an object under a napkin. Take a block or favorite rattle with which your child has been playing and have your child watch as you put it under a napkin. If he doesn't reach for it, take it out again. If he reaches for it, he's beginning to understand that it exists even when out of sight.
Attention Development
Help infants develop their attention span when they are as young as 3 to 6 months old by pointing out details on objects, such as the stripes on a pair of pants or the laces on your shoes. This way, your baby focuses for longer on a particular item and begins to take in nuance and detail. In addition, as you're talking to your child, you're helping her develop the memory of your voice and the name of the object to which you are pointing. You can make a game of it by pointing to the object and saying more about it each time. Your child will let you know when she's done with the game by beginning to look away. Keep talking about the object until she shows disinterest, though, as you're helping her develop with each word.
Memory, Language and Speech
Beginning at birth, start naming objects that you see. You help your baby not only remember your voice, but also the sound that goes with the object. This helps develop the child's memory, sense of language and ability to speak. While babies can't speak yet, they can absorb a tremendous amount of information about the world around them.
Play a game with your baby by naming each item starting at the beginning of the alphabet until you reach the end. Or organize the information by outside things and inside things. You determine how best to convey the information, but encourage your baby's natural curiosity by talking to her frequently and clearly about what you see every day.
Social and Motor Skills
Mimicking observed behavior helps children develop their social skills, such as taking turns, as well as their motor skills. Starting at 9 months, provide your infant with pretend telephones and tools as well as cooking and eating utensils. Sit down together with two play phones and watch as he pretends to be chatting with you on the phone. Or sit down next to him and play with his tools. If you're cooking dinner, secure your child in his high chair with child-size kitchen tools and watch him mimic your cooking process.
