9 top tips for Baby's first Easter

Your baby may be too young to decorate a hard-boiled egg or go on an egg hunt, but there are still plenty of ways to make Easter an educational and enjoyable event. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Hide and seek

One of the best games to play with your baby is ‘peek-a-boo’ or ‘hide-and-seek’. It’s traditional, simple to organise, educational and lots of fun. To develop your baby’s thinking, memory and hand-eye coordination skills, hide a plastic egg under a cloth or cup. Say “Where’s the egg?” If your baby is at the reaching and grasping stage, she will look for it, even though it is out of sight. From the age of nine months, your baby may deliberately prolong the fun by hiding the object for you to discover.
If you have a spare tissue box, fill it with Easter ribbons or brightly coloured fabrics. Your baby will delight in pulling out the materials one by one. She will also discover that when you put the materials back in the box, they continue to exist even though they are hidden from view.
To encourage logical thinking, problem-solving and exploratory skills, hide behind the sofa and call out your baby’s name. When your baby discovers your hiding place, she will learn that you haven’t just vanished because you are out of sight. This teaches your baby about object permanence and stability. Psychologist Jean Piaget suggested that this awareness was typically achieved at about six months of age. However, recent studies show that if peek-a-boo games are played regularly, babies understand these concepts from about two months of age.

Easter puppets

A rabbit puppet and a pop-up frog are wonderful hide and seek toys. They provide a wealth of learning opportunities from visual stimulation to speech and language development. They also encourage rich parent-baby interactions and the element of surprise that babies love so much.

Easter books

Three-dimensional books with large, brightly coloured illustrations, textured materials and hide-and-seek pictures that encourage interaction make great Easter presents for babies. Your baby may investigate the properties of a texture with her finger tips or turn the pages to discover something new. Your voice and facial expressions will capture your baby’s interest and attention and liven up her experience of the world. Best of all, your baby will enjoy cuddling up to you, which has a huge impact on her future learning and development. Research shows that babies who are regularly cuddled have bigger brains than babies who are deprived of close loving physical contact.

Easter treasure basket 

Line a shallow basket with a soft bunny blanket and fill it up with Easter-themed objects such as a plastic egg, a textured book, a soft toy rabbit, lamb or duck and a mealtime set. Include a toy that your baby can safely chew on.
When your baby can sit up with or without support, a treasure basket filled with interesting and engaging objects will develop her sense of curiosity. When your baby explores the objects, she will find out about weight, size, shape, taste, smell, sound and temperature. Every time a new object is explored, highly sensitive nerve endings in the skin will send messages to her brain. In this way, information is collected that will lead to the later recognition of objects.

Easter songs

Focus on Easter songs such as ‘Peter Rabbit’ and ‘5 little Ducks’. Even if your baby cannot understand the words, she will enjoy the sound of your voice and your facial gestures and body movements. These time-honoured songs have a repetitive theme, which help to establish a sense of order (mathematical reasoning) and a sense of security. They also provide a powerful stimulus in terms of language and social development.

Easter games

A simple activity such as rolling a plastic egg across the floor will encourage a whole range of mobility skills as well as hand-eye coordination and sensory exploration. When your baby is a little older, you can sit on the floor and roll the egg back and forth or roll it down a slope for your baby to catch. An egg that makes playful sounds will provide an endless source of amusement and fun. Best of all, your quality interactions will make a huge difference to your baby’s emotional development and learning.

Nesting eggs

Towards the end of the first year, your baby will enjoy activities that encourage use of the pincer grip. A multi-coloured nesting egg set for example, provides a wonderful, educational opportunity. When your baby tries to nest the eggs, she will learn about size and space, which forms the foundation for mathematical and spatial awareness. These skills will stand her in good stead for the future.

Easter outing

The spring air provides the perfect opportunity to tantalise your baby’s sense of smell. The fragrance of flowers, cut grass, new leaves growing and the smell of rain will help your baby learn about the world. Fresh air contains high levels of negative ions that can have a positive impact on your baby’s health and brain function. Sunlight provides Vitamin D that your baby needs to grow strong, healthy bones and offers protection from a number of common ailments and disorders.
Activities that the whole family can enjoy together might include a visit to the river or pond to see the ducklings, a trip to a farm to see the baby animals or the excitement of an Easter party, which includes relatives and close friends. Avoid dressing up as the ‘Easter Bunny’ since the costume might unsettle or even frighten your baby.

Capture the occasion 

This year, Easter falls on Sunday 25th April. To mark the occasion, dress your baby in an Easter-themed outfit. Your baby will look adorable in a bunny costume. Capture the moment on camera. A photograph will provide a fond memory of your baby’s first Easter for many years to come.

Can you remember you celebrated your baby's first Easter? Did you dress them in a funny costume? Did you all go for a big walk or do you have special Easter traditions in your family?

Review: Dark Choc Florentines

Product: Belgian Dark Choc Florentines by Fudges

Price: £3.32

Available from: Fudges Online, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda

Suitable for: every age although probably more for older kids and adults

Initial Reaction: The florentines come in a lovely packaging and the picture on the front shows them covered in a thick layer of dark chocolate. How couldn't you want to have them all at once?

Pros: They are a delicious treat: chewy, light and with a layer of indulgent Belgian chocolate.

Cons: I couldn't find any, although they are a bit expensive if you want them as a daily treat. Well, at least if you like them as much as I did.

Value for money: Average

Overall reaction: I was sent a package of Fudges' Belgian Dark Chocolate Florentines and couldn't wait to try them. Their packaging looked really inviting and I wasn't disappointed when I opened the package to try what truly is a divine chocolate treat. The florentines are made of the finest ingredients, combining roasted almonds with fresh ginger and indulgent dark Belgian chocolate. They make a perfect treat and go rather well with a nice cup of tea or coffee, but don't worry they're also really nice if you have them on their own. The only thing that would stop me from buying them on a daily basis is their price. They retail at £3.32 and there are only eight florentines in a package. So if you want to offer them to guests when you have a full house or eat them on a daily basis, it might get a little expensive for you. For a special occasion they are absolutely fine and I'm sure I'll treat my family to them when we are meeting for our Easter get-together.

Easter Activities for the Whole Family

For Football Fans:

Chelsea FC is offering two special Stamford the Lion tours this Easter. Aimed at children under eight years of age, the fun-filled tour with Stamford will take you behind-the-scenes with numerous photo opportunities throughout the tour and a Chelsea FC gift for every child taking part.

When: Friday 15th April and Thursday 21st April, 12.15pm - 14.00pm
Cost: £15 for adults and £15 for children.
Further information: You can upgrade your Stamford the Lion Tour to include lunch in Frankie's restaurant for an additional £10 for adults and £6 for children. Tours can be booked via phone, call 0871 984 1955 for more info. 

For Chocolate Fans:

Cadbury, the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland are teaming up again to add a magical twist to the traditional family Easter egg hunt. The enchanting Easter Egg Trails will take place at over 270 spectacular National Trust places nationwide during the Easter weekend – a great day out for all the family!

When: Activities are running during the Easter weekend

Cost: For infos on costs and locations check www.eastereggtrail.com

Further information: Youngsters can hunt clues that will lead them to a delicious Cadbury treat, as well as enjoy plenty of activities and fresh air. The Easter Egg Trails will offer lots of activities for the whole family and this year the fun and games will range from traditional Easter Egg Trails and face painting through to more interactive children’s entertainers and outdoor games.

For Fans of Jurasic Park:

At Dinosaurs Unleashed at the O2 children will be presented with a challenge to win an Easter chocolate treat. There will be several ‘dinosaur egg’ letters hidden around the exhibition, each letter contributing to the spelling of one of the attraction’s life-size dinosaurs. Once all of the letters have been found it's up to the kids to work out what dinosaur is hiding the chocolate treat!

When: Friday 22nd to Monday 25th April 2011
Cost: £11.25 children aged 2-14, £14.25 adults or £42.60 family of 4
Further information: Kids can dig for fossils, piece them together in the Activity Zone or create their own dinosaur skins and colours at the popular Dino-Paint as well as testing their dinosaur knowledge with dynamic quizzes. More info and booking at www.dinosaursunleashed.com

For Sporty Families:

Easter holidays are upon us and evenings are getting lighter, so it's a great time for children to get involved with a local sporting activity. We all love a good Easter egg, however it's important to balance this out by encouraging children to keep active and healthy and take advantage of the Sporting Chance free sessions

When: Easter holidays

Cost: free

Further information: To find more information on free sessions offered in your area simply visit the Asda Sporting Chance Website and search for activities by postcode. If your child is extra sporty you can pick up as many vouchers as you need for them to enjoy every sport they like.

For little time travelers:

On Easter Sunday your little ones will be egg painting, egg rolling, and making a mini nest in The Weald & Downland Museum, Singleton, while on Easter Monday, the Museum will be continuing its long-standing bonnet making competition and parade. Visitors will also be treated to a Punch and Judy and magic show, period music, a demonstration of an Easter Feast Day in the Tudor Kitchen, short talks on Tudor Easter traditions and with a delicious lamb spit roast, local cider and apple juice available to buy.

When: Easter Holidays
Cost: adults £9.50, over 60s £8.50, children £5, family £26, under 4s free

Further information: The Museum is open over Easter from 10.30am to 6pm, with special activities running from 11am to 4pm. For details visit www.wealdown.co.uk or phone 01243 811475.