It's quite a thrill when your baby reaches the banging age. Seeing that one pound of the fist can make a satisfying whomp is a powerful affirmation that actions can get results. Make it a bang-up time by giving your baby a range of high and low notes to aim for.

Appropriate for: 3 months to 1 year
Skills developed: Auditory, rhythm, sense of cause and effect
What you'll need: Empty oatmeal containers, coffee cans, plastic bins, or any other container with a flexible cardboard or plastic lid

Using the empty containers as drums, show your baby how to tap their lids with your palms, fingers, and the heel of your hand. Use wooden spoons or toys to bang with if you want.

You can tape the drums together with duct or packing tape to make a drum set. You might even try singing some doo-wops to demonstrate different rhythms as you play. Demonstrate how different-size drums make different sounds so your baby can hear the difference between deeper and shallower tones. Your baby will love the sounds and the rhythm, and soon he or she will want to join the action.