Babystages™
Specialist creative engagement sessions and sensory resources nurturing early bonding, non-verbal communication, and open play for pre-walking infants.
Connecting Through Early Arts
Babystages™ by Imaginary Leaps is a structured series of one-hour creative engagement sessions designed specifically for pre-walking babies up to approximately 12 months old and their parents or carers.
By utilising simple, sensory materials and gentle non-verbal communication, parents discover a rich repertoire of creative play tailored to their baby’s emerging physical, emotional, and cognitive states.
Three Core Facets of Every Session:
- Observing, Listening & Echoing: Starting with gentle vocal echoing and mirroring the infant’s physical cues. Parents explore rhythm, pauses, tempo changes, and playful anticipation.
- Playing with Fabrics, Buckets & Chimes: Using sheer silks, fleece, soft nesting tubs, and quiet acoustic instruments to unlock sensory delight while responding to energy levels.
- Accepting Offers: Learning how to accept baby-initiated movements: offering, engaging, distracting, anticipating, and surprising — building communicative trust.
The Babystages™ Environment & Kit
Each session is set up with a large soft fleece floor rug, calming acoustic music, gentle natural aromatherapy scents, soft teddy bears, and colour-themed nesting buckets filled with tactile fabrics.
Complete Babystages™ Kits and staff practitioner training workshops are available for early years centres and libraries.
Enquire About Babystages™“FANTASTIC. Both of us have loved every session. He is not talking yet but seems to really enjoy it. Have noticed him becoming more confident at each session.”
— Mother & 8-Month-Old Infant, Children’s CentreSafety & Risk Assessment Information (Click to view protocol)
Risk Assessment Statement for Baby Stages Activity
Activity led by a professionally trained DNA educator in a warm interior room of minimum 4m × 4m clear floor space.
| Hazard | Potential Harm | To Whom | Control Measures | Risk Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falls, bumps, bruises | Minor physical injury or distress | Infants and adults | Careful 1-to-1 adult handling; 10-minute pre-session assessment to remove or lag all sharp edges. Padded floor matting. | Managed (Low) |
| Hygiene & infection | Germ transmission | Infants | Hard surfaces disinfected before every session; fabrics washed at high temperature; hand sanitisers provided. | Managed (Low) |