Your Child at Play: 6 to 12 Months

Now that your baby has reached the half-year milestone, she can sit up and participate in playtime, vocalize when she wants your attention, and reach out and grab things she wants to pick up. Most notably, to both your delight and horror, she’s on the move.

Around 6 months, she may start pulling herself along on her belly; however, some babies skip this stage and start rocking on all fours in readiness to crawl. She’ll also be babbling, squealing and joining in your conversations. It’s also the time to graduate from the baby bath to the big bathtub, where the water will be an endless source of fun.

Your 7- and 8-month-old may be able to feed herself crackers and express her opinion if you take away something that she wants. If she is crawling, she may begin to pull herself to standing and cruise the furniture. Don’t be surprised if she becomes a flirt, now that she is beginning to wave, clap and respond when her name is called.

By the time her first birthday comes around (you’ll be surprised how quickly it does), her first word will be on the tip of her tongue—if she hasn’t said it already. Banging is a favorite activity, and she’ll really be able to fully engage with you during play.

Throughout this stage you’ll notice that your baby is excited by novelty. Games that mix the familiar (your face) with something surprising (covering it up and revealing it) are especially fun. Prepare to play plenty of peek-a-boo

Click here to choose another age or click below to learn more about:

orangebulletDEVELOPING PLAY SKILLS

orangebulletFAVORITE PLAYTHINGS

orangebulletWHAT EXPERTS SAY

orangebulletWHAT MOMS SAY

orangebulletPLAY STARTERS

DEVELOPING PLAY SKILLS

Language:

Between 6 and 12 months, your little one’s language skills are rapidly developing, and babbling vowel-consonant combinations like “ba-ba-ba” eventually give way to the milestone moment: baby’s first word. Soon you may even think you hear a “Mama” or “Dada,” and around the middle of this phase, she’ll inevitably understand the meaning of the word “no.” Children closer to a year can generally respond to your commands, such as “Put that down.” Around her first birthday, you’ll likely be hearing “Mama” and “Dada,” and she may even surprise you with one or two other words.

P.S. The first time your child says “Mama” or “Dada” it will be at random. Your excitement about hearing it will make your child realize quickly that it’s your name.

Fine Motor Skills:

Now is the time when your baby is fine-tuning her pincer grip (using her thumb and first finger to grasp things), and picking up blocks, and small balls and toys, becomes routine. (This means your baby can even pick up small objects left lying on the floor, so be careful.) Reaching and grabbing continues to be refined, and by 12 months, she may be able to hold a cup, wave and clap. At meal times, perched in her highchair, her favorite game might be, “I drop it and Mommy picks it up!”
 P.S. This is a good time to create a “busy box,” filled with an assortment of safe items to squeeze, touch and grasp and for her fingers to explore.

purplebulletGross Motor Skills:

From crawling to sitting to cruising, your baby’s gross motor skills go through a major evolution during this time. Walking is the next step!
P.S. By the end of this phase, many children are on the edge of walking. Some kids seem to focus on language first, and some focus on walking first. Don’t feel bad if only one is happening.

purplebulletSocial and Emotional Development:

Now she can respond with coos and babble when she hears her name, and she’ll enjoy interacting with everyone around her. Waving hi and goodbye is a newfound skill, and she’ll enjoy playing side-by-side with other babies of a similar age. Stranger anxiety may become noticeable.
P.S. Stranger anxiety can be a difficult stage for you, but it is a sign of cognitive development. Previously people were interchangeable to your baby. Over time, she has learned to trust and become attached to the people who are her primary caregivers. She’s also beginning to understand when you are there and when you are not. The fact that she is experiencing anxiety shows that she is learning to differentiate humans.

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FAVORITE PLAYTHINGS
  • Toys that help build gross motor skills: Seated activity centers that slowly spin, self-propelled toys that encourage crawling, stacking toys, push-and-walk toys (such as a toy lawnmower), walk-and-ride toys, press-and-pop toys
  • Toys that help build fine motor skills: Large, soft interlocking blocks; floor-based activity mats; activity balls with lots of things to grab; toys with tags; bouncy seats, stroller or swing toy bars; bath toys; baby musical instruments; shape sorters; wood puzzles with large pieces
  • Toys that promote bonding and attachment: Small stuffed animals, dolls and blanket dolls
  • Toys that promote hand-eye coordination: Rattles, press-and-pop toys, shape sorters, stacking toys, nesting toys, finger puppets, soft and board books, pop-up books
  • Toys that help build fine motor skills: Toy keys, stacking ring toys, toys your baby can swap from hand to hand
  • Toys that help develop hand-eye coordination: Seated and floor-based activity centers and music tables
  • See a full list of age-appropriate Playskool toys here.

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WHAT EXPERTS SAY

“Use your imagination. Don’t be afraid to make up activities of your own if an idea occurs to you. Use different toys that will best suit your own child.”
—Dr. Richard C. Woolfson, Bright Toddler: Understand and Stimulate Your Child’s Development

“Time-honored as any heirloom, the peek-a-boos and this-little-piggies that brought squeals of delight to your great-grandmother’s baby are guaranteed to do the same for yours. But such games do more than entertain; they improve socialization skills, teach such concepts as object permanence (peek-a-boo), coordination of words and actions (the itsy-bitsy spider), counting skills (one, two, buckle my shoe), and language skills (eyes, nose, mouth).
—Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N., What to Expect the First Year

“For yourself and your child, don’t lose your inner artist. If you reach for a set of colored pencils and some recycled computer paper, or sit down at the piano for 15 minutes while the lasagna is baking, your kids will likely do something similar. They won’t end up doing just what you do, but they’ll get the pattern.”
—Robyn Spizman and Evelyn Sacks, Eat, Nap, Play: How to Get Even More Out of Your Child’s Day For Less

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WHAT MOMS SAY

“My 6 ½-month-old daughter loves to play with various stuffed toys with dangling parts and that make noises—particularly a purple elephant. It was the first toy she ever reached out for with both hands, and then she hugged it to her chest.”
—Sarah, San Francisco, CA

“My 7-month-old is babbling “ba-ba-ba” and “da-da-da,” grabbing toys, inspecting them and trying to eat them. She loves her rattles; dropping them, throwing them and doing it over and over again. We roll on the floor with her, and my two older boys love to get down at her eye level and talk to her. When I’m in the kitchen, I put her in her highchair and let her play with spoons and clean dish towels, so she feels like a part of what I’m doing.”
—Sorrel, Acton, MA

“My daughter is almost 12 months and LOVES blocks. She’s starting to understand how shapes fit together, and she loves throwing a ball and going to get it. She loves crumpling and shredding paper, and she’s cruising and walking with assistance. She loves anything musical; she also loves board and pop-up books. We play a lot of ‘I’m going to get you!’ and hike-and-seek with me crawling on the floor. That cracks her up.”
—Beth, Brooklyn, NY

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PLAY STARTERS

Play “jumping bean”:

Bouncing exercises strengthen little legs and boost gross motor skill development.

  • Hold your baby under her arms and let her feet touch your legs.
  • Take turns lowering and lifting her into the air so she “jumps.”
  • Encourage your baby to hold your gaze for a short time.

Create an obstacle course:

Foster gross motor skills and problem-solving by putting a few obstacles in your little one’s path.

  • Once you have a confident crawler, you can design an easy obstacle course.
  • Put out cushions, pillows or stacked blankets that she can navigate around or over.

Roll a ball around:

Babies love balls, and now that she can sit up, she’s ready to play this precursor to “catch” that helps teach early hand-eye coordination, catching and throwing.

  • Roll or pass a ball to baby.
  • Encourage her to push it back toward you.
  • Bonus: Make your own silly sound effects.
  • Sit baby between your legs. Have someone roll the ball to you both and catch the ball with baby’s legs as it rolls toward you.

Read to your baby:

Even though she can’t understand everything you’re saying just yet, babies 6 to 12 months are beginning to comprehend language, and they love hearing your voice.

  • She’s starting to understand that books have pages that go in order, that there’s a right-side-up and that stories have a beginning, middle and end.
  • She’ll love the comfort she feels during your special reading times, and it’s a great way to help your child develop a love of books.
  • Encourage her to point things out to you.
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