As babies become more mobile
they become more independent and
eager to make new discoveries.
Your baby "thinks" with her
hands and mouth giving her many
new and different items to
discover.
Grasping (have 2 or 3 objects
ready)
• Baby should sit in front of
you. Offer her an item in
different ways i.e. turn it
upside down, twist it etc.
Repeat this with all the items.
This is an important exercise as
it helps baby realise that the
same item can feel and look
different. It also helps the
development of hand dexterity.
• Take a large container and
a few blocks, balls or a range
of objects. Encourage baby to
put them in the container, then
tip it out, then put them in
again. If interest in the
container and the items is lost,
put them away so the game does
not become stale. Next time you
play, it will be a whole new
experience.
• Babies love opening drawers
because there is so much to
discover! In the beginning it
will be difficult for baby to
open heavy drawers, but
eventually curiosity will get
the better of her. Fill the
bottom drawer in the kitchen
with things that are safe to
play with, then 'agree' that it
is ok to play with that
particular drawer. Baby will
enjoy having her own little
compartment. By the way, if you
worry about the little one
having trapped fingers, stick
some draft excluder tape on the
top of the drawer. You can
easily take it off without
leaving any marks and it won't
allow the drawer to shut.
7 to 8 months
At about 7-8 months your baby
learns the relationship between
her actions and the
consequences. Through this baby
develops the ability to think
ahead.
• Give your baby a piece of
baking paper. She should be
excited to play with this.
Eventually she should screw it
up into a ball and put it in her
mouth, she'll then see that once
it is wet she can no longer play
with it in the same way.
Helping Baby Crawl
• Put your baby on her belly
and put a toy on the floor about
15cm/6inches away. You can move
the ball slowly left and right
to encourage movement.
For a slightly harder
exercise hold the toy in the air
a little. This is much more
challenging for your baby as she
has to reach up with one arm
whilst balancing with the other.
• If your baby can't lift her
belly despite a lot of effort,
you can help him along a little.
Take a length of soft fabric
approximately 5" wide, put it
around baby's chest like a belt
and keep hold of both ends. Now
lift your baby a little bit so
she can balance easily on his
knees and hands. If your baby
does not like this, stop
immediately and if she starts a
'swimming' motion, it is too
early in her development for
this exercise.
• You and a partner sit on
the floor opposite each other
with your legs out creating a
'ladder'. Put baby at the start
of the ladder and a toy at the
other end to encourage her to
crawl over it. To make it a
little more tricky lift your
legs off the floor slightly to
increase the amount of
co-ordination needed to overcome
the obstacle.
• Set out some big boxes,
chairs or other large items into
a slalom course so your baby has
to crawl his way through them.
Your baby will learn
co-ordination and how to adapt
to new circumstances. If your
baby is unsure what to do, you
should demonstrate the slalom
course to her.
If your baby is a confident
crawler, she will soon want new
challenges and will look for
every opportunity to pull
herself up. Nothing is safe:
sofas, coffee tables, even dogs!
Suddenly she'll be standing on
her own two feet and tentatively
taking small steps to the side
holding on for support.
Eventually she'll gain the
strength and confidence to take
her first independent steps.
• Football from the side:
when your baby is standing
supported by a coffee table etc
hang a ball on a piece of string
next to his feet. She will soon
try to kick out at this from the
side. This exercise encourages a
sense of balance as baby moves
from two feet onto one then back
again.
If your baby can walk let her
experience different textures
underfoot. Carpet,
wooden/laminate flooring, tiles,
doormats and grass should all
provide new interesting
feelings.
It is important to remember
that your baby only needs shoes
when outside to protect her feet
from the cold and wet. When
indoors, she should walk
barefoot (or perhaps slip proof
socks if it is cold) as often as
possible.
