The ability to control her body has begun. This comes from the head down, and center outward from her shoulders to her fingers and hips to toes. If you watch carefully you will see the neck, then the shoulders and back strengthening.
When sitting up, she needs only slight support and may sit briefly unaided. The strength is there but not always the balance.
She can bang her rattle and shout at the same time. Soon she can simultaneously have an intention and perform an act.
She begins to look for things she drops.
She joins in activities which are centered around her.
Your child may be itching to become mobile right about now—and maybe all it takes is a little incentive to get those arms and legs working together. A toy that invites baby to crawl after it can be just the ticket to encourage trying out that skill.
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
As baby's physical skills are blossoming, play active games to exercise gross motor skills. If your baby is crawling, make a game of pushing the toy across the floor and encouraging her to chase after it. In the beginning, you may need to demonstrate the object of the game. Always remember to praise her efforts.
Make a game of simply rolling or sliding the toy back and forth across the floor to each other. It can be a good workout for baby's eye/hand coordination and manual dexterity.
Developing eye-hand coordination is one of the biggest challenges of the first year. A toy with stacking parts is a great way to put together looking and touching skills.
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
At this age, baby will be very interested in putting the rings on and off, particularly because this toy reacts to his actions. As baby puts the rings on and off and makes the music play, reinforce his understanding of cause and effect and teach some new words: “The music is on. The music is off.”
Use the toy to introduce other simple words and descriptions like big and little, top and bottom.
Help your child make connections between words and concepts by talking about the colours of this toy as your child touches it and feels it: “That’s the red star.”
Start teaching baby the familiar tunes this toy plays by singing or humming along with it.
All children develop at their own pace, and reach milestones at different times. The highlights mentioned in this web site are meant as approximate guidelines only. If you have any questions about your child's development, consult your healthcare provider.
