Enjoy the give-and-take of early “conversations” with your seven-month-old. Because those coos and babbles are not only adorable, they’re really important for language development.
He rocks on his hands and knees and may creep on his tummy
She responds to her name, recognizes voices and different tunes
With full color vision, he enjoys looking at complex objects—and might even move for a better view
Her eyes help her explore, and she uses them as a gauge when reaching out for objects
He starts cupping his hand around toys and can push them into his hand with his thumb
Shape sorters
Friendly Firsts™ Turtle Shape Sorter
Brilliant Basics™
Baby’s First Blocks
Growing Baby™ Elephant Shape Sorter
Help your baby learn more:
In and out. This is a great time to focus on concepts like "in and out" and "on and off." Encourage your baby to put a hand or a shape inside the shape sorter toy … what will happen? If he's greeted with a funny sound or musical surprise, you can bet baby will like playing the "in and out" game over and over!
One at a time. When you progress to introducing shapes, start with just one: identify it and let baby get the hang of sorting that shape before you move on to a new one. Name the shape as your child picks it up and tries to figure out where it fits.
Entertainment centers that encourage crawling and standing
Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table
Help your baby learn more:
One, two, three… Sit on the floor with baby and playfully point out a toy's features, colors and surprises. Say color names out loud as you touch each one: "This is a blue bead, this one's green and this one's purple. One, two, three beads."
Talk about things As baby makes them happen—you’ll help him understand the idea of action/reaction: "You made the music play! Listen … do you hear it? Let's spin the ball again."
Let’s get physical. Encourage your baby to get physically involved with the toy to strengthen muscles and confidence. That could mean pushing it, rolling it back and forth, crawling through it or using it to pull up to a stand.
Action/reaction toys
Brilliant Basics™
Dunk ’n Cheer™ Basketball
Stand-Up Ballcano™
Growing Baby™ Caterpillar Pop-Up
Help your baby learn more:
Talk about things as baby makes them happen—you’ll help him understand the idea of action/reaction: "You made the music play! Listen … do you hear it? Let's spin the ball again."
Color me fun. Use a toy's features to introduce your baby to various colors, saying each color name clearly as you point to it. This is the time when babies are building their receptive language skills, so the more words they hear, the more they’ll become familiar with.
You did it! Use descriptive language as your baby activates a toy: "Hear the sound the dino makes? … Look what happens when you bop the bug!"
Bat-at floor toys
Go Baby Go!™ Bat & Wobble Penguin
Bat & Crawl Rollerbar™
Help your baby learn more:
Your turn, my turn. Start with an interactive game between you and baby, maybe just rolling the toy back and forth. Set up pillow bumpers for boundaries so the toy can't roll too far. And put words with actions as you play: "back and forth," "your turn, my turn."
Ready, set, crawl. Boost baby toward crawling by picking a target and encouraging her to roll the toy to it, then retrieve it. As the toy rolls, she's likely to move toward it to start the fun all over again!
Where is it? Help baby learn to locate things by listening: show him the toy, then put it behind your back and activate the sounds. Do this several times to see if he'll crawl to you to find the source of the sound.
Children develop at their own pace and reach milestones at different times. The highlights mentioned in this website are approximate guidelines only. If you have any questions about your child's development, consult your healthcare provider.
At the Zoo
Average Rating
As your baby begins to talk, she loves making sounds. So take an imaginary trip to the zoo and learn about animals while you increase your baby’s listening and language skills.
Materials
Stuffed animals or large pictures of animals
Infant seat
Your voice
Instructions
Collect a variety of stuffed animals or large pictures of animals.
Seat your baby in her infant seat and sit facing her.
Hold up an animal or picture next to your face, so your baby can see your mouth, then make the animal’s sound.
Give your baby a chance to imitate the sound, then repeat the sound.
Hold up the next animal or picture and make the appropriate sound.
Repeat for all the animals or pictures.
Hold up the animals or pictures again, this time pausing a mument before making the animal sounds, so your baby can anticipate them.
Safety
Don’t make the sounds too loud; you don’t want to scare your baby.
How does baby’s physical development contribute to learning?
Many babies learn how to crawl at the same time they learn to sit on their own. Crawling, however, takes longer to perfect than does sitting without assistance. At six months, expect your baby to sit for a second, but balance will come later; also
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Why doesn’t my 7-month-old crawl?
Kyle, my 7½-month-old son, uses his elbows and knees to move, keeping his tummy on the floor. He will get in the crawl position then fall to his belly. He will sit only if I put him in that position. When he reaches for something he falls over. When I sign and play with him he smiles and always laughs back but doesn’t copy any of the things I show him. Should I be worried?
It doesn’t sound as though you have anything to worry about, Kristen—certainly not on the basis of what you mention in your question. In fact, it sounds as though you are descoting my son at that age. He couldn’t get into a sitting position by him
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What kinds of toys and games encourage accomplishments?
Babies can have lots of fun with simple toys. Look for toys that provide different responses to different actions, such as a squeak toy that rewards baby's squeeze, or a musical toy that responds when baby presses a button.
It is during these
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