
Written by Suma rp
An 8 month old baby is no more helpless or just a cute little bundle lying in one place. They can move, hold, throw and play on their own too. Babies at this age are ready to explore and learn new concepts. They are keen to understand how the world around them functions. Hence, keep following some top activities which aid in the developmental skills of an 8 month old baby.
Exposing your 8 month old to useful activities can accelerate their development. You cannot sit and teach an 8-month-old, but you can help them learn by playing. Activities are a great option for such learning. It helps your baby understand various aspects in their own way.
In This Article
At this stage, your baby can
Babies at this stage will find everything interesting and challenging. Here are some fun activities you can do with your 8 month old baby at this stage –
Babies love noise. They like to be noisy and will pay attention only when something is noisier than them. It can be toys, instruments, or just you making all the funny noises.
Here are a few benefits of playing noisy games with babies
Skill Development | Benefits |
Improves Perception of Sound | Babies learn to differentiate between various sounds. They can understand when it is from a toy or when you are trying to make a funny noise. Choosing what noise they are keen on also begins at this age. |
Develops Vocal Cords | Your baby will try to make more noise or mimic what you do. It will make them work their vocal cords in different ways and also test its limit. |
Your baby is keen to move at this stage. They love to watch moving toys and people. Many babies can get on all fours and try to move. Teaching them how to crawl can help them learn it faster.
Here are a few benefits of helping babies crawl
Skill Development | Benefits |
Teaches Them to Move | Babies love to attempt. When you show them how to move their limbs to crawl, they will try to mimic and thus learn faster. |
Helps Them Explore the Body’s Capabilities | At this stage, your baby loves to explore and understand their body’s capabilities. When they start crawling, they will try many other movements or try to use their hands and legs in different ways too. |
Your baby’s cognitive development is happening at a fast pace now. Babies will pay close attention when you read to them. They will love to peek into the book and see the images too.
Here are a few benefits of reading to your babies
Skill Development | Benefits |
Language Development | Regular reading habits will increase the number of words they hear and learn, it helps improve your baby’s vocabulary and fluency of speech. You can read to them in more than one language too if you want them to have good exposure. |
Improves Imagination | Books are the gateway to imagination. You can read with expressions and different voices to your baby and take them into an imaginary world. It is bound to keep them occupied for more than just a few minutes. |
By this stage, your baby can differentiate between colors. They can perceive bright and dark colors and will show preference toward one or more shades. Playing with colors can be a great way to explore and learn the color names.
Here are a few benefits of playing with colors for your babies
Skill Development | Benefits |
Promotes Creativity | When you allow your baby to do handprints or fingerprints with colors, they start exploring and understanding how a plain surface or even their hands can look colorful. They will start exploring, which will work on the creative side of their brain. |
Understand Colours | Be it toys or paint, when you keep telling the color names, it will start registering in their brain. They will start understanding which color will look bright and which will look plain or dark. They will start experimenting with colors they like |
[Read : When Do Babies Start Seeing Colors?]
Your baby can recognize voices and where they originate from, much better than they did last month. They take lesser time to respond too.
Here are a few benefits of calling the game for babies
Skill Development | Benefits |
Develops Hearing Ability | When you call from different locations, especially while hiding, it makes your baby pay attention to their ears. It improves their hearing ability and teaches them to listen even if they can’t see the source of the sound. |
Improves Focus | Your baby will have to focus to identify where you are calling from. They will learn to tune out all other distractions or sounds and focus only on their voice. |
[Read : Baby Hearing Development After Birth]
Babies love to hide and play. They love to use their hands to explore and pull out things from inside bags or bins.
Here are a few benefits of playing what is inside with your baby
Skill Development | Benefits |
Teaches About Object Permanence | They learn an object can exist, even if they can’t visually see it. |
Improves Ability to Search | When your baby knows a certain item is inside the bag, they will keep searching for it. babies don’t give up easily. Over time they get better at searching and will guess with just the feel of the object. |
[Read : Object Permanence in Babies]
Sticky is another texture your baby will learn to love. It can make them anxious at first but they will eventually enjoy playing with it.
Here are a few benefits of playing sticky ball with your baby
Skill Development | Benefits |
Teaches About Texture | Exploring things with their hands is an important part of sensorial development. They explore and understand various textures while playing with this ball. |
Improves Fine Motor Skills | As your baby tries to peel the sticky ball from their hands, they need to use their fingers more. it will help strengthen the fingers and improve mobility too. |
[Read : Baby’s Fine Motor Skill Development]
Babies love water. They can just sit in and play for hours together. Adding toys and activities to it can make it all the more interesting.
Here are a few benefits of water play for babies
Skill Development | Benefits |
Sensorial Development | Water is a very different texture compared to everything around us. They explore with their hands and fingers to understand this difference, which improves their sensorial awareness. |
Improves Motor Skills | Babies love to splash and get water everywhere. Trying to hit or throw water in different ways will work their hands and fingers in different ways, thus strengthening them. |
Your baby is getting stronger and learning quickly. They will like to do the same activity over and over again until they are better at it or achieve what they are trying to do. Age and skill-appropriate activities can do wonders for their development.
Suma is a passionate content writer with a strong keenness to understand the miracle of pregnancy, birth, and parenting. Suma has successfully transitioned into a full-time content writer and a key contributor at Being The Parent. She leverages on her experimental background in chemistry and experience in writing to come up with well-researched content that helps parents struggling to deal with various medical conditions of their children.Read more.
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