Activities 6-12 Months

Sit opposite your baby with a small pile of blocks between you. Build a small tower (2-3 blocks) for them and let them knock it down. Encourage them to try and balance one block on top of another, rebuilding your tower each time it is knocked down. You can count to three as you build and chat about the colour of your blocks – adding some silliness and smiles to this will make it a favorite game!

Once your baby is stable sitting, and has good head and neck control you can encourage participating rhymes like pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, and row,row,row your boat. They will also love to be bounced gently on your knee; have them sit on your knee and hold their hands and wrists. You can sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you and sing, The Grand Old Duke of York, gently bouncing baby on your knee; as the duke marches up the hill pull your feet in so that your knees are raised up and drop them down again as the duke marches down – bouncing all the while, your baby will be delighted. These types of short action rhymes encourage interactions, anticipated routines and body awareness.

Choose a simple open container, like a small shoebox or an unbreakable bowl, place 3-4 small items inside; ensure that these are big enough not to be a choking hazard – you can use the film canister test if you are unsure. Your little one will love tipping them out and eventually will progress to putting them back in – although initially they will need your help with this. This is particularly effective if some of the items make a noise! You can chat to your baby about what they are doing – and get excited when they manage to get all of the items in and out! Serious silliness and lots of smiles!

As your baby moves through this stage you will find that they start to take some of their own weight and try to stand up if you are holding them upright. It is great to hold them like this on your lap as it allows them to stand eye to eye; they will examine your face and watch as you have a laugh and a chat. As they begin to take more of their own weight you can offer them your fingers and help them to pull themselves up...they will be so proud and full of smiles...especially if you smile back and offer them congratulations!

It may still be beneficial to choose books with simple images and pictures and no detailed story line. If it has pictures that you can comment on and things to point out it will encourage more developmental skills. You can encourage your bright wee spark to point things out in the picture, demonstrate how to do this using your index finger. Label things and talk about them – use descriptive words. You may also find that you start getting some help turning the pages. Fostering these reading skills builds a love of learning.