Playtime Activity: 8-12 Months

Now that your baby is sitting independently and has better control over her movements, you can use plastic dishware out of your kitchen cabinets to play a fun game. Nest a few smaller pieces inside larger pieces. Put the lid on and hand it to your baby. See if she can get the lid off. She will love trying to figure out what's inside and will of course love dumping everything out. Babies at this stage of development already understand the concept of cause and effect and now love learning about the functional use of objects, so also consider providing some other items to put in the containers (e.g., Cheerios).

Possible Intervention Strategies & Supports

• If your baby has difficulty removing the lid from the container, put it on loosely so that she can still do it herself. Remember that babies love the element of surprise involved in exploring and would prefer to do it themselves.

• Toys that offer the chance to manipulate objects with hands and fingers are great during this age range. Toys with pop-up doors, balls to drop in large openings, and toys with knobs to turn are all great for practicing important hand movement skills.

• If you put a crunchy snack in the Tupperware, shake it and say “shake-shake.” Then, hand the Tupperware to your baby to take a turn. If your baby doesn’t take a turn shaking it, continue to model the action with the word a few more times. Then, provide hand-over-hand help.

• If your baby’s sitting balance is stable enough to play with both hands free, encourage her to bang two objects together.

Tips

Create a “safe” cabinet in your kitchen for your baby. This could be the one cabinet on her eye level that she is allowed to explore. Fill this cabinet with Tupperware along with a few large plastic spoons. She will enjoy taking everything out…and it's very likely going to be everything!

Family Handout

Click here to download an editable one-page handout of this age range's playtime activity, interventions, and tips.