Child development and play
Child development and play ages 7 months to 1 years old
Find information about child development and play based on your child's age. Remember that all children are unique and will reach development milestones at a time and rate that’s unique to them.
Read more about child development and play for children aged:
7 months old
Physical development:
- bounces when held in the standing position
- use their feet to assist in grasping objects
- bears more weight on their legs
- beginning to crawl
Social and emotional development:
- recognises people from across the room
- responds to a stranger with fear, crying or reaching out for their carer
- still learning about their world through taste and touch
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- responds to talking by making sounds
- responds to their name
- babbles sounds such as, “m” or “ba”
- beginning to recognise simple words such as, “hi,” “dog” or “ball”
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- sing and read to your baby
- talk to your baby when doing everyday activities such as food shopping
- encourage floor play
- make a treasure basket using everyday safe objects from around the home such as a spoon, tooth brush, whisk, and peg
8 months old
Physical development:
- your baby will be able to pass an object from one hand to their other hand
- sit up without support
- roll from front to back and back to front
- can crawl or trying to crawl
- using the raking grasp with their fingers
- bangs toys together
- put their feet in their mouth while lying on their back
Social and emotional development:
- your baby will begin to respond to other emotions, with sadness or happiness
- spots objects they want from across the room
- is able to grasp the concept of “cause and effect”
- responds when talked to and makes sounds back
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- your baby will be able to string vowel sounds together when “talking” such as, “eh,” “oh,” “ah”
- understands basic words
- responds to their name
- makes specific sounds attached to emotions such as, happy or frustrated sounds
- babbles consonant sounds, such as “m” or “b"
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- read and sing to your baby
- roll a ball to your baby
- encourage floor play, stacking bricks or cups
- name familiar objects, giving your baby time to try to repeat the words back to you
9 months old
Physical development:
- crawling, either on their hands and knees or dragging one leg or commando crawling or bottom shuffling
- can move from being on their stomach to a sitting position
- cruising along furniture
- beginning to stand unaided
- pulls to knees or standing
Social and emotional development:
- points or moves to an object that they want
- drinking from a free flow cup
- self feeds finger foods. Read more about solid foods and reducing the risk of choking
- waves “bye bye”
- beginning to show curiosity
- begins to express separation anxiety
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- beginning to say simple words such as “ma” and “da”
- babbles
- can see different colours
- beginning to have favourite foods
- exploring how things work
- understands the word, “no”
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- giving your baby containers they can open and close
- read some board books, your baby will start to point to pictures of interest. Name the objects your baby points to
- sing to your baby
- follow your baby’s signals, let them take the lead in play
- place your baby close to furniture to help them pull themselves up
10 months old
Physical development:
- your baby will be starting to squat
- stands without aid
- beginning to take steps
- can stack toys such as cups or bricks
- while holding onto furniture, your baby will begin to bend down and pick up toys
- lower themselves down with control from the standing position
Social and emotional development:
- your baby will love to hear music
- can follow simple commands such as when holding out your hand and saying, “give it to me”
- enjoys playing games such as “clap hands” or “peek- a -boo”
- beginning to help dress themselves such as, guiding their arms through a sleeve, when their arm is started in the hole
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- your baby will be starting to show new personality traits
- they will be understanding attachment to meanings, such as getting their shoes when you say you’re going “bye bye”
- making sounds such as, “da,” “ga,” “ka,” and “ba”
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- make a story book for your child with photos of family members
- read to your baby
- sing to your baby
- hide objects while your baby watches and allow your baby to ‘discover’ the object
- emptying and filling boxes with safe household objects
11 months old
Physical development:
- your baby will begin to take steps holding onto your hand
- your baby will be able to place toys down with control
- throw a ball using one hand
- turn pages in a book
Social and emotional development:
- when you hold out your hand asking for the toy your baby is holding, they will give it to you
- your baby will lift their foot when you put their shoe on
- cuddle soft toys or a doll
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- when you ask your baby simple questions such as, “where is the ball?” Your baby will look at the object
- your baby will point for what he would like
- can scribble back and forth with a crayon on paper
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- encourage, for example, play with dolls or soft toys, demonstrating cuddling, talking to, feeding
- attach strips of masking tape on your floor and encourage your baby to peal the tape off
- practice walking, holding your baby’s hand/s
- read to your baby
- sing to your baby
- playing with cardboard boxes
1-year-old
Physical development:
- beginning to take steps alone
- pulls up to standing and walks holding onto furniture alone
- sits on the floor for long periods of time
- may crawl upstairs
Social and emotional development:
- your baby will hand you a book when they want you to read to them
- they will cry when you leave
- your baby will be shy around strangers
- has favourite toys
- holds a spoon and attempts to feed themselves
Cognitive, communication and speech development:
- your baby will repeat sounds to get your attention
- is saying “mama” and “dada”
- babbling sounds more like speech
- beginning to repeat words you say
- find hidden objects
- beginning to realise everyday objects have a purpose such as, brushing teeth with a tooth brush
Ideas to encourage your baby to learn and play:
- playing with picture cards
- making ‘music’ with everyday objects
- ‘hide and seek’ with objects
- read to your baby, prompt your baby to point to pictures when you read
- sing to your baby
- encourage your baby to say “hello” and “good bye”
