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Up until this point, baby’s play routines have probably started to change from relatively stationary to a bit more mobile as baby is learning to sit independently and is likely in the beginning stages of crawling. Your little one has also been learning how to play functionally with toys and has likely found their voice with some babbling sounds.

All of those speech and motor skills are about to take off even more!

Imitation is the name of the game at this stage! You have seen a lot of change with your baby over these past few months, but let me tell you, this next developmental stage is a BIG one! Get ready for this FUN ride!

What do we expect?

At 9 months old, your little one should be:

Sitting independently and reaching for objects
Starting to crawl on their hands and knees
Transferring toys and objects between both hands
Engaging appropriately with developmental toys + engaging for longer durations of time
Producing and imitating repetitive sounds (think “ba ba ba” “ma ma ma”)
Starting to imitate basic actions
Communicating with vocalizations, eye contact, and some gestures
Shifting attention between an activity and caregiver to share

Now these are just some of the milestones you should expect your baby to be doing around this age. Your little one is changing FAST! It can be overwhelming to have to remember all the milestones and changes for your baby, BUT we’ve got you covered! We made it easy for you by putting ALL the milestones from speech and language, fine motor, and gross motor in one place from ages 0-24 months! Wahoo! Thanks, EPS Team!

As we just talked about, there are a lot of milestones your baby is going to be meeting, but let’s focus for a second on the speech and language development.

Did you know by 12 months your baby is expected to understand 50 words?

Even though your baby isn’t quite there yet at 9 months of age, THIS is where you set that foundation! Your interactions with them and how they play is going to help them achieve their milestones!

Imitation is now a huge part of your little one’s play, BUT that doesn’t mean you have to constantly say, “say __”. You actually never have to use the phrase “say __” to get your child to imitate sounds and words!

The way to get them to imitate a sound or word is simply by saying it.

Let me set the scene. You and your little one are playing with blocks and building towers to knock them down. While doing this, you notice you keep saying the word “boom” every time you two are knocking the tower down. Instead of saying to your little one, “say boom,” ……. you just say “boom”. Then the next time your little one goes to knock the tower down, wait and pause to see if they try to imitate. (Trust me, removing the “say” goes a longgggg way.)

Ready to watch these skills come to life? Here are some fun play ideas for your 9-month-old!

Tunnel crawl: A fun way to encourage your little one to get in a crawling position is to use a tunnel during play! Use the tunnel by itself or hide your child’s favorite (smaller) toys for them to crawl and retrieve them! Even though this toy is big when expanded, it folds up and stores easily! You can even use it outside in the grass!
Giant spinning gear tower: This is a really fun toy that can help elicit some great language! Help your little one put the spinning rings on the top of the stick and watch them spin allllll the way down to the bottom! Some words to model during this activity are: “go, stop, top, spin, fast, slow, more, all done.”
Play peek-a-boo: Peek-a-boo is a guaranteed way to get some of those adorable baby giggles and laughs! I’m sure playing peek-a-boo has been on your activity list already, but remember repetition is GOOD! And since your little one knows the play routine of peek-a-boo, you can focus on getting them to imitate you! Cover your face with your hands as you say “peek-a….” then WAIT to see if your little one fills in “boo!”
Shopping cart: As your little one’s gross motor skills continue to develop, you’re going to see them begin pulling to stand and trying to take their first steps! A toy shopping cart or activity walker can help encourage those skills!
Books: Just because your little one is on the move doesn’t mean you have to stop reading books with them! Like I mentioned before, imitation is the name of the game and books are the perfect way to get your little one imitating all kinds of basic sounds! (Hello, farm animal books, this is your cue)! You can make any book work, but here are some of my favorites for this age!

Language & Play are Everywhere!

I know it can seem overwhelming having to keep up with your child’s development skills since they are rapidly changing. But, remember, language is everywhere, and you can make anything a developmental opportunity! I hope these play ideas have inspired you and you try to incorporate them at home! You and your little one are doing great!