Activities for 9 Month Olds

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In the last few months, your baby’s play routines have probably started to change from relatively stationary to a bit more mobile. Once babies learn to sit independently, it’s only a matter of time before they move into the beginning stages of crawling. Plus, your little one has also been learning how to play functionally with toys and has likely found their voice with early 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’ve seen a lot of change with your baby over the past few months, but this upcoming developmental stage is a big one. Your little stationary baby is about to take off, and Eat Play Say is here to help you get ready for it.

9 month milestones

Keeping up with the daily changes nine months old undergo should be an Olympic sport. Remembering all the milestones they are tackling can feel overwhelming in the midst of all the change!

One of the best ways to check and see how your baby is developing is by supporting their skill building during play!

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

These are just a few of the milestones we look for in 9 month olds. You can check and see where your baby is at and where they may need extra support by downloading our free milestone checklist for ages 0-36 months!

Developmental activities for 9 month olds

Almost any activity you do with your nine month old will be beneficial to their development. Social play, for example, in early childhood (like right now) helps littles build their critical thinking and problem solving skills well into elementary school. (1)

For some specific skills building, keep reading below. We’ll cover fine motor, gross motor, crafts, and sensory activities together.

Here are our top 5 activities for 9 month olds:

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 inside for them to crawl through 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 and watch them spin down to the bottom! Some words to model during this activity are: “go, stop, top, spin, fast, slow, more, all done.” Remember to pause and give your little one the chance to imitate you! 

Play peek-a-boo: Peek-a-boo is a guaranteed way to get some of those adorable baby giggles and laughs. Repetition is really important for infants, which means you cannot wear this game out. Since your baby probably already knows the routine of peek-a-boo, you can focus on encouraging 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 gross motor skills develop, your little will begin pulling to stand and trying to take their first steps. A toy shopping cart or activity walker can help encourage those skills! Baby can bear some weight on their legs and some weight on the walker, which helps them get the confidence to walk!

Books: Even when your little one starts to move away from you, books are still amazing play tools. Remember, imitation is huge, and books are the perfect way to get your little one imitating basic sounds! There’s no better time to start saying “moo!” and “baaa!” You can make any book work, but here are some of my favorites for this age.

Sensory activities for 9 month olds

A quick Google search will reveal countless articles about the benefits of sensory play. Intuitively, adults know how great sensory input can be too: have you ever had a massage, fallen asleep at the hair salon, or listened to the pitter patter of rain on your roof?

For babies, everything is still brand new. Imagine how it must feel!

Our favorite sensory activities for 9 month olds are:

• Have a dance party! Put on some jams (feel free to use our party playlist!) and move your arms to the beat. Stomp your feet, clap your hands, and wiggle your hips. Wait and see if your baby tries to imitate you. If music hasn’t become a fan favorite yet, it soon will!
• Water play! During bathtime (or do it for extra fun during the day), grab some long handled measuring cups and model scooping and pouring the water. Practicing in the tub helps encourage your little one to utilize their spoon scooping skills in a low-pressure and mess-free environment.

Crafts for 9 month olds

Arts and crafts provide lots of benefits for development. Our occupational therapist always offers the best easy crafts that can be done start to finish in 10 minutes or less! Plus, there’s no fancy equipment or supplies required.

Our top crafts for 9 month olds really emphasize pincer grasp development. 

Our favorite crafts for 9 month olds are:

Pompom heart wreath

1. To set the craft up, draw a large heart on a paper plate, then draw a smaller heart inside of it. You will cut outside of the large heart and inside the small heart to make a heart shaped “wreath.”
2. Spread glue all over the wreath, then model using your pincer grasp (your pointer finger and thumb isolated as a “pincer”) to pick up one pom pom at a time and place it onto the heart. You can also use tissue paper!
3. Tip: let your nine month old rip up tissue paper and then glue it on the wreath for them!