Are you in need of some simple and developmental activities for 8 months old babies? Finding and sharing simple activities for littles is my specialty and I am happy to be able to help!
At 8 months old, your baby is starting to become more and more mobile. You may notice that your baby is noisier too! 8-month-olds tend to find their voice and use it!
The changes from one month to the next are incredible!
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Common Milestones for a 8 Month Old Baby
Here is a list of common milestones for 8-month-old babies. Remember, these are just average milestones! All babies meet milestones at different rates. If you are concerned about any of these milestones, consult your pediatrician.
1. Sitting unassisted
As baby’s core muscles strengthen, they will begin to sit up unassisted.
2. Preparing to Crawl
You may notice your baby on their hands and knees, rocking back and forth, or even crawling backward. These stages are a precursor to crawling!
3. Pincer Grasp
8 month olds are beginning to work on their pincer grasp. This grasp is the building block for (eventually) writing and doing other fine motor activities.
4. Pulling up on Furniture
As scary as it may seem, 8-month-olds can begin to pull up on furniture! Just be mindful of the items you have within their reach!
5. Making Sounds Back to You
Your baby is finding their voice and learning about conversation through your example. Be sure to chat with them often and encourage them to make sounds back to you!
6. Passing Objects
This is a great opportunity to learn about sharing with others. They will pass objects from hand to hand and back and forth to others.
What to Expect from Your 8-Month-Old
Aside from the milestones, your baby is making all sorts of developments at this age. You may be seeing things like:
- Increased motor control
- Pointing
- Developing an attachment to blanket or stuffed animal
- Crawling
- Cruising
Fine Motor Skills for 8-month-olds
Fine motor skills are starting to be more controlled by your 8-month-old. They are starting to explore toys more and continually baby improves their use of their pincer grasp to pick up small objects.
Your baby’s fine motor skills are starting to emerge. Babies start exploring toys that have different parts on them, so they can figure out how it all fits together.
You may notice your baby is able to hold an object in one hand, and their coordination skills increase. An example is being able to pick up food off their plate and putting it into their mouth, which takes hand-eye coordination.
Gross Motor Skills for 8 Month Olds
Gross motor skill improvements emerge around this age range. Lots of babies start to crawl, scoot, and maybe even cruise. Starting at 8 months there beings to be a lot of movement, since your baby is able to roll over, sit unassisted, stand up and down, and cruise.
The ability to crawl or scoot shows that your baby’s gross motor skills are really starting to develop.
Communication Skills
Communication skills are improved with the help of verbal and nonverbal cues. Your 8-month-old is beginning to understand things you are saying and tone of voice.
Your baby may be able to point at things they want, start to imitate some sounds that sound familiar, recognize other people’s facial expressions, and imitate hand gestures! This is where children start using basic gestures to communicate what they need or want so it’s important for parents to observe these cues!
Social Skills
At 8 months old, your baby is working on his/her social skills. As their cognitive abilities grow, you’ll notice they react differently in social situations.
Your baby may start to wave to people or may act shy. Stranger or separation anxiety may develop at this time, or they may want to smile at every person they see. It all depends on your baby and their personality.
15 Developmental Activities for 8-Month-Old Babies
1. Playing with Building Blocks
Building blocks are such a fantastic way for children to learn about the world around them. Watching them realize and discover how to stack their blocks to make a mini tower is one of the most gratifying moments of watching your child develop.
2. Peek-a-Boo
Everyone has played some version of peek-a-boo. I know my kids used to love playing peek-a-boo so much that their laughter would make it hard for them to breathe!
3. Crawling to Different Objects
One of the best ways to teach your child to crawl is with bribery. As awful as it may sound, making them retrieve a toy from your hand is a great way for you to get their little bodies mobile.
You can also ask them to go get something across the room to help them start to learn their object and/or color identification.
4. Walking Practice
Helping your baby start walking is a great way to keep them engaged with you while also training their muscles to get ready for their first steps. These practice sessions are one of the most important activities you can do with your little one.
5. Play with Stacker Toys
Stacker toys are a great activity to do with 8-month-old babies! Stacker toys have great benefits like learning about the size of objects, different colors, and textures, and even balance!
6. Play with Pots and Pans
Playing with pots and pans is so much fun for little ones to play with and an easy way to entertain them. Little ones love making noise!
7. Taste Testing
Trying new foods is a great experience for little ones! The different textures and tastes are great for stimulating their senses.
8. Read
Reading to your baby is a great way for them to hear new words and see fun and bright pictures. Babies start learning about reading and talking far before they can do either!
9. Water Play
When I was a new mom, someone wise told me that my babies would be happiest in the water. Water play offers babies to develop hand eye coordination along with fine and gross motor skills.
10. Sensory Books
Sensory books are fun for babies to play with. Some are crinkly, some make noise or have bright pictures. These types of books help to stimulate your babies’ senses!
11. Playing with Pom-Poms
These large felt pom poms are a great object to have that is rather open ended. These pom poms can be played with by themselves, fit in different objects like cups or bowls and even be pretend food!
12. Make Some Noise
Find some noisy things around the house and let your baby make noise!
13. Make Believe Play
Playing with stuffed animals, dolls, puppets, plastic animals, etc is a great way to encourage independent play!
14. Music
Turn up some jams or play with instruments! From a young age babies can recognize a beat. Children love lots of different types of music and it is great for their developing brains to hear!
15. Take a Nature Walk
Taking a walk is something that my babies always enjoy. There are lots of new sights, sounds, and even smells that will help to stimulate your baby and encourage learning about the environment around them.
As your babies get older, and more independent you may notice that it is easier to do different activities with them! This is especially exciting because it shows that their hard work is paying off!
What are your favorite activities to do with 8-month-old babies? Let me know in the comments below!
Marissa is a pediatric Occupational Therapist and mom of three children. She started this website to help moms, teachers, homeschool parents, and therapists find resources and ideas to teach their young children and students through play-based learning.