How to play with a 10-12 months baby?

Your super hero is gearing up to celebrate his 1st birthday? By now, he would be able to stand and take baby steps with support. Starting from this age, babies are always on the move and busy doing something or the other. So parents, brace up yourself for the fun time ahead!! 

I have listed down few activities to give you an idea as how to engage your kids as he steps into the last quarter of his 1st year. If you want to know how to engage your 6months old, do check out the post here. These activities may trigger new ideas in you to help your child develop physical, motor and communicative skills. Also remember, each child is different and so is their growth. Do not compare your child's development with other kid's milestones and loose peace over it. In case of any doubts/ concerns about your kids growth, consult your pediatrician.

What to expect from a 10-12 months old?

• Sits without support
• Pulls up and stands with support
• Walk with support
• Have better hand-eye coordination
• Can grab or pick something using thumb and index finger (called pincer grasp)
• Utter small words like mama, papa, dada etc.
• Develop object permanence 

Blocks can be fun:

At this age, babies are curious to grasp and explore objects. Colourful blocks entice them. They would not be able to stack them yet, but will enjoy holding and throwing them. Try building a big tower and see the twinkle in those tiny eyes and the mischief in those little hands. You might end up building the tower again and again, but it is totally worth the effort.

Stacking:

Stacking toys could be a good option for kids to develop hand-eye coordination and spatial relation. Everyday objects can often be best toys. Apart from stacking rings, plastic containers and cups are also good options to play. They may not be able to stack these perfectly, but will eventually get better. We can give them containers/ cups of different sizes and show them how to nest small ones inside the big ones. Dirt free rocks of medium size (light weight) are also good for stack-push-repeat game.  

Peekaboo with objects:

By now, the child naturally begins to understand that her favourite people and toys exist even when they are not visible. This concept is known as object permanence. Games like hide and seek and peekaboo, helps to develop this important cognitive skill in your child. Try playing peekaboo by partly covering her favourite teddy bear or dancing duck behind her blanket or pillow. 

Play hide and seek:

Try to play hide and seek with your kiddo. But don't scare him, by completely hiding. Call out his name "Where is papa? Find me". Allow him to find you and let him feel he did a good job at locating you. 

Play with balls:

Balls are kids all time favourite toys. They are very versatile, inexpensive and readily available. They help develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination in children. Your child will be fascinated by a ball's continuous movement. Show him how to roll, throw, catch and bounce a ball. At this stage, offer him balls that are of light weight and big enough not to choke. 

Filling/dumping containers:

Give your child a plastic jar with wide mouth and few toys. Teach her how to put the toys inside the jar and take them out. You might often find her turn the jar upside down to dump out everything. This activity helps her improve focus, spatial relation and motor control.

 

Playing with fruits:

Sit down with your little one after your grocery trip. Give her fruits of different shapes, sizes and textures like orange, papaya, watermelon, mango, apple etc. and see her explore, toss and roll them. She will eventually end up licking or biting them. So wash the fruits thoroughly before handing them over. You can also tell her the fruits name one by one.

Encourage walking:

Try to offer push or walker toys to develop balancing and walking in your kid. You can also give him a carton stuffed with something, laundry basket with clothes or anything that offers resistance, stability and light enough to be pushed by the baby. This helps to strengthen his muscles and enjoy moving independently. But guard him always, just in case to support when he loses balance. 

Water play:

Children of all ages love to play with water. When your little one is in bath tub, hand over cups, glasses or plastic bottles to her. You will hear those giggles when she tries to pour water from one container to the other. This water play with containers, helps infant work on grasping and coordination skills and physical fitness as they lift, pour and empty those objects. 

  

Tearing papers:

This will become another favourite activity once your child gets a hang of it. Give him an old magazine or a book and wait until he finds out the trick to tear a page and then there is no stopping him. He will absolutely love the ripping sound and think its all fun. But he is in fact working on his fingers-hand strength, hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

Dancing:
We elders, cannot restrict ourselves from tapping the foot, nodding our head or swaying our body to the rhythm and tempo of music. The same applies to infants too. Music attracts them and they naturally end up wabbling, bouncing up and down, swaying left to right and nodding their head. They may not be great dancers yet. But they absolutely love to move in sync with the rhythm and that their way of expression. Join a leg with them and have fun.   

Apart from the activities listed above, continue to read books to them, take them out for a walk and explain everything that you come across, sing to them, hug them often, appreciate small things that they do, wish them good morning-good night, etc. These however small/ trivial they may appear, have great impact in their learning experience. The more we engage them, the better they grasp and learn!! 

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