An 8 month old baby is no more helpless or just a cute little bundle lying in one place. They can move, hold, throw and play on their own too. Babies at this age are ready to explore and learn new concepts. They are keen to understand how the world around them functions. Hence, keep following some top activities which aid in the developmental skills of an 8 month old baby.
Exposing your 8 month old to useful activities can accelerate their development. You cannot sit and teach an 8-month-old, but you can help them learn by playing. Activities are a great option for such learning. It helps your baby understand various aspects in their own way.
In This Article
- What Activities Can You Expect From a 8 Month Old Baby?
- Top Fun and Engaging Activities For a 8 Month Old Baby
What Activities Can You Expect From a 8 Month Old Baby?
At this stage, your baby can
- Roll over both sides with ease or at least one way comfortably. Rolling the other way might require a little effort or incentive.
- Sit up with enough support for a few minutes before they topple to one side or try to reach forward to grab things
- Show interest in standing up with support
- They may stand for a few seconds before they sit back down. With a little time and patience, this duration will increase slowly
- Make cute noises and babble when you speak to them
- Make eye contact and follow moving items with their eyes
Top Fun And Engaging Activities For a 8 Month Old Baby
Babies at this stage will find everything interesting and challenging. Here are some fun activities you can do with your 8 month old baby at this stage –
1. Noisy Games
Babies love noise. They like to be noisy and will pay attention only when something is noisier than them. It can be toys, instruments, or just you making all the funny noises.
What You Will Need?
- Noisy toys or instruments
- Yourself
- A well-fed and rested baby (noise can be overstimulation for a tired or hungry baby)
Top Benefits of Playing Noisy Games With 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of playing noisy games with babies
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Improves Perception of Sound | Babies learn to differentiate between various sounds. They can understand when it is from a toy or when you are trying to make a funny noise. Choosing what noise they are keen on also begins at this age. |
| Develops Vocal Cords | Your baby will try to make more noise or mimic what you do. It will make them work their vocal cords in different ways and also test its limit. |
Tips For Parents
- Use toys and instruments your baby can experiment with too.
- Just get creative and use funny noises. Your baby won’t judge.
2. Helping Babies Crawl
Your baby is keen to move at this stage. They love to watch moving toys and people. Many babies can get on all fours and try to move. Teaching them how to crawl can help them learn it faster.
What You Will Need?
- Yourself
- Your baby
- Clean and safe space to crawl around in
Top Benefits of Helping Babies Crawl
Here are a few benefits of helping babies crawl
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Teaches Them to Move | Babies love to attempt. When you show them how to move their limbs to crawl, they will try to mimic and thus learn faster. |
| Helps Them Explore the Body’s Capabilities | At this stage, your baby loves to explore and understand their body’s capabilities. When they start crawling, they will try many other movements or try to use their hands and legs in different ways too. |
Tips For Parents
- Do not put on kneecaps to protect their knees. It will only delay crawling as it can be slippery and discourage the baby.
- Crawl and show them how it is done.
- Keep their favorite toys just slightly away from them and encourage them to crawl.
3. Reading to Your Babies
Your baby’s cognitive development is happening at a fast pace now. Babies will pay close attention when you read to them. They will love to peek into the book and see the images too.
What You Will Need?
- Yourself
- Your baby in a good mood
- Interesting books
Top Benefits of Reading to Your 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of reading to your babies
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Language Development | Regular reading habits will increase the number of words they hear and learn, it helps improve your baby’s vocabulary and fluency of speech. You can read to them in more than one language too if you want them to have good exposure. |
| Improves Imagination | Books are the gateway to imagination. You can read with expressions and different voices to your baby and take them into an imaginary world. It is bound to keep them occupied for more than just a few minutes. |
Tips For Parents
- Start with hard-bound books your baby can hold or flip on their own.
- Choose books with bright illustrations.
- Phonetic storybooks can help improve language faster.
4. Playing With Colors
By this stage, your baby can differentiate between colors. They can perceive bright and dark colors and will show preference toward one or more shades. Playing with colors can be a great way to explore and learn the color names.
What You Will Need?
- Colorful toys
- Baby safe paints
- Big chart or paper
- Waste cloth
- Baby apron
Top Benefits of Playing With Colours For 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of playing with colors for your babies
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Promotes Creativity | When you allow your baby to do handprints or fingerprints with colors, they start exploring and understanding how a plain surface or even their hands can look colorful. They will start exploring, which will work on the creative side of their brain. |
| Understand Colours | Be it toys or paint, when you keep telling the color names, it will start registering in their brain. They will start understanding which color will look bright and which will look plain or dark. They will start experimenting with colors they like |
Tips For Parents
- Use dark-colored or old clothes when you let your baby paint or play with colors.
- Use an apron to avoid getting paint over themselves or their clothes.
- Be patient and mentally prepared to clean up a big mess.
- Use newspapers to protect your floor.
[Read : When Do Babies Start Seeing Colors?]
5. The Calling Game
Your baby can recognize voices and where they originate from, much better than they did last month. They take lesser time to respond too.
What You Will Need?
- Yourself
- Your baby
- A volunteer
Top Benefits of the Calling Game For 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of calling the game for babies
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Develops Hearing Ability | When you call from different locations, especially while hiding, it makes your baby pay attention to their ears. It improves their hearing ability and teaches them to listen even if they can’t see the source of the sound. |
| Improves Focus | Your baby will have to focus to identify where you are calling from. They will learn to tune out all other distractions or sounds and focus only on their voice. |
Tips For Parents
- Keep moving around the room and calling.
- Use different tones and pitches to increase their awareness.
- Have a volunteer join you. Hearing two different voices will sharpen their hearing ability more.
[Read : Baby Hearing Development After Birth]
6. What is Inside
Babies love to hide and play. They love to use their hands to explore and pull out things from inside bags or bins.
What You Will Need?
- A bag or bin filled with odd items
- Active baby
Top Benefits of Playing What is Inside With 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of playing what is inside with your baby
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Teaches About Object Permanence | They learn an object can exist, even if they can’t visually see it. |
| Improves Ability to Search | When your baby knows a certain item is inside the bag, they will keep searching for it. babies don’t give up easily. Over time they get better at searching and will guess with just the feel of the object. |
Tips For Parents
- Ensure the items in the bag are not sharp.
- Mix new items with your baby’s favorite items.
- Include items of various textures.
[Read : Object Permanence in Babies]
7. Sticky Ball
Sticky is another texture your baby will learn to love. It can make them anxious at first but they will eventually enjoy playing with it.
What You Will Need?
- Few balls small enough for your baby to hold properly
- Sticky tape
- Surface free of other items
Top Benefits of Playing Sticky Ball With 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of playing sticky ball with your baby
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Teaches About Texture | Exploring things with their hands is an important part of sensorial development. They explore and understand various textures while playing with this ball. |
| Improves Fine Motor Skills | As your baby tries to peel the sticky ball from their hands, they need to use their fingers more. it will help strengthen the fingers and improve mobility too. |
Tips For Parents
- Ensure there are no small items that can stick to the ball.
- Change the tape often as the stickiness will reduce and also accumulate a lot of dirt.
- Ensure your baby does not mouth the ball.
[Read : Baby’s Fine Motor Skill Development]
8. Water Play
Babies love water. They can just sit in and play for hours together. Adding toys and activities to it can make it all the more interesting.
What You Will Need?
- A spacious tub filled with water
- Your baby and yourself
Top Benefits of Water Play For 8 Month Old Baby
Here are a few benefits of water play for babies
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Sensorial Development | Water is a very different texture compared to everything around us. They explore with their hands and fingers to understand this difference, which improves their sensorial awareness. |
| Improves Motor Skills | Babies love to splash and get water everywhere. Trying to hit or throw water in different ways will work their hands and fingers in different ways, thus strengthening them. |
Tips For Parents
- If you are letting them play with water, keep a floor mat or cloth to wipe, nearby
- Change your baby out of wet clothes once they finish playing
- Stay next to them if you are putting them in a tub filled with water
- Add colors to the water to make it more fun (not when they are sitting in the water)
Your baby is getting stronger and learning quickly. They will like to do the same activity over and over again until they are better at it or achieve what they are trying to do. Age and skill-appropriate activities can do wonders for their development.
