Your baby’s development – 6 to 9 months
Your baby is six months old – half-way to their first birthday! The next three months will be a time in which your baby’s understanding of words rapidly increases. They may not be saying words yet, but they are storing all the knowledge in their clever brain. Over the coming months, your baby will start to use gestures to communicate, so now is a great time to use hand signs with your baby. Learn baby sign language by clicking here.
Your everyday interactions now are so important and will make a huge difference to the rate at which your child learns new words. Find out a little more about how your baby is learning to communicate below.
Listening & Understanding
Responds to sounds even when they can't see where they’re coming from.
Starts dancing to music and enjoys making their own sounds by banging objects together.
Stops what they're doing and looks when you call their name.
Looks at you and listens carefully when you speak to them.
Pays attention to where you are looking and pointing.
Loves to look at the ‘baby’ in the mirror but is not quite sure who it is yet.
At around 7 months starts to look for objects that are hidden or that have dropped out of sight - dropping things from the highchair can be a never-ending game of fun (for them)!
By 9 months it’s natural for your baby to be shy around strangers and even other people they know (like grandparents). This may mean that they seem a little more clingy with you and don’t like it when you leave their sight! Don’t worry, over time this will change.
Loves to play with other people, especially you! One of their favourite games at this time might be peek-a-boo.
Starts to know what they want and will search for their favourite toys. They will know when they want you to play with them or pick them up and usually want your attention right now!
By 9 months your baby will start to recognise and remember familiar routines. They will anticipate what is coming next when they hear the bath running, and will love tickle games like round and round the garden.
Communicating
Starts to copy some of the sounds you make, like coughing, laughing, sneezing or blowing ‘raspberries’.
Loves making different sounds at all kinds of pitches and volumes as they learn how to control their voice - using a wide variety of sound combinations as they babble.
Your baby will try, often very intently, to get your attention and have a conversation with you.
They will respond to the words that you say by making sounds back to you in a very purposeful way.
Your baby will not only copy your facial expressions but will also start to initiate them, such as frowning or poking out their tongue.
They will be able to control the sounds they make to tell you that they are happy or annoyed or upset.
By nine months your baby will start to use gesture to communicate what they want (for example reaching up to you to be picked up). If you are using baby sign language, this is often when their first signs may emerge.
