Best Way to Help a 8-Month-Old Baby Learn and Develop Skills

Your baby is very attached to you and is becoming demonstrably more affectionate. He is never happier and more secure than when you are together, and so he may become more clingy in unfamiliar surroundings or with people he doesn’t recognize.

Physical development

Your baby may now roll from side to side with ease, flipping himself onto his back and over again. He may also sit for quite long periods and lean forward without falling over. However, he still can’t twist sideways or swivel at the waist, and may often topple over when trying to reach for a toy. Comfort him if there are tears, but always let him try again.

Towards crawling

Although many babies learn how to crawl between eight and 10 months old, there will be some babies who don’t begin to move until they are a few weeks older. To crawl properly, your baby needs to be strong enough to push himself up on all fours and then discover that by pushing down with his knees he can move forwards. First crawls are often backwards, and it may be a week or so before your baby learns how to move forwards. Give him lots of praise whichever way he chooses to move around.

On his own feet

Pretty soon just sitting won’t be exciting enough for your baby. Always looking for a new challenge, he will be keen to try standing, and may make his first attempt by, for example, hauling himself up in his cot while hanging onto the rails. To begin with he’ll collapse in a heap or remain stranded and yell for help – he hasn’t yet developed the balance or coordination to lower himself down gently. When you come to his rescue, take his weight and gently allow him to relax so that he can slide into a sitting position.

Activities to develop skills

Your baby is fast learning that he has a growing curiosity he needs to satisfy, and an urge to explore everything. Give him a selection of activities to keep him busy for a short while, or help him discover how to crawl towards the toys he is showing interest in.

•    Satisfy your baby’s desire to discover new things by allocating him a kitchen drawer or cupboard that you have filled with safe but interesting household objects. This will give him a chance to explore them in his own time, and will teach him more about the shape, size, and texture of different things. If he begins to tire of them, make a few small changes such as putting a ball in the bowl to rekindle his curiosity in it.
•    Help your baby learn more about the relationship between objects by giving him some plastic stacking cups in different colours, shapes, and sizes. It will be many months before he can fit them into each other the right way – or even stack them himself – but he’ll enjoy trying. And when he needs a change you can build a tower and encourage him to try knocking it down, a game he’ll love to play!

•  Singing his favourite rhymes together and giving your baby musical or noisy toys will help him practise his listening skills. Giving him age-appropriate toys that squeak when they are squeezed will help to develop his improving manipulation skills as well.
•    There are lots of ways you can encourage your baby to crawl: make sure he has plenty of opportunities by putting him down on the floor whenever you can; keep his knees well-covered so that crawling isn’t painful or uncomfortable; and place a toy or something interesting just out of his reach to encourage him to try moving forwards to grasp it.