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Home › Articles › Babies › Brain Builders

Brain Builders

Stimulating Activities for Your 9-month-old Baby

By Tammy Morey

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Her emotional development changes significantly as she becomes quite adept at asserting herself, making her wants and needs known. You may have noticed that she now responds to your gestures with her own intentional gestures. For example, when you reach out to her she will reach out to you in response.

She will also initiate social interactions with those close to her. You notice how she reaches for your hair or Dad's nose and raises her arms up, signaling that she wishes to be picked up. She also expresses emotions such as closeness by hugging you in response to being hugged.

She asserts her curiosity through touching your face and pulling your hair. She expresses her excitement and pleasure by smiling and placing her fingers in your mouth, then her own, and finally, she can protest or show her anger by pushing away from objects, screaming when you take away her toy or sliding her food off her high chair tray.

Fears and Anxieties
Other emotions that she demonstrates are fear and anxiety. Stranger anxiety usually begins around 9 months of age, although it can appear earlier or later. But because this is the stage when separation anxiety is at its peak, it would be perfectly normal for her to become upset when she is unable to see you. Your 9-month-old does not comprehend that whe something is out of her sight it is only temporarily gone. When you apply this to something or someone of a greater significance such as Mommy or Daddy, she may experience separation anxiety and form an extreme attachment to you, thus causing her to demonstrate fear toward everyone else.

This can be most difficult for grandparents, caregivers and family members to understand. There are ways that you can help her cope with anxiety. You can play object permanence games such as peek-a-boo, which helps her understand that just because she is unable to see you for a moment does not mean that you are gone permanently.

You can also help ease through the transition by explaining to people that it is important for them to approach her slowly and allow her to make the first move. A wonderful way to ease anxieties when out-of-town family members are visiting is to start showing your baby pictures of the family members about a week prior to their visit. You can also let her hear their voices by having them talk to her on the phone or even showing her videos of them.

Oftentimes babies will use their thumb, a favorite blanket or a stuffed animal to soothe themselves as they try to settle down and cope with anxieties. It is important for parents to understand that that's OK. Sucking is considered a calming method.

The Magic of Language

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