21 Ways to have fun!
Hey, there mama! I am so glad to see you here. So, now your baby is currently 6 to 9 months old. At this age, the eye span is brief since the baby is easily distracted with whatever is happening around. You must be looking for play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby.
Babies at this age seek various ways to grab your attention, hold out for things within his reach, and babble words such as ba, ma, and na. He will further learn to sit by the age of 6 months, crawl around 7 to 8 months, stand with external support at 9 months, and will continue to develop more skills.
By now, he is more interested in everything that is in his surroundings. You can utilize his energy in productive activities by looking out for play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby that will not only help him nurture his developmental skills but also refine his motor skills.
You might want to search for different baby activities month by month to keep their tiny brains stimulated because you will be on your toes as your little one will demand more attention than before. He is now learning to get hold of his limbs and learning to use them for sitting, standing, eating, crawling, and moving around.
Now, let me spill some beans.
There is no need to invest your time and brain looking for different items and activities. Your baby’s existing toys can cater to play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby.
Below is a list of various activities that you can engage your child in, starting from 6-month-old baby activities for development to 12 months of age.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my boring privacy policy for more details.
DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES FOR A 6-9-MONTH-OLD
Sitting Activities 7 play ideas For a 6 to 9 Months Old baby
Your baby might be able to sit independently or with support by now. You can try out these play ideas that will assist him in developmental skills, motor skills, problem-solving, and communication along with making him responsive.
1.Cup Stacking
Stacking cups serve as a great sensory activity for 6 months old and above. Though they might not be able to properly stack the cups at this point, they will surely learn to grab them, put them back, and explore what’s inside. I got these vibrant, engaging, and multipurpose Cute Stacking Cups for my son from Amazon.
If you can’t get these, there must be some disposable glasses, plastic cups, bowls, or measuring cups lying in your pantry. Get them as alternatives.
Play Idea:
Place small toys underneath the cups. Once they lift them up, they will get excited to see what is hidden. You can get these 1″ colorful cubes to place under the stacking cups.
2. Wooden or foam blocks
As your baby might have learned to prop his head and sit while taking support from his hands or without, now is the time when you can introduce different play activities to refine his motor skills. He will be able to reach out for different objects and grasp them by making use of his fingers and thumb rather than shaping his hand into a fist to grab them.
You would want to keep him away from sharp objects. You can use soft things, especially these Infantino Discover and Play Soft Blocks Development Toys for this purpose. They are vibrant, attractive, and easy to hold. Apart from these, the 100 square blocks of colored building blocks are also appropriate for a 6-month-old baby playing and developing grasp skills.
Play Idea:
While your baby is sitting, scatter these cubes around and allow him to pick those. Once he does, give him another cube. He will leave one of the cubes that are already in his hands to take the other one. This way, he will learn problem-solving.
3. Hand Gestures
The very first gestures that a baby learns is waving hello and goodbye.
Imitating your hand gestures is also part of a 6 to 6.5-month-old baby’s activities. They might convey several things through their hand gestures such as wanting to be held, reaching for something, imitating you, wanting to be left to crawl, etc.
Play idea:
Clap your hands whenever you see your baby excited or happy. Make him clap too. He will know how to react to things that make one pleased.
4. Toys Promoting Cause And Effect
When you press a button, the toy produces a sound, lights up, or motions. Such toys are called cause and effect toys. They make the child learn how his actions can have an impact.
Two of my favorite toys from this category are Transport Truck Toy for Baby and the Baby Piano Music Play Mat.
Play idea:
We have many objects around us that produce cause and effect. Let your child hold the television remote and press buttons to see what happens.
5. Dangling Toys
Babies love to reach out for things that are suspended in air and swinging in front of them. You can use any toy for this purpose. All you have to do is hang it somewhere and let your child play.
Have a look at these multi-purpose Hanging Baby Rattles Mobile Owl Doll. Use them to link toy bars or put them in play gyms. They can also be used for teething purposes or you can use them in art and craft activities for a 9-month-old.
As he will hit 9 months and you would want to search for different sensory activities for 9 months old baby, hanging toys will teach him to pull them for support and stand on his feet.
Play Idea:
Arrange a play gym or activity mats like this Docooler Baby Activity Gym Kick and Play Piano Mat Center With Melodies Rattle Musical Toy Tummy Time Mat . You can look into DIY ideas for a play gym too. Hang different toys and let your baby reach for them. As he settles his torso and neck, this activity will allow him to learn to balance and strengthening his trunk muscles.
6. Interactive Wooden Activity Cube
Once I was searching for play ideas for 6 to 9-month-olds when this Winfun Music Fun Activity Cube caught my attention. Just place this toy in front of your baby and see the magic. Here is another Wooden Learning Bead Maze Cube 5 in 1 Activity WALKER Educational Toy .It is super engaging, promotes fun and learning, and provides a variety of activities to perform especially for babies approaching 9 months of age.
Designed ideally for the height of this age-group, your child can learn to stand and even climb on the cube with little to no support.
Play idea:
You can place it anywhere within your house, your backyard, or your front yard and let your child get busy.
7. Flap Books
Reading is a thing for all age groups. You can introduce your child to books as early as possible and then you might not have to worry about what to do with 7 months or 9 months old all day.
Book reading can be the best habit you inculcate in your child. With innovation in books, flap books are a great source of learning activity for small kids. Your child will love lifting flaps and seeing what’s behind that flap. I got these 12 pages Soft Cloth Baby Books Rustle Sound for my little one and he loved it.
Play Idea:
Make it a habit to read a short lift the flap book at bedtime. Hand over the book and let your child explore it by lifting the flaps on his own. Assist him when necessary.
- How to organize your house before bringing new baby
- How to remove urine stains from almost everything!
- Tips on How to Wean Baby off Bottle at night?
- 15 Easy and healthy oatmeal recipes for babies that they will love
- How To Soothe A Teething Baby At Night?
8. Tumbling Towers
Don’t expect your baby to know how to build blocks and create towers at this age but rest assured that once you stack those blocks in a tower shape for him, he will love to push it and see it fall.
Remember, this can also be used as a cause and effect activity.
Play Idea:
Make use of those 50 PCS Kids Non-toxic Soft Lightweight EVA Foam Building Blocks we talked earlier about. Make a tower out of them and let your baby push it down.
9. Pop Tubes
Trunk strengthening is a crucial task when your baby has learned to sit straight and upright on his own. It helps them manage their torso, balance it, and improve their posture.
You can use pop tubes for this purpose. These colorful pop tubes are easy to bend, stretch, twist, and move around in any way.
Play Idea:
I remember playing tug of war with my son when he was small. I would hand him one end of a blanket and hold the other one myself with a light tug to pull it away from him. He would try his best to hold his grip and not leave the other end and this way it helped him develop his upper body strength.
You can also include this activity in your list of exercises for 6 months old baby.
10. Outdoor Activities
Taking your kids outdoors is just as important as any other activity. There are plenty of play ideas to choose from when it comes to being outdoors.
A 6 or 7 months old child wants to be held mostly and so the number of activities you can do outdoors is limited. Places to go with a six months old can be parks, malls, casual stroll on your street, water parks, beaches, and cruise ships but make sure about your comfort first because you have to look after the baby at all times since he is not able to walk yet.
Around 9 months of age, they want to explore things on their own and be independent because they are now able to stand with support and take steps.
Things to do with a 9 months old outside include,
Going for a walk
Water play activities ( This Intex Children’s 3 Ring Inflatable Baby Ball Pit is super cute and we got this for our son when he was little, and he loved it.)
Sensory plays
Park visits and amusement rides
You can also think about taking your 9-month-old out on a rainy day and letting him enjoy it.
Tummy Time Activities & play ideas for 6 to 9 months old
If you want to teach your baby how to crawl, it is very much important to lie him on his tummy. The muscles in arms, neck, legs, and trunk are still in the making and strengthening stage. By lying flat on their tummy, they will know how to make use of each muscle for different positions.
Below are some 6-month-old activities for development.
11. Scattered toys
Take out some toys and place them at different positions on the floor. Your baby will try to turn, rotate, and move to get hold of his toys and will learn to crawl by reaching out for the things.
Play idea:
I will encourage you to use musical toys like this Grip & Grab Musical Monkey. This way, they can learn to spot the source of the sound and move in its direction.
12. Peek-a-boo
Playing Peek-a-boo is an interactive way to tell them about object permanence (knowing that despite being hidden, the object is still there)
Play Idea:
Move out of their sight and call them out. Use phrases like “where’s mamma, find me” or call their name. They will turn around to find you focusing on your voice.
13. On all fours
Placing your baby’s hands and feet down will promote crawling.
Play Idea:
Roll a small blanket or towel and prop it underneath your baby’s chest while he’s lying on his tummy. This way, he can learn to move his arms while playing and trying to grab different things.
14. Board Books
One cannot stress enough on reading books and making your kids habitual of them. My favorite books are First 100 Words Board book Paperback and Animal ABC: Playful animals teach A to Z By Maria Harding (Padded Board Book) . Ideally designed for kids, they are tear-proof and thin enough to easily carry anywhere.
Play Idea:
Hand over books to your little one while he is propped up on a blanket or a quilt. Let him explore the book.
15. Become Verbal
This is the age when they start speaking their first words probably being ma, baba, mama. Babies tend to babble and try to communicate around these months. This is the best time you can encourage them to speak by saying short and easy words yourself so that they get familiar with them.
16. Play With Mirrors
As the babies grow up and get familiar with their faces, they love to see their reflection by doing various actions and looking at them in the mirror.
Play idea:
Make your child sit in front of a mirror or place one at the front. We recommend these Mirror Wall Stickers for the children’s room. Try to get funny by making faces and clapping, laughing, and performing different actions that can be mimicked by them.
17. Playing Fun Tricks
By now, your baby will be aware of object permanence. He will love to see things appear and disappear. You can trick him by items available at your home such as balls, toilet roll tubes, cups, towels, etc.
Play Idea:
Put some rolling balls inside the toilet roll tube and let your baby see through it as the ball enters one end and appears at the other. You can get these Colorful Sea Balls for your baby.
You can even use your hands to hide a small object in either one of them and let your baby explore both your hands to reveal the object. This well-suits the activities for babies 9 to 12 months of age because they have the proper grasping ability and know-how to move the objects, pick them up, put them down.
Mealtime Activities & play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby
Mealtimes can be super fun and playful. Babies can enjoy their food while learning new skills. Combine meal times with play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby and see how they love it.
18. Finger Food
Around 9-12 months, your baby will be able to use his thumb and index finger to grasp objects. This is also the age when they take everything to their mouth.
You can always hand them healthy edible items so that you don’t have to worry about choking hazards.
Play Idea:
Choose from items that your baby likes to munch on. You can give them cucumbers cut in long, carrots, tomato or biscuits, and cheerios that are easier to chew and swallow. Just put two of them on their tray and let them pincer grasp it. It is an activity ideal for babies 9-12 months.
19. Self-Feeding
Eating on their own not only lets them explore the food items but also gives babies the sensory experience. They touch what you provide them to eat, feel its texture, grab it, and taste it. Things might get a little messy but you can always clean it up.
Play Idea:
Give them the freedom to eat on their own. From yogurt to cereals let them have it all by themselves. Spread the food items on their tray and let them self-feed.
20. Activities in Kitchen
No matter how many toys you provide your baby with, they will always end up being interested in all that stuff that isn’t suitable for their age.
Under your supervision, you can make their visits to the kitchen enjoyable but that should be done once they can sit and stand without support.
Play Idea:
Activities for babies 9 to 12 months of age in the kitchen include letting them play with pans, pots, and bowls. You can provide them spoons too for rattling. You can give them some water bottles so that they shake them and enjoy them.
21. Introducing Colorful Utensils
When my son was able to sit and had started his solids, I bought attractive Sippy cups, spoons and forks, bowls, and trays for him so that he develops an interest in eating. My favorite ones are these Set of 6 plates for kids, assorted colors, made of polypropylene plastic. This Philips Avent Premium sippy cup is amazing if you want to buy a cute sippy cup. They are very easy to grasp and prevent choking.
Play idea:
Have any fruit or vegetable cut in a small cube and place it on Skip Hop Toddler Utensils, Fork, and Spoon Set. Let your baby grasp it and take it to his mouth.
I hope you can now choose from several toys and play ideas for 6 to 9 months old baby. This huge list will help you 🙂
Do you have any more ideas to share? tell me in the comments.
With love!
Saima
Leave a Reply