activities for 8 mo old

amother

Thu, Aug 04 2011, 11:34 am

I stay at home with my 8 moth DS. I feel like all we do is sit on my bed and play with toys till he naps. wat other activities could I do with him to make him stimulated and me more interested. also how do I teach him to play alone

seeker

Thu, Aug 04 2011, 12:50 pm

I'm also interested in hearing more educated responses to this.

I try to do things to encourage her development, but I'm chilled out about it and follow her cues in response to whatever I'm trying.

To develop her pincer grasp and eye-hand coordination I'll put out some cheerios and let her grab them. We play peekaboo. I'll put a toy she likes inside a box or container and let her figure out how to find it in there and get it out. I'll hide something she wants under a towel and let her look for it (she usually just goes to play with something else, though. I guess she's not up to that yet. But I'll keep on offering!) I take her with me on errands so she can get fresh air and see the world a little, and I talk to her throughout just in case she's picking up my description. When she makes sounds, I imitate, and we have little "conversations."

To play alone, first of all he can't do that on your bed. Give him some toys on the floor while you're nearby and just let him do whatever he does with them. Then if you see he's happy there, try doing something else to see if he's fine alone. Or, say you're doing dishes or laundry or whatever, let him play on the floor by your feet so he's not alone per se but he's learning to play without your undivided attention.

SingALong

Thu, Aug 04 2011, 1:24 pm

Peek a boo, singing songs with motions u can do together...like open shut them, eensy spider, etc.

Alone he can play with toys on the floor, but u can change the toys each time or day so he gets a variety.

My dd age 6 months happily plays on e floor with toys while I di laundry, cook supper etc. She usually lasts for about 15-20 min at a time. If my big ones are playing near her she can hang out for longer.

Also maybe get an exersaucer, so he can see u better while he plays and can be in a different position for awhile

irrationalrose

Thu, Aug 04 2011, 1:27 pm

baby center has a week by week activity guide http://www.babycenter.com/0_le.....75.bc

I found most of their games did not last long but they did break up the day a little. Some things that worked for us:

Alot of water play in the kitchen (like filling a shallow basin with about two inches of water and putting floating foam blocks, squishy sponges, etc inside). This is messy but fun.

While I did kitchen work I would give baby an aluminum pot with some aluminum measuring cups and spoons to bang around.

Dancing together to music and rythmic clapping and bouncing to the beat.

Tons of walks and like seeker lots of errands where baby can see people and things (like cars and dogs, two baby boy favs)

cardboard boxes! baby loved opening, closing, taking things out, climbing on top of (though I think that was a little later than 8 mo), etc.

Have you given your DS board books or soft activity books? Some 8-10 month olds love to "read" and will flip through the pages and chew on the books and entertain themselves that way for a while.

Mommy-613

Mon, Aug 15 2011, 9:28 pm

As a licensed ei provider, I can safely say that the best way to help your child is to get on the floor. This can not be underestimated! I have worked with a child who was older and not yet crawling. He just needed someone on he floor! Once u r sitting there, let your creativity guide you. Stack towers and allow your child to reach/ knock it down.
Read books. The hard types. Read at a calm moment like post bath/ mealtime.
Talk to your child - about your day, what you want to do...

Hatzlacha!

seeker

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 1:10 am

DD (8.5 months) just caught on to putting things in or on. She used to stick her hand with a toy into the bucket but not let go. Now she has just started letting go, letting the toy plop in, and pulling it out again. And she LOVES balls and other things that roll (cylindrical kitchen containers, e.g.), can keep busy chasing after them or passing them back and forth for a while.