Baby Development at 10 Months

Physical:  Baby is all about mobility at this age.  Gross motor development is in full gear!  Baby crawls and sits quite well on her own.

Cognitive:  Baby’s memory is beginning to mature.  Baby understands that you continue to exist even when you leave the room.  Baby is capable of understanding simple commands and language such as No! and Hot!

Social/Emotional:  This age marks the beginning of independence.  Baby can discern himself as a separate entity from that of his parents and environment.  Baby will cry to display emotion and hurt feelings.

What You Can Do:

Baby’s learning, understanding, interests and attention span are exploding.  You can do many things with baby for the next several months including:

  • Offer baby a toy phone, toy television remote and/or play keys.  Babies this age love to imitate adults.
  • Read books with baby, letting him turn the pages.  This helps baby recognize words and letters to develop communication skills.  Ask baby questions about the book's content as you go.  Remember to buy baby board books and soft plastic books.  Baby doesn't recognize own strength and can easily tear paper pages.
  • Play music.  This soothes baby and helps her develop a sense of rhythm.  Studies have shown that music encourages babies to move their bodies.
  • At mealtime, offer baby a spoon, fork and a plate with a “dipping” section.  Babies love to dip food into sauces and this will help develop fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination.
  • Offer baby stacking cups for bath time play.  Show baby how to scoop water with the cup and watch it drain out the bottom.