MONTH 10
Please
keep in mind that all babies are unique. Whether your
baby reaches milestones early or late, he has his
own developmental path to follow. The dividing lines
between these months are very fuzzy. If you have any
concerns or questions about your baby’s development,
please check with his health care provider.
Get
Your Running Shoes
By
this age, babies are usually very mobile. And so are
you -- constantly chasing baby. Their abilities to
move include crawling quickly, the ability to flip
flop into sitting from virtually any position, and
possibly even walking. Hang in there. And don’t rely
on your child proofing of spaces in the home to keep
baby safe. His job right now is to move, explore and
learn. Your job is to be one step ahead of him.
Cruising
A
coffee table is just the right height for baby to
pull up to a stand and practice cruising or taking
steps while holding on for balance. He may cruise
from one piece of furniture to another around your
living room. This is very satisfying because baby
can now view an object and move himself while standing
up to reach it. He may even hold on with one hand
and make attempts to bend down and pick up an enticing
toy off the ground. Or, watch his face as he lets
go and stands all by himself. This is a triumph --
only to be topped by those first few steps that are
just around the corner.
What
About Walkers?
You
may have been given a walker for your baby as a gift
or offered one as a hand-me-down. Walkers are controversial.
Some parents swear by them. Developmentally, experts
feel that walkers do not support the skills needed
for baby to learn how to walk; they utilize muscles
in a different way. Basically, walkers enable babies
to do something before they are developmentally ready
to do it on their own. They are also the cause of
more accidents than any other type of children’s toy,
particularly if they are used near the top of stairs
or in the kitchen near a hot dish.
These
examples may seem obviously unsafe, but the point
is, walkers allow children to move very quickly. Since
the children are standing, they are at a better vantage
point to reach things. Combined with non-stop curiosity,
a walker could potentially put baby in a very unsafe
situation.
This
being said, you may decide not to offer your baby
a walker and then find him using a chair or other
large item to push and walk at the same time. This
is a bit different because these items are heavy and
not on wheels, so he cannot get the same speed that
he can with a commercial walker.
Not
Crawling?
If
your baby is not crawling or pulling to a stand by
this age, you may concerned about his development.
There are many normal, healthy babies who are not
as interested in gross motor activities and are quite
content to sit and play quietly. These babies may
be great observers of more active babies -- constantly
watching and absorbing information.
Chances
are your baby will start crawling suddenly. Remember
again, some babies don’t crawl -- many scoot on their
bottoms, creep on their tummies, or figure out another
means of getting from point A to point B. And some
go straight to pulling to a stand and cruising around
furniture. Once these babies start moving, they tend
to learn how to move themselves at a faster rate than
the more active babies did a few months back.
It
is far more important to support your baby’s individual
interests than to push baby into doing something before
he is ready. If you are still concerned about your
child’s lack of interest in moving, talk to his health
care provider who can do an assessment -- which will
probably result in your peace of mind. Our advice:
enjoy not having to chase baby while you can!
Peek
A Boo and Object Permanence
Baby’s
memory has made great strides this month. When he
doesn’t see you, he is developing the cognitive ability
to remember that you still exist. There are some games
that babies like to play that support this learning
of the permanence of objects.
Even
if you haven’t initiated peek-a-boo with your baby
yet, he will. A lot of babies like to take their favorite
blankets, put them over their heads and then pull
them back to see parents' smiling faces. He will love
it if you say something while he is covered, such
as, "Where did baby go?" If he is not initiating the
game with a blanket, try your hands over your eyes.
He’ll surely imitate you, have great fun, and be learning
at the same time.
Another
interesting game for baby is to hide a favorite object
under a blanket. He is learning that he can pick up
the blanket to get his toy back.
Signaling
It
will probably be another month or two before you hear
baby’s first real word, but he is communicating with
you all the time. You two can teach each other signals
to communicate what baby needs.
If
he is in the high chair and wants out, teach him to
hold up his arms as a sign. Of course, keep exposing
him to language by explaining to him what he is telling
you. "Oh, are you done? You want to get out of the
highchair? You want to get down?"
Another
popular signal is a simple bye-bye wave. When baby
is separating from a parent, give baby a wave and
tell him that the parent is leaving and will see him
later. In the beginning, baby may wave after the fact,
showing that he is absorbing the information and practicing.
In time, he’ll wave right back with you.
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