10 Easy & Fun Activities For a 9-Month-Old Baby

Source: She Births Bravely

They are now more independent and more active which is both great and a little destabilizing for some parents. 

As a 9-month-old, your baby can do a lot of things such as they can crawl or is about to start, can feed themselves with their fingers, can express himself or herself more often, and they can grasp objects more easily. 

Below are 10 simple yet fun activities that you can do with your baby and can promote your baby’s development.

1. Drop in the Bucket

Source: CDC

Starting with a fun activity, grab a small bucket and several blocks. Place a block in the bucket, and when the blocks hit the bottom of the bucket say “Boom!” 

Now repeat this activity several times.

Drop another block in the bucket, but this time don’t say “Boom” and be silent. See if your 9-month-old baby tries to say “boom.” Let them enjoy dumping out the container or taking the blocks out.

2. Containers by the Dozen

Source: Little Lifelong Learners

By moving objects in and out of containers, your baby’s hand muscles, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination can be strengthened 

Fill a muffin tin with balls or any other toys. Place the tin on the floor in front of your baby. Show them how to move the playthings in and out several times. 

Now, encourage your baby to put the toys back in one at a time. But you need to know that your child might not be able to do this successfully until they are closer to 11 months of age. 

3. Play Clapping and Sing-along Games

Source: Lovevery

Sing songs like “The Wheel on the Bus” and encourage your child to clap their hands along with you. By doing this you are helping your 9-month-old kid to develop language and communication skills.

At this age, your baby will also love that feeling of excitement as they try to figure out what comes next. 

4. Encourage For Crawling

Source: Lovevery

Crawling can be an incredibly complex activity for a baby’s brain and body. But still, it comes in the list of the best brain development activities for 9 months of baby.  

Your baby needs to develop some basic building blocks to achieve a major motor skill like this. 

To encourage your baby to reach forward in a hands-and-knees position, you can use an enticing toy, such as a ball or a baby-safe keys 

You can start by placing your baby on all fours. If they are not able to get onto their hands and knees yet, you can do this activity with their chest supported on their outstretched legs. 

Once your child can maintain hands and knees while reaching the keys, you can try to increase the distance to the keys to see if they are ready to explore forward movement.

5. Under-the-sea bin

Source: Pinterest

In this Under the Sea bin, encourage your child to move in new ways. This activity can be fun as well as a learning activity for your 9-month-old kid. 

To capture floating toys, your child must lean, bend, reach, and change positions, which will help them to be prepared for more advanced movements. 

Simply, fill a container with water, add 2-3 drops of blue food coloring and some sea creatures. Place your baby in front of the container or one end of the bin and sit at the other end, for their safety. 

Now one by one drop the toys in the water by saying their names, as your baby explores them in the water. Try to place the container just out of your child’s reach to encourage them to move toward it. 

Note: Fill the water as little as possible and always stay closer to your kid in this activity while they play. 

6. Unwrap Sensory Fun

Source: CFNC

To give your child a gift unwrapping experience you don’t need to wait until it’s their 1st birthday. 

Just wrap one of your baby’s favorite toys and tie a ribbon around it to create an exciting sensory experience that exercises your baby’s emerging fine motor skills. 

And wrap it loosely so it can be easier for your child to rip open, while bright paper adds visual stimulation.

If your child needs help, poke a hole in the paper to make an easier unwrapping experience. 

7. The Ball Game 

Source: Baby Centre

To play a ball game with your kid, get a medium-sized ball and sit a few feet away from your child. 

Now slowly roll the ball towards them and watch them stop it. If they try, applaud and encourage them to roll it back to you. 
Cheer for your child, even if the ball does not come right back to you. Help them return the ball to you and repeat the game several times. 

8. Introduce Utensils and practice Open-cup Drinking

Source: FirstCry Parenting

Help your little child to stay hydrated as well as encourage coordination and motor skills. 

Simply fill a cup with an ounce of water to help them practice drinking from an open cup. And, in case your kid is not ready to drink with an open cup, trying a 360-degree training cup can be a good option.

Your kid might not get much food in their mouth at this point, but learning how to use utensils is one of the most important activities for a 9-month-old kid for hand-eye coordination. 

Give your kid some infant-friendly utensils with food that is easy to scoop, such as Greek yogurt. Sitting at a table and watching you eat will also encourage your child to imitate you and develop these important skills. 

9. Tunnel Time

Source: The Kavanaugh Report

Tunnel games can be also one of the fun games to play with a 9-month-old. Just put a play tunnel on the floor in front of your child and encourage them to crawl through the tunnel. 

If you don’t have a play tunnel, you can also create a tunnel; with your legs, and once your kid crawled halfway, “catch” them by gently squeezing your legs together.

Eventually, as your baby’s gross motor skills advance, they will try to crawl faster in an attempt to pass through.

10. Phone talk

You can help your child improve their communication skills just by using everyday objects such as toys or fruits like bananas to pretend to talk on the phone.  

Now call someone who is familiar with your baby and engage in a conversation as your kid listens in. 

Then offer the “phone” (toy) to your child and encourage them to do the same to help them develop communication skills, as well as promote imaginative play. 

The Final thoughts? No matter how you go about it, these easy and fun activities are key for developing 9-month-old babies. 

For such age, play is the primary way in which they can explore and interact with the world around them, where play and learning are one and the same.