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6–12 Months: Growing & Learning TogetherOlder Babies: 6-12 Months

Introduction

On this page, you’ll find information about what to expect as your older baby communicates, plays, learns about emotions, and spends time with others.

Learn how you can play together, help your baby communicate, and help your baby feel safe and secure to explore and learn.

Communication

Older babies communicate with their bodies, sounds and facial expressions. Your baby will start using more sounds and putting them into longer strings, such as ‘bababa’. When your baby babbles, they’re practicing the sounds that will soon become words. It’s pretty exciting to hear your baby’s first word. Some babies will likely say it before their first birthday.

Your baby needs you to talk with them so they can learn to understand and use the sounds and words of your language. They learn better when you say the names of people, things, actions and places out loud. Your baby’s first words may be hard to understand. They may need to hear a word hundreds of times before they’ll be able to say it clearly.

Learn more about using the Talk Box to communicate with your baby.

How you can help your baby communicate

  • Follow their lead. Your baby looks at and reaches for things that interest them. Use words to describe what they’re looking at or doing.
  • Tell them. Talk to your baby often about what you’re both doing. Use an interesting voice and different tones so they’ll be interested in your words.
  • Use movements. Use hand movements and other actions with your words to help your baby understand what you say. Before they are able to use words, many babies can learn to tell you what they want with their hands, such as when they want more or when they’re all done.
  • Follow routines. When getting ready for mealtime or bedtime, talk about what you’re doing and name the things you’re using. Your baby will start to learn what the words mean and understand what will happen next.
  • Share books and sing songs. The rhythm and repetition of songs, stories and nursery rhymes help build your baby’s language, literacy and learning.

Emotions

Learning about emotions

Between 6–12 months of age, it becomes easier to tell when your baby is happy, sad, mad or scared. Your baby is also beginning to know how other people are feeling.

In new or surprising situations, your baby may look at how you react to figure out how to respond. If you smile when someone new visits, they’ll accept that person more easily. Your baby’s temperament will also affect how they respond to new situations. Learn more about temperament.

Attachment

You are your baby’s secure base (a dependable, caring adult a child trusts to provide comfort and support). Your baby needs to know that it’s okay and safe for them to move away from you to explore and play. Create a safe environment for them to explore and play in and let them know you’ll be there when they come back. Pick them up when they come to you with their arms stretched out. Your baby may want to be comforted, cuddled or reassured, or may just want to give you a hug and be off to play again. When a baby feels worried, afraid or unsafe, they are not able to explore and learn. You’ll help build a secure attachment with your baby when you respond to them in a loving and welcoming way.

Older baby crawling away from parent, who is sitting on the floor.Older baby reaching out and crawling back to parent, who is smiling, reaching back out and holding baby’s outstretched hand.

Help your baby feel safe and secure to explore, play and learn:

  • Watch over them and keep their play spaces safe.
  • Be interested in what they’re learning—it shows them you care.
  • Help if needed without taking over. Give your baby just enough information, support or help for them to do it by themselves.
  • Respond to your baby’s need for comfort when they come back to you.

Every baby is different

Some babies find it harder to cope with new people and changes in their lives.

Separation anxiety

Most babies will develop separation anxiety and it usually peaks when they’re about 8 or 9 months old. Your baby is starting to realize that they’re a separate person from you. They are starting to know the difference between the people and things they know and those they don’t know. Sometimes babies may have a strong attachment to one parent who is the primary caregiver for a while—this is normal.

It helps to know that separation anxiety is a typical part of child development, and that it shows that your baby recognizes you and has started to form a strong attachment with you. At this stage, they are able to start forming attachments with other important people in their lives, but it may take a little time for them to be comfortable with other people.

Your baby may fuss or cry when they are worried about being separated from you, unable to see you, or when they are with people they don’t know very well. You’re the person they trust and they now know that sometimes you’re not around—they understand that you can leave, but they don’t understand that you’ll come back. Separation anxiety may last several weeks or even months.

Some babies find it hard to adapt to change. This is part of their temperament, and it is neither bad nor good—it’s just the way some babies are. Separation anxiety can last for a longer period of time for babies with this temperament.

You can help your baby cope with separations by providing warmth and structure. Here are some examples:

Provide warmth

  • Know that it’s normal for your baby to become upset or cry when they’re separated from you. Over time, they’ll become less upset or cry less.
  • Give support and be patient as they learn to adapt.
  • Never threaten to leave your child—not even as a joke. This can break their trust and harm your relationship.

Provide structure

  • Play ‘peek-a-boo’.
  • Encourage your baby to cuddle with a favourite toy or blanket for comfort.
  • Let them take their time. They’ll watch new people carefully. They may reach out to touch them, but hang on to you at the same time.
  • Introduce day care or babysitters slowly. Stay for the first couple of times. Then try brief separations that gradually get longer—15 minutes, 30 minutes, then 1 hour or longer.

Saying goodbye

When you leave your baby with someone, say a warm “Goodbye.” Explain that you have to go, but will be back later, such as after naptime. Give them a kiss and then leave with a reassuring smile. Leaving without saying goodbye may cause more separation anxiety.

Make your goodbyes short. Coming back and forth into the house or day care can confuse your baby and make separation anxiety worse. Talk with your child care provider or babysitter if you’re worried about your baby’s crying when you leave. It can help you to know that they’re okay. If your baby is not settling down, talk with your child care provider or babysitter about some strategies to help.

Older baby, held by caregiver, touches parent’s hand through an open window of the parked car that parent is sitting in.

Play

Let's play

Play builds healthy bodies and healthy minds. Babies play using all of their senses and need opportunities to play throughout the day, every day.

From 6–12 months, your baby is starting to figure out how to move from one place to another.

At this stage they’ll:

  • Move their eyes together to look at things
  • Turn to sounds they hear
  • Touch everything and have no idea what is safe and what is not
  • Put everything in their mouth—your baby learns by feeling and tasting things

Children are naturally curious and interested in how things work. Their drive to play is as strong as their need to eat and sleep. Your baby will play by touching, grabbing, shaking, dropping and putting things in their mouth. Once they’re mobile, they move very quickly from one thing to the next, leaving a trail of things they’re done playing with behind them. This is how babies play at this age and play is how they learn.

Parent lying on the ground behind older baby, who is sitting and playing with blocks.

You’ll find lots of opportunities to play with your baby in their everyday routines such as eating, dressing, outings, bath time and getting ready for bed. Your baby loves to play and you’re still your baby’s most important and enjoyable playmate.

Let them explore but stay close

Let your baby explore and play in their own way. They learn best when you let them take the lead. Stay close enough to help if they need you and to:

  • make sure that what your baby can reach is safe, including things you put in your lower cupboards
  • keep small things out of their reach
  • prevent big things from falling on them

Your baby will need your full attention at all times when they are awake.

Active play

Your baby is starting to be able to control their movements. At first your baby will roll over and push up on their hands when they’re on their tummy. Soon, they’ll be able to sit on the floor without your support. Your baby may try to move towards things by wiggling or rolling. By the end of this stage, most babies will:

  • Crawl across the floor and up the stairs
  • Pull themselves to a standing position
  • Walk while holding your hand or on their own

Your baby needs to have lots of chances to move and play freely on the floor, several times a day. This type of play encourages your baby to develop the strength and skills they’ll need to sit, stand, crawl and walk. Stay beside them to keep them safe and put away anything that could hurt them or break. Move furniture out of the way. If your baby is doing something that’s harmful or unsafe, move or re-direct them.

Older baby crawling up carpeted stairs with caregiver’s left hand beside baby and right hand gently touching baby’s bottom to prevent a fall.

There are many things you can get for babies, such as bouncers, jumpers and rockers but they don’t really need these. If you use them, make sure you:

  • Follow all manufacturer instructions and safety guidelines—fasten safety straps and harnesses correctly.
  • Wait until your baby has good head and neck control.
  • Supervise your baby at all times and check that your baby is in the correct position.
  • Place the item on the floor and not on a high surface.
  • Use these items for short periods of time.

Continue to give your baby tummy time. Try for at least 30 minutes a day, a few minutes at a time spread throughout the day. Limit the amount of time your baby is sitting in places such as a stroller or high chair to no more than 1 hour at a time.

Creative play

Your baby explores by touching or picking things up—they play by getting into things. Your baby will enjoy dumping all or taking things out of containers, holding their own cup with both hands and picking up finger foods. Clean toys often as they can spread germs—especially when your baby is sick or if other children are also playing with the same toys.

Toys can be fun, but your baby doesn’t always need them. There are many ways to have fun without toys.

Here are some ideas of ways to play together:

  • Follow your baby as they crawl around and play with different objects at home and outside.
  • Sit or stand in front of your baby and encourage them to step towards you.
  • Let them open the cupboards to see what’s inside.
  • Put laundry in and out of the basket.
  • Bang pots with a wooden spoon.
  • Stack plastic plates and bowls.
  • Crawl in and out of boxes.
  • Play with plastic cups.
  • Splash in the bathtub.

Interacting with others

Your older baby is becoming more predictable and content and will now begin to recognize and enjoy the people who care for them. They’re more comfortable relating to others when they’re with you. They like watching and being with other children and adults. Their world gets even bigger once they start walking.

Your baby will also start to enjoy more social activities. One of the things they like to do at this age is watch things go away and come back again. Through this game, they learn that when you go away, you’ll also come back.

At this age, your baby will start to enjoy:

  • Being with people
  • Playing simple games with you, such as ‘peek-a-boo’
  • Copying your actions and having you copy them
  • Listening to the sounds of the world around them such as talking, birds chirping and music
  • Looking in mirrors—they think the reflection is another baby

Peek-a-boo

‘Peek-a-boo’ is a game where you briefly hide your face with your hands or a blanket, then you remove your hands or the blanket and say “Boo!” or “Peek-a-boo!” It’s a fun way to learn that you go away and come back.

Growing and learning across the ages