Supporting Your Baby's Developments
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Baby Month 7 – What can Babies do at 7 months? What to Expect
At seven months old, babies really start to show off their personalities. Playtime is often looked forward to by both of you. 7-month-olds make noises that sound like they are attempting to talk or call you, so use this time effectively to start developing their speech. Another thing to watch out for is: Anything that ends up in their hands will go straight into their mouths, as this is how they learn about the world around them. This further develops the baby’s hand-eye coordination, which is necessary for feeding themselves easily; especially finger foods. Therefore, it is important to choose the foods you feed your baby carefully.
There are many foods available for babies to hold and feed themselves, but that doesn’t mean they are nutritious. So choose wisely. While your baby is growing, you will also notice that he can:
- Self-feed finger foods
- Looks for the source of sounds
- Plays simple games such as peek-a-boo
- Imitate sounds
- Blows bubbles and ‘raspberries’ with their mouth
- Can read your emotions from the tone of your voice, will try to avoid you when you are grouchy, and will show fear if they sense you are afraid too
What to do
Use the timetable below to support their development and avoid developmental delays.
hOW TO SUPPORT Baby's DEVELOPMENTS
Baby can now roll onto her tummy and back again, sit up without your help, and also stand on her feet if you hold her hands and bounce. As many now start to crawl around, baby-proof your home.
Babies can pick things up and inspect them to develop their understanding. Give them access to different experiences and toys to support their independent discovery.
She can also pull objects to her using a raking grasp. Move things from one hand to another and is co-ordinated enough to feed herself or put objects in her mouth. She will also grab necklaces and pull hair.
He can see much further ahead than before and see everything in full colour. He particularly likes seeing himself in the mirror. He is also able to track with his eyes, toys that you move slowly in front of him.
Your seven-month-old can now copy and make some phonic sounds. Make phonic sounds regularly for them to copy. Such as ‘Mama, dada, etc.’ This will exercise their vocal cords and prepare them for speech. Read to them every day to support language development
Baby is very sensitive to your mood now, she will copy and react to how you behave towards her. Lots of cuddles, smiles and encouragement will help you raise a happy, confident, social baby.
Your seven-month-old is becoming more mobile and starting to understand how things around her are connected. If she can not crawl yet, she will make efforts to shuffle to things that attract her attention as the drive to learn and explore now starts.
Books are a great source of interest, especially ones with big pages and bright colours. She will look at pictures carefully, so brightly coloured board books are great, especially those with squeakers, etc.
7 – 9 Months
Continue to use the resources from 4-6 months too as well as the resources below.
Ball Skills
Strengthen baby’s arms and legs by playing with balls. Start with the ball games below.
Obstacle Course
If your baby is able to crawl, create a few challenges to develop their skills further.
If you're happy
Action rhymes are a great way to exercise your baby and learn a language. Try the rhymes below.
Pen holding
If babies see adults using pen they will also want to use them. So make pens available for them to use to strengthen their hands.
Dinner drummers
Use every day equipment to make music. Tap out a beat and encourage your baby to do the same. This will strengthen their hands and develop a rhythm.
Where does this go?
Jigsaws, shape sorters and other such toys develop a baby’s fine motor skills as well as cognition. Show them other things that go together too.
Photo cards
16 coloured pictures, to focus and strengthen your baby’s eye colour receptors. Hold the pictures 18 inches away from them. Alternate with the black and white images.
Magic Sand
Easy to hold, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used to perform different activities. A great resource for independent discovery.
Tower Blocks
Building towers and knocking them down is a great activity that babies love, especially knocking down your towers. Use blocks and show them what to do.
Heuristic play
7-month-olds are fascinated by the natural world around them. Gather twigs, pinecones, pebbles, etc. for baby to explore. Make sure they have been sterilised for safety.
How does it feel?
Babies’ mouths are more sensitive than their hands, so they put everything into their mouths to learn how they feel. Give them different materials to explore.
Food time
Your infant starts to eat solids from now, so introduce your child to different foods to develop their taste buds, even if they don’t eat the food, it will enhance their experience.
3D story telling
Use stuffed toys, puppets or animal play sets and tell your baby stories.
Five little monkeys
This and other action songs are a great way of interacting with babies and teaching them a new language.
Head shake no
Help your baby start to communicate with you by using actions first.
Puppet Time
Puppets are a great way to teach social skills.
Dance Time
Dancing with your baby around the room develops social bonds.
Social Interactions
Encourage interactions with others to develop social skills.
Baby Books
Fabric books and bath books are a great way to get your baby interested in books and potentially reading later on.
What does this?
Babies start to understand the cause and effect from now. If they press a button, something happens. Develop this further.
Talk about Fruit
Fruit is great finger food. They are nutritional and come in many colours and textures, and are great to talk about.
