The game from 7 to 12 months

At this stage of development, the baby enjoys the environment and the toys that are available to him. He likes to take pieces out and put in a box, to play with the water. When we give him a toy, he explores it in his hands, throws it on the ground to see what sound it makes. Throw down the cube towers we've built. These types of games help you perfect your hand-eye coordination.

During this stage, being able to sit with more stability allows you to enjoy the game more freely. It is important to play with children, but for them to play alone for a little while is also interesting. Playing alone implies enhancing their creativity and autonomy. For this we must leave safe toys within reach that can be handled and chewed without any danger to the baby.

Time to imitate

Skirt and hand games that the baby will begin to imitate are still very important for language development: “five little wolves”, palmettos… You can also play hide-and-seek with your hands or with a handkerchief.

From this moment on, he will begin to imitate the adult both in games and in ordinary activities: talking on the phone, driving ...

Advantages of the game

The use of stories with large pictures and bright colors is essential to enrich their vocabulary.

We can also stimulate their psychomotor skills through play. A good exercise at this stage is to roll them like a cannelloni or croquette on a soft surface. It is also interesting to make them trot on a horse and rock them. Crawling and crawling must be encouraged by leaving him on the ground face down surrounded by toys within reach.

From birth it is important to give the child a “”, at this stage the baby enjoys music and songs more and it is interesting to listen to music of different styles and dance to the rhythm with the child in her arms. Singing songs expands your vocabulary and helps you develop language.

The games of "hide and find" objects under a handkerchief, under a cup, in the hands ... for the child to look for them. The games of "give and take" are also important, emphasizing the characteristics of the toys or objects that are exchanged ("give me the blue ball", "take the yellow shovel").

Encourage creativity by letting the child start in the artistic world; always offer age-appropriate paper and paints and percussion musical instruments that baby can play on his own.

More suitable toys

Soft balls of different sizes, textures and colors, bath time toys (books or dolls) that can be safely put in the mouth and chewed on, snap-on pieces and unbreakable containers, baby mirrors, picture books and construction toys simple and stackable, dolls, puppets, cars to roll them, toy telephones or the like to get started in symbolic and imitation adult play and simple percussion musical instruments.

Offer the child, at the end of this stage, thick colored crayons to start scribbling, finger paints and sponges to enhance their creativity and experiment with colors.

• It is important to let the child play alone from time to time to enhance their autonomy and creativity.
• What he likes the most is to imitate the adult.
• With the game their language is enriched and their psychomotor skills are stimulated.

Pediatric Specialist