Playing with My 9 Month Old

If she likes to talk, you may want to focus on language development activities such as singing, rhyming, and reading. My DD didn't go for all the suggested games either. Babies, just like adults, all have different interests. Just do what she enjoys.

R.:

you ARE playing with her - traditional "games" arent necessary - you sitting down with her and talking with her and spending time with her is the best type of play anyways. get out some pots and pans - turn on some educational tv shows - you are doign great! if she is talkign and doing everything (and then some) that a 9month old should be doing - then you are doing a great job!

S. w.

I 100% agree with Stephanie....by sitting down with your girl and talking to her, and creating a conversation, listening to her, and playing whatever it is...you are playing with her

Sounds like you have a perfectly normal 9 month old baby! I'm not sure where you heard or read about playing "games" with a 9 month old. At most, the attention span of a 9 month old will be enough for to get what she needs from you to eat or drink and then she'll move in exploring, just as you stated. That's what 9 month olds do. Any interaction with your child is playing. Chattering is wonderful! Laughing, tickling, blowing bubbles on her tummy, any of that is good play time. Don't stress it and add more to it than it is. Keep talking to your child, interact with what she wants from you. She sounds great!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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She's probably fine. What I found was "most interesting" to play with, were my pots and pans. I kept them in a lower cupboard right next to the stove, and all 4 kids found that the world's best toy cupboard. I ended up putting some long plastic spoons there, too, so they could stir whatever they were making. You wouldn't want an infant to walk around with a long spoon, in case she fell, but I wouldn't worry about her abilities is she's doing other age appropriate things.

I would try turnning the TV off all together. If you must use it to get some chores done, limit it to 30-45 minutes. Children shouldn't be exposed to TV until at least 2 years, but that usually unrealistic since most times it serves as the distraction for several things.

I would also try getting her into so play groups - perhaps even some organized ones where they have the activities - like at your local library or fitness center. This will sometimes get them interested, since other children are doing it as well.

Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Not sure what kind of games you try to play. I would suggest sitting with her while she is playing "independently." She needs the social interaction. Sitting on your lap and playing with your hair gives her interaction. I wonder what you are doing during this time. This would be a great time to sing and do finger plays. Read to her. Whether she seems to be paying attention or not. Talk about what she sees. At her age I would suggest turning off the tv all together. It is the human interaction that stimulates your daughters brain. We love to sing and dance to music, really love Raffi. Do you let her color? I would suggest the book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June Oberlander. This book gives one activity per week for ages birth through age 5. If you daughter doesn't seem interested one day try it again the next .

As I had to be told many times with my first child the problem with everything we read as new moms is that our babies did not read it 1st! It sounds like your little one is progressing normally! I have a 3 yr old and a 9 mos old and yes the 9 mos old is more interested in getting into everything else beside the house full of toys that she has. It is normal and healthy for her to be curious about these things so don't worry- one day she will suprise you and get the games that you are trying to play with her. The most important thing is just to enjoy the time- it goes very quickly- and know that just providing her with your attention and love will be enough.

Please! I have a 9mo and I am in the same boat! :) Occassionally he will have a "catch" with my husband or I, but most times he likes to crawl around the ENTIRE house, pull himself up on absolutely anything he can, and yell "DADADADADADADA!" Which I love byt the way, even when I tell him to say "MAMA" and he looks me dead in the eye and says "DADA!". Don't worry, as they get older they will be more interested in one thing at a time.

My baby is the same age and doesn't play the games either. I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. Just like your litttle one, she travels around the house and gets into everything. I now try to just talk to her about the things she's doing, or try to make a game out of the object that she's interested in at that time. Showing her different things that can be done with it, being silly with it...I think that play is a learned activity and it just doesn't appear without practice. Well good luck, I know that worry is a daily part of our lives now about EVERYTHING, but it sounds like she is doing wonderfully.

Hi R.,
I have a 9 month old also and am experiencing the same thing except my daughter only watches TV for short spurts then moves on to eat the dog's food:)

She loves blankets so I give her lots of those. Her exersaucer is a saving grace and she loves to just stand and hold on to stuff. I find she loves all kinds of stimulation and enjoys being out and about. I take her on errands with me and that seems to satisfy her. Being around other kids is something she enjoys so maybe do some play groups.

S.

Bob and weave and go with the flow, my friend! Suggested games are merely suggestions for kids who like to play games. All children are entirely different in their interests. My daughter didn't like anything structured or specific at all at that age. She just wanted to be with me, no matter what I was doing. She couldn't even keep an interest in toys. Just wanted to sing and pay with momma and play with my hair, my clothes, my facial features, whatever. She didn't even explore! It was quite exhausting! But not at all a defect. She is just now at 3 getting interested in games because my one year old son loves games-totally opposite of her. Love and contact is the most important thing, don't worry about specific little projects she's supposed to achieve by certain dates in time. Too scholastic and studied. Listen to your gut, you'll know if something is wrong. She sounds fabulous and normal. Don't get into the slippery slope of analyzing attention spans. The differences in children are vast, but most attention spans are short to non existent at 8 months. They just want constant non specific entertainment in the form of attention. Whatever she likes doing, let her do it-except hours in front of the tube, because she's checking out and not learning and exploring while watching. Educational shows don't register that young, it's just visual white noise. Put on music and let her tinker around aimlessly, she's actually learning a lot that way and exercising by crawling etc. She will eventually learn she needs more entertainment, and may grow interested in games later on. Your doing a great job meeting her needs. Keep it up!