Activities for 6-Month Olds

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In their first few months, babies see the world primarily from their bellies and backs. Even when you can’t see it, they’re hard at work strengthening muscle groups necessary for sitting, crawling, and eventually walking.

Then around 6 months, everything changes!

All of your baby’s hard work has paid off. Your baby’s neck control is better, and their trunk is more stable. Your baby is now able to play on their tummy while using their arms to interact with objects. Soon, your baby will learn how to sit upright, first with help, and then on their own for longer periods of time. This frees up the use of baby’s hands, which can then be used to interact with toys. Game changer.

There’s a whole new world of sights, sensory experiences, and play activities for your little one to explore. Wake windows are also starting to increase by this age, as most babies are now taking three naps a day. This allows for more active play time in between naps, which means more opportunities for language, social engagement, and cognitive development!

6 month milestones

Supporting your baby’s development starts with knowing what’s expected at any given age. For six month olds, we expect to see developmental milestones such as:

• Shouting and vocalizing to get attention
• Starting to babble a variety of sounds (ba, ma, ga, da)
• Smiling and laughing socially
• Beginning to interact with objects functionally
• Responding vocally when you talk and sing
• Stopping for “no” or when name is called
• Trying to imitate raspberries/some sounds
• Trying to imitate movements like pushing a tower/banging a drum
• Attending to pictures/books for short intervals
• Sitting for short periods of time while supported
• Beginning to sit without support

These are just a few of the milestones we look for in 6 month olds. You can check and see where your baby is at and where they may need extra support by downloading our free milestone checklist for ages 0-36 months.

Developmental activities for 6 month olds

Toys are becoming more interesting by the day for most babies at this age, but so are your wooden spoons, TV remotes, and the tags on literally any object. This makes it easy to engage with your baby in so many ways!

Remember that play is one of the best ways to help your little one learn and grow. Social play in particular helps your baby build cognitive skills and learn to solve real-world problems for years to come! (1)

Here are our top 5 activities for 6 month olds:

1. Stacking block towers: Stack several blocks (we like these soft ones for no ouchies!), modeling “up” each time you stack a block. Encourage baby to reach toward the tower and knock it down. Model “boom” and “crash” when the tower falls down!

2. Bring on the music! Babies love music and at 6 months, they can start making music of their own! Maracas that baby can grasp, pass back and forth between hands, and shake to the music are a fun first introduction to musical instruments. Keep your language simple and say “shake, shake, shake” as you play. These bongo drums can be used during tummy time or while sitting upright and make drum sounds. Model simple action words like “bang,” “tap” and “boom” while you play. This is not only working on cause and effect, but also on early imitation skills. Remember, gross motor imitation comes before vocal imitation!

3. Fill and spill: Filling baskets and other soft containers with baby-safe toys is a great way to encourage independent exploration and work on early container play. Babies love to put objects in, take them out, and dump containers! Model simple function words like “in,” “out,” “dump” as baby explores the toys. Some favorite fill and spill type toys also encourage functional play, such as Melissa and Doug’s toolbox, soft purse, and grocery bag. Show your baby how to “drill” the wood, talk on the soft phone, and “munch” on the carrot. Other fill and spill toys have soft animals that make animal sounds when you squeeze them, like our favorite hungry pelican! These are great for working on sound imitation. Model the animal sounds for baby and remember to pause to see if baby will make an attempt!

4. Beep beep! Toy cars, both big and small, are a great way to introduce things that go. This colorful car is a excellent for new sitters and will be played with for years to come!  There is so much that you can do with it and it grows with your child. Baby can sit supported in the car and practice cause and effect by beeping the horn (model “beep beep!”), turning the steering wheel, and moving along to the music. Model waving “bye bye” as your baby “drives” away. Soft cars that have a pull-back function are engaging and enticing once baby starts trying to crawl. Model function words such as “go” and “stop” while you play!

5. Shared book reading: Now’s the age that you can really start diving into board books. Read face-to-face with baby so that she can see your facial expressions and begin to turn the pages. Babies have short attention spans, so use books with textures, sounds, big flaps, and buttons to increase engagement. Give simple directions such as “push” or “touch” and remember to pause for several sections so that baby can begin to respond. See my favorite books for 6 month-olds here!

Sources:

1. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function: Working Paper No. 11.