The 8 month old baby development milestones process can be best described as the “age of discovery”, as your little one will be learning about the world around her very actively.
In this article:
- Physical Development Milestones
- Cognitive Development Milestones
- Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Communication Milestones
- Emerging Skills
- Advanced Skills
- Baby Care for Your Eight Month Old
- What You Can Do As Parents?
- When to Be Concerned?
Physical Development Milestones
- She is more active as she can crawl and will follow or chase almost anything she can.
- Starts rolling in both directions.
- Can hold objects with her index finger, middle finger and thumb.
- As her legs muscles are growing stronger, she will try to stand up independently.
- Will start chewing foods with her first few teeth.
- She has stronger jaw muscles now as she has been chewing on some solid food for the last few weeks.
Cognitive Development Milestones
- Your baby has developed linguistic skills and can speak few alphabets like B, D, M, etc.
- Can precisely point to the objects she is interested in with her cute little index finger.
Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Will smile and express happiness when she sees a close relative or friend, especially baby friends.
- Starts showing emotions of sadness or anxiety when gets separated from her favourite toy or loved one.
- You may see her crying, whimpering or looking sad if she sees another baby crying. This is called ‘Reflexive Crying’, which may be the beginning of your baby’s ability to develop and show empathy towards others; including you if she sees you upset.
Communication Milestones
- Will stretch her arms and make sounds (if need be) when she wants to get picked up.
- Actively makes gestures with her arms and face to communicate.
- Clearly understands the importance of the word ‘No’, why you say that to her and what you actually mean by saying that to her. This is a very important milestone in eight month baby development.
Emerging Skills
Your little one will start recognising her own name and turns towards whoever calls her out by her name. By now, the most familiar sound to her is her name.
Advanced Skills
Since your little one’s motor skills are improving fast, she will now have better Pincher’s Grip and can confidently transfer objects from one hand to another.
Baby Care for Your Eight Month Old
- Give her ample space and freedom to crawl and make your home ‘crawl friendly’ for her, especially the living room and bedroom.
- Ensure the rooms are uncluttered and do not have objects that may cause harm.
- Do everything necessary to ensure that her meal time and sleep routine are distinctly apart and do not clash.
What You Can Do As Parents?
- Play games with your baby from a foot or two away. This will make her crawl and help her strengthen her leg muscles.
- Engage in conversations as you play with your little one. This is an effective way to develop and improve her cognitive abilities.
- This is a good time to start introducing her to simple words, especially rhyming words like ‘cat’, ‘mat’, etc.
- Create opportunities for your baby to mingle and spend time with kids around her age. This can not only make her get used to being with others, especially kids, but also develops her social and communication skills. Most of all, this will do a lot of good for you if you are returning to work soon.
- Introduce her to new shapes and more colours. Get her books that tell stories with attractive pictures.
When to Be Concerned?
- Unable to recognise familiar faces, sounds or objects.
- Unable to sit properly even if assisted.
One important thing you need to notice is that babies reach their eight month development milestones at their own pace.
This means while some babies are already saying a few words, your little one may still be babbling. Similarly, while your baby may be quite happy to sit and watch things happening around her, others may already be taking their first steps.
This doesn’t necessarily mean your baby is lagging behind, as she will anyway get to the milestone soon. So just relax, do not worry and enjoy watching your baby grow.
Note: Each baby is different and therefore tends to grow at a different pace. Chances are that your little one may have crossed certain milestones already, or is probably a little behind on a few others, which is normal. If you still feel there is something of concern, do speak to your paediatrician/registered professional child healthcare provider.
