Sub-navigation

• Next »
• Back to features list »

Developmental milestones at 9 to 12 months

General development

At nine months your baby will be able to sit with no support. He can probably pull himself to a standing position and may be walking, while still holding onto the furniture for support.

He’ll be enjoying pat-a-cake or other clapping games and he’ll look for hidden objects as part of a game. He can now use his forefinger and thumb to grasp objects, and he’ll understand some of your simple directions and gestures.

Relationships and feelings

At this age he’ll know familiar people and will start to withdraw from strangers. He’ll get a bit anxious if his main carer is out of sight and he’ll stretch out his arms to ask for a cuddle from familiar people. He loves all sorts of interaction, including lots of talking and playing, and he’ll copy gestures such as coughing and waving.

Actions

He’ll make actions like pointing with his index finger, and throwing things on purpose. He can easily pass objects from one hand to the other.

Hearing

If your baby notices a faint sound, he’ll start looking for its source. At nine months he’ll turn towards the direction a sound is coming from. After ten months he’ll recognise his name when it’s spoken and turn towards the voice

Speech

By nine months your baby will show pleasure in babbling loudly and repeating sounds over and over. He can shake his head for “no” and nods his head to signal “yes”. By 10–12 months he enjoys looking at picture books, and will make a few sounds in response to the pictures. He may even be able to speak a few words.