Ages 6‑9 Months

Physical Development

• Provide safe places for tummy time, crawling, and exploring.
• Encourage movement. Put some distance between you and your toddler when playing on the floor, put toys just a bit out of reach, or hold your toddler's hands and go for a walk.
• Offer your toddler a spoon (but your toddler won't be able to use it correctly).
• Roll a ball back and forth on the floor with your toddler while sitting.

What Your Toddler is Likely to Do

• Sit steadily without help for longer periods.
• Sit and bounce on bottom.
• Push up from tummy onto hands and knees, and rock back and forth.
• Sit up by pushing from a crawling position with arms at sides.
• Crawl with an object in one or both hands.
• Help when you pull her or him up to a standing position.
• Stand firmly on legs when held in a standing position.
• Progress from holding things in palm to using the thumb and first and second fingers.
• Rake at tiny objects with hands.
• Pick up larger objects with fingers.
• Chew or gum finely minced foods (six to seven months).
• Feed him‑ or herself small pieces of food (by nine months).
• Pick up a cup and put a cup to mouth.
• Pick up, hold, and control an object using both hands.
• Bang objects together.
• Explore objects by grabbing, shaking, sliding, and banging them.

Other Things Your Toddler May Do

• Pull her‑ or himself up using furniture.
• Move by shuffling on bottom or turning in circles on stomach.
• Stand by him‑ or herself while holding on to your hands.
• Put one foot in front of the other while holding on to your hands.
• Extend arms to keep from falling backwards.
• Lower her‑ or himself to sitting from a hanging‑on position.
• Crawl up stairs.
• Step sideways while holding on to furniture.
• Throw objects.
• Build a tower of two blocks.
• Point with the index finger.
• Poke fingers into holes or anything that looks interesting.
• Take objects out of containers.
• Release objects with no fuss.

How You Can Help Physical Development

• Continue to breastfeed.
• Get down on the floor at your toddler’s level.
• Provide safe places for your toddler to crawl and explore.
• Encourage movement. For example, put some distance between you and your toddler when playing on the floor, put toys just a bit out of reach, or hold your toddler’s hands and go for a walk.
• Give lots of opportunities for “tummy time” and crawling.
• Provide soft pieces of food for snacks and meals to develop finger control and chewing skills.
• Offer your toddler a spoon (but your toddler won’t be able to use it correctly).
• Roll a ball back and forth on the floor with your toddler while sitting.
• Make noisemakers with plastic bottles for your toddler to grasp and shake.
• Play finger games.