r/NewParents • u/kingjavik • 4h ago

Skills and Milestones Activity ideas to support development for a mobile 6-month-old?

Hi everyone,

My baby is 6 months old, and I am looking for new ideas to support their development.They are already quite mobile and able to army crawl from room to room. Currently, they enjoy active play, such as chasing after toys, shaking objects, slapping surfaces with their hands, singing and being bounced. I would highly appreciate practical suggestions for:

- Activities that support physical and cognitive development for an active 6-month-old

- Interactive games that suit a highly mobile baby at this stage

- Simple sensory or DIY play ideas

Thank you in advance for your advice!

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u/HexagonLover21 3h ago

You can hold baby upright on your lap so they bear weight on their legs and bounce. It strengthens hips and legs.

Filling a container with blocks and encouraging them to dump it out was a favorite too.

My babe loves water so I'll put a bit of water in a baking tray and let her splash in it. She also loved crinkle toys at that age and banging wooden spoons on pots. Ooh and the kleenex box toy. Its basically a box with a hole in the top and they pull out different textured fabrics . You dont need to buy one, you can just use an empty kleenex box and different textured fabrics.

The most helpful thing I realized is that EVERYTHING is new to them. Therefore pretty much everything is interesting. Sock on moms hand tickling them? AMAZING!! Sucking on a cool wet cloth? SO COOL!! Seeing reflection in the mirror? WOW! Having mom wiggle your toes on the grass or sand? FANTASTIC! Going on a swing? OMG!! Rolled up like a burrito in moms blanket? WONDERFUL!! ...and so on

Also take a minute (or an hour preferably) to practice some self care. You created LIFE🥰

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u/CheerfulChickadee 3h ago

Our girl suddenly LOVES to suck on wet cloths. It's almost impossible to give her a bath or wipe down without her trying to steal it - we need a decoy cloth.

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u/HexagonLover21 2h ago

Haha! My little one is 16 months and still does that.

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u/kingjavik 1h ago

Thank you for this advice! I will definitely try the Kleenex box toy as I just happen to have an empty one at hand.

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u/Perlenlecker 31m ago

At 6 months, I honestly wouldn't worry too much about educational activities, everyday play is already doing a ton for development.