Last Updated on April 12, 2024

Thomas has just turned 14 months old, and like his brother he is very slow to get moving.

At his 12 month check up I told the Health Visitor that he’s not even trying to pull himself up on anything so he can start to stand on his own, and that instead of crawling he pulls himself around the floor.

The Health Visitor wasn’t concerned about any of these things, but as a mum I was.

I write all the time about the importance of not comparing your baby to other babies, as every baby develops differently and they all reach milestones at different ages, even before or after the age the milestone suggests.

With this in mind, the Health Visitor gave me some activities for babies that I can try with Thomas to get him used to using his leg muscles, as well as develop his social skills.

I’m sharing them here just in case you’d also like to get your baby using their legs a little better, and help them to develop their social skills.

Related post:
8 things new mums shouldn’t worry about

ACTIVITIES FOR BABIES

The Health Visitor gave me activity ideas for babies aged 8-12 months old, and for 12-16 month olds.

As there were similar activities across both age groups, I’ve listed all of the activities together, and have listed them by the activities I think they’ll be able to do from youngest age to oldest.

This means that once your baby has worked out how to do one bullet point, they should be ready to move onto the next one.

However, as we all know, babies develop differently and may even skip a stage in development, for example some babies skip crawling and just walk.

Because of this how I’m tackling these activities is doing those that I think Thomas is ready for despite the order they are grouped by. Once he’s okay with an activity I will go to the list and see what else I think he’s ready for.

FOOD ACTIVITIES

Let your baby feed themselves so they can master picking up small items and so they can discover different food textures.
Let your baby feed themselves entire meals cut into finger sized pieces so the food doesn’t pose a choking hazard. Doing this gives them confidence to try different types of food.

GAMES AND PRETEND PLAY ACTIVITIES

Whenever your baby points at something tell them what it is that they are pointing at.
Wave hello and good bye to your baby as you enter and leave a room and encourage your baby to imitate you.
Babies love mirrors, let them look at themselves and poke themselves in the mirror and see how they react when you make a face at them.
When introducing your baby to new places or people do it slowly. If your baby seems happy let them explore these things at their own pace, if they seem distressed comfort them and reintroduce them to the place or person when they feel better.
Bath time is a great time for your baby to play with cups, sieves or anything else that holds water or that another toy can float in.
Take turns clapping your hands, banging items together and rolling a ball to each other.
Give your baby blocks, cars, or pretend food that they can put in and out of a muffin pan, egg carton or container and on and off a shelf.
Show your baby how to make noises by giving them toys they can bang together, rattles they can shake, and spoons they can hit onto a container.
Fill a bag with toys that make noise, soft toys and books that your baby can take out of the bag and put back in.
Watch your baby crawl in and out of a large box and tell them what they are doing.
Let your baby unwrap a toy that’s wrapped in tissue paper or wrapping paper without tape.
Get their toys to act out everyday activities, like letting their doll pretend to get dressed, eat and sleep and tell your baby what the doll’s doing.
Partially hide things under blankets or pillows and let your baby find them.
Get your baby to help with daily activities like getting cups, finding shoes, or getting a nappy, these tasks help them to learn how to follow directions.

MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES

Set up an obstacle course with cushions or boxes so your baby has to climb over items and crawl into things.
Encourage your baby’s first steps by holding them so they’re facing another person and get them to step towards the other person to get a toy or treat.
Get your baby to practice standing by placing toys on the sofa or a sturdy surface like a coffee table. If they can’t stand on their own have someone support them.
Hold your baby in a standing position, play some music and let them move to the music. Once they can stand with little support hold their hands whilst they dance.

I hope that by doing some of these activities for babies you start to feel more at ease with what your baby can do.

I know from personal experience that once your baby does start to become more mobile you’ll long for the days where all they could do was pull themselves around on the ground so they couldn’t create large amounts of mess wherever they go.

What activities for babies do you think you’ll try with your little one?
I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.

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