This Is the Age of Curiosity

Imagine that you are 8 to 9 months old. You try to talk, but no one seems to understand your language. You try to walk, but you’re not quite sure how to do it yet. You reach out to touch things that are shiny, soft, hard, smooth, or sticky, but everyone tells you, "No, don't touch."

How would you feel? A little frustrated, you can bet! That's how your baby feels at this age. She is very curious and wants to find out about all the fascinating things that are around her.

When you find yourself saying no, give your baby a one- or two-word reason. This helps her learn why she cannot behave in certain ways. Tell your baby what you want her to do instead. Research shows that this really helps. If you only say no to your baby, that important word will have so many different meanings that it will confuse your baby and not really tell her anything useful.

If you see your baby crawling toward your slippers, and you know they’ll go into her mouth, say, “Yucky” or “Tastes bad” and give her something else to play with.

If your baby tries to touch the hot oven, say “Hot,” and move her away from the stove.

As your baby gets older, you can make explanations a little longer — three or four words instead of one or two.

Your baby's memory is not as good as yours. Remember how many tries it took her to learn pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo? You will have to tell your baby again and again how to behave and handle situations the way you want.

No is a word that is easy for your baby to say. The more your baby hears it, the sooner she will be saying it to you. Hearing your baby saying it to you may add to your frustration.

Show the world to her, lovingly and safely. Be your baby's guide while she examines, explores, and satisfies her curiosity.

How Your Baby Is Changing

When you say, “Look at the kitty,” he listens, and then he looks around until he finds it. Your baby is beginning to grasp whole ideas and is linking his eyesight and hearing together.

Is your child crawling? If not, he probably will soon. Your baby must learn to trust himself and his body before he takes the risks to learn to crawl or stand. Some babies never crawl. They scoot on their bottoms or roll. Then they walk when they’re ready.

You may have noticed that your baby goes through periods when he learns very quickly. At other times, there seems to be no progress at all. The slow periods are practice times. Your baby is taking time out from new development. He is practicing and perfecting his skills. When your baby accomplishes something and feels secure, he will try something new and challenging.