What are babies supposed to know at 8 months?

J

Jonathanmommy

Registered User
Hi moms,

Today my mom made a comment that my 8 month old baby doesn't know half as much as my sister and I did when we were 8 months old. As a first time mom, I never really thought about how much an 8 month old should know. I thought they just don't know anything until at least 1 year old but now my mom's comment got me worried.

First of all, she said we could already recognize and say "mama" and "baba" by around 9 months. We could also separate little building blocks into piles by different colors. We could also follow simple commands such as "touch your nose", "touch your ears", "clap hands" etc.

I am kind of shocked because my baby is now just over 8 months and he cannot do any of the above! In fact, he can only make noises like "bababa", "dadada" (and "mama" occasionally). He definitely does not know any of the colors, or body parts. He spends all day crawling around the house, pulling himself up to standing position so he can grab the remote control, play with the switches on our hi-fi system. And he dances when he hear the National Anthem at 6pm right before the evening news.

I want to start teaching him something but I don't know where to start - colors? body parts? animals? numbers ? or just random things?

Would really appreciate if someone can give me some idea. I am just so clueless.:crib
 
i think that your mother is mixing up 8 months with 18 months!

i've taught babies from 6 months and up at baby playgroups and i can tell you... i have NEVER met a baby that can do the things you mother says they can!
 
As a mother with older children (my eldest is nearly 20 years old!) I can testify that it is difficult to remember clearly what my daughter could do at what age. In fact it is only with the aid of photographs and videos that I can answer this question.

When my baby was 8 months I went to Guilin in China for a holiday and she could:
Sit without support,
Feed herself with bits of food (but often it was non-food items she put into her mouth),
Just about pull herself up to standing by holding on to something but wasn?t too steady,
Make noises but they definitely weren?t words.
She took an interest in almost everything and interacted with people who came up to say hello to us. In China they loved her because she has a very cute shy sort of smile.

This web site, http://www.envisagedesign.com/ohbaby/develop.html, gives a list of the developmental stages for babies.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
ok... just got out my handy dandy "what to expect the first year" book...
THE NINTH MONTH...

by the end of this month (by the time the baby is 9 monhts), your baby SHOULD be able to:
1) work to get a toy out of reach
2) look for a dropped object

WILL PROBABLY be able to:
1)pull up to standingfrom sitting (9 1/2 months)
2) get into a sitting position from stomach (9 1/2 months)
3)object if you try to take a toy away
4) stand holing on to someone or something
5)pick up tiny object with any part of his thumb and finger (9 1/4 months)
6)say mama or da da indiscriminantely
7)play peekaboo

MAY POSSIBLY be able to:
1) play pat-a-cake (clap hands) or wave bye bye
2)walk holding onto furniture (cruise)
3)understand word "no" (but may not always obey it)

MAY EVEN be able to:
1)play ball (roll ball back to you)
2)drink from a cup independently
3)pick up tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger
4)stand alone momentarily
5)stand alone well
6)say dada or mama indiscriminately
7)say one work other than mama or dada
8)respond to a one-step command with gestures (give that to me- with hand outstretched)



just so you know blocks are not even mentioned in this book... for that you need "what to expect, the toddler years"!!!
 
Understand word "no" (but may not always obey it)

I think this is true of 8 months, 18 months, 8 years and 18 years!
 
Thanks girls! Maybe I am just too nervous that I am not taking good care of my boy. Anyway, yes, good to hear from all of you. Maybe my mom just exaggerates what we could do when we were young.... :agree:
 
I have a friend who told me a lovely story about herself as a child. When she was a little girl she told her teacher that she has a trampoline at home and that she and her brothers loved to jump up and down on it. Later the teacher mentioned this to her mother and it turned out that the trampoline was in fact the parental double bed!

However, when this grandmother came to visit she complained to my friend that her children were wild and not well brought up. And that when my friend was a child the grandmother didn?t allow such behaviour in the house.

Sometimes I think that grandmothers have selective memory. I know I?ll want to remember the good times over the bad when I?m a grandmother.

Best wishes,
Barb
 
don't worry too much. i am sure your baby will do everything eventually so don't compare your baby to others. i have gfs who ring me and ask if my 8.5 mth old can do this and that. i tell them it doesn't bother just as long as they are not any major developmental problems. my baby wants to stand but i don't encourage him as many of my husband's taiwaneese clients have said if you believe in feng shui (which we are strong believers) and fortune telling stuff, the later the child walks, the better his life will be. i told my neighbour about this who was also a teacher for special needs children (until she became a full-time mum of two) and she also belives in that as she has seen some cases herself. that is my two cents worth!
 
Sarah said:
Understand word "no" (but may not always obey it)

I think this is true of 8 months, 18 months, 8 years and 18 years!
Click to expand...
ha... as i was typing it out.. i was thinking EXACTLY the same thing! LOL!
 
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