How to Stimulate a 10-Month-Old's Senses

As your 10-month-old builds the ability to explore her world through more advanced motor movements, such as crawling or picking up objects, stimulating her senses becomes an increasingly important part of her development. According to the pediatric pros at the BabyCenter website, at 10 months old most babies are curiously making discoveries, moving in and around their environments and using a pincer grasp to investigate them. The American Academy of Pediatrics -- on HealthyChildren.org -- suggests playing up these growing skills by using developmentally appropriate toys and activities that stimulate the senses.

Things You'll Need

  • Infant toys
  • Child-safe mirror
  • Towels
  • Blankets
  • Nontoxic finger paints
  • Paper
  • Pudding or other spreadable foods

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose playthings that are developmentally appropriate for your 10-month-old. Look for toys that allow for open-ended exploration -- meaning that they don't require your child to "do" something, but rather allow him to make his own discoveries. Select toys he can experiment with -- such as a child-size toy drum, textured stuffed animals or infant-safe mirrors. Include toys that stimulate different senses, such as brightly colored cloth animals for him to look at, noisy rattles for him to hear and a textured board book for him to feel.

    • 2

      Grab your child's attention. Show your child the toy or play an attention-grabbing game such as hide-and-seek. Place the toy in your hand, showing it to your infant, and then hide it behind your back to get her looking. Shake a noisy rattle to perk up her sense of hearing.

    • 3

      Place the toy or play item slightly out of your child's reach, instead of simply handing it to her. Set the toy down a few feet away, encouraging her to use her senses of sight and touch, and developing ability to move, to find it. Shake a noisy plaything, getting your child to use her sense of hearing to follow the noise until she reaches it.

    • 4

      Give your infant plenty of faces to look at. Stimulate his sense of sight by showing him your face, other family member's faces, his own reflection in a baby-safe mirror or pictures of other babies in board books.

    • 5

      Bring your 10-month-old to different places, other than just staying in one room of your home. For example, take her to the park in her stroller, letting her smell the fresh-cut grass, see the bright green trees and hear other kids playing nearby.

    • 6

      Encourage your infant to explore how different items and objects feel. Use simple one-step instruction words such as "touch" or "feel" to interest your 10-month-old in feeling the items in front of him. Provide an array of differently textured toys or objects, such as a fluffy towel, piece of fuzzy craft fur, smooth board book or even the bumpy carpet. Move his hand to the objects, inviting him to feel the different textures.

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