Dorrie Barbanel is a local Jersey City Behavior Analyst and Child Development Specialist, and a new mom! Dorrie opens up about where her professional and personal worlds collide and what products have been helpful from both her professional and personal perspective for children ages 7-9 months.
7 Months
By 7 months your little explorer is probably developing object permanence. Object permanence refers to a person’s understanding that when things are out of sight, they are not gone forever. A great way to play with this concept is peek-a-boo, and I LOVE these scarves for peek-a-boo! It’s super fun to cover your own face or your baby’s face to play. The scarves are a bit opaque, so your baby can see through it a little bit (and is less likely to feel alarmed), but their vision is obstructed enough that it’s a real treat when you whip off the scarf and they see you!
8 Months
Around 8 months cause and effect thinking skills may be starting to emerge. Cause and effect thinking skills are how we make inferences about why things around us are happening. Your baby is starting to learn “that sound happened because I shook this rattle with my body!” I like these rattles because they are soft and cuddly, and less likely to leave a mark when your child invariably bonks themselves with them, face plants onto them, or (lovingly) flings them towards someone else’s face.
9 Months
By 9 months causality is still settling in but your child may be ready for a grander---effect! Instruments and music are great at this age. In addition to being fabulous cause and effect toys, they can also be used collaboratively with peers or adults while singing. Instruments that need to be struck with an object (drums, xylophones, etc.) can also offer great imitative opportunities for you and your child to engage in together.