Stimulating your 9 month old can get a little overwhelming. Sometimes you get a little warn out figuring out what to do with them since they are learning to be mobil, slightly talking (or at least making lots of noise that they think are words), and getting into everything. My wife often says she’s going crazy because she talks all day to our son who only answers back with “da, da, da” or a loud scream. Let’s talk about how we can be proactive in educating our kids starting at this young age.
How can you not get excited when you child gets excited? Every time I hear my son’s laughter and excitement for the new things he sees I get excited.
If you are struggling trying to find new things that are fun and cheap to stimulate your child here’s what we do:
1. Field Trips
The Zoo:
Kids love animals and it’s also great weather to get out. You get exercise walking around and they get enjoyment seeing all the amazing animals. The best purchase that we ever had was getting a zoo pass. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone with kids. Fortunately we live super close to the zoo which makes it even better to just jet over, stroll around, see the animals, and come home. Best part is that the baby is engaged and finds something new every time we go. I love watching him when he finds an animal at the zoo. One visit when we saw the black bears, he started growling because I always growl at him. Cutest!!
The local farm:
If you don’t live close to a zoo or it’s too expensive for you, why not hit up a local farm. We happen to have a farm close by where we can see the farm animals for free. Great thing about the farm is that your child isn’t going to be seeing the same animals that they saw at the zoo (unless you have a super boring zoo). Being able to walk around and let your child see everything that you show them in books is so fun for them and for you.
2. Neighborhood walks:
We love to go around the neighborhood pushing our son in our BOB stroller. He gets to see all of our fun neighbors, birds that try to attack us, and all the fun houses that we live by. It’s great to get out, socialize with your neighbors and get to know them better. Plus, you are getting exercise, while your child is getting visually stimulated.
3. Read read read:
When at the doctor I asked about of Sesame Street, Baby Einstein’s, and Kardashians which would be the best to stimulate our son? He laughed and said, “Do you know what would be better than any of those?” I was clueless. “None!” He told me that these shows have staged images to show children. What is better than TV is reading to your child and showing them images that they don’t see all the time. You can walk them around and they’ll see trees, dogs, cats, neighbors. But how often are they going to see a gorilla, zebra, dinosaur, tractor, bull dozer, etc. With books you are opening up a whole new world for them to discover. The doctor also said that if you want your child to love to read then they need to see that it’s important to you. So I guess I better pick up a book or two.
4. Talk like you’re crazy:
Babies and toddlers are people too and they can learn a lot from you talking to them. Carry on a conversation with them, I mean granted they are not going to talk back to you, but they are going to learn words and their vocabulary will grow….eventually. That being said, it’s probably a good time for me to cut back/quit the swearing. Kids are like a sponge and will soak up the language that you are using. Eventually that sponge is going to overflow with all the crazy words that you have said to them. I can’t wait for the day I get to hear his little voice talking back to me and answering all the crazy questions I ask him.
What are you waiting for? Go out and stimulate your child in ways that are simple, fun, and will help them develop.