Here's what you might see your baby doing between the ages of 9 and 12 months.

Daily Activities

• Continues to enjoy banging, waving, and throwing toys.
• Scrutinizes toys and other objects.
• Becomes absorbed in toys and games.
• Explores food with fingers.
• Initiates play.

Motor Skills

• Goes from sitting to lying position unassisted.
• May pull self to standing position.
• Stands holding on to furniture.
• Tries to move one foot in front of the other when held upright.
• May try to crawl up stairs.
• May begin to walk with assistance.

Language Development

• Imitates the rising and falling sounds of adult conversation.
• Imitates more speech sounds, but does not yet understand most of them.
• Repeats sounds again and again.
• May begin to say "mama" or "dada" appropriately.

Emotional and Behavioral Development

• Continues to resist doing what he does not want to do.
• Begins trying to imitate some parent behaviors.
• Loves showing off for family audience.
• May cry when parent leaves the room.
• May resist diapering.

Each child is unique. It is therefore difficult to describe exactly what should be expected at each stage of a child's development. While certain attitudes, behaviors, and physical milestones tend to occur at certain ages, a wide spectrum of growth and behavior for each age is normal. These guidelines are offered as a way of showing a general progression through the developmental stages rather than as fixed requirements for normal development at specific ages. It is perfectly natural for a child to attain some milestones earlier and other milestones later than the general trend.

If you have any concerns related to your child's own pattern of development, check with your health care provider.

Pediatric Advisor 2006.4; Copyright © 2006 McKesson Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Written by Donna Warner Manczak, PhD, MPH and Robert Brayden, MD. This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information is intended to inform and educate and is not a replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.