Baby Development 6–9 Months: Sitting, Crawling and Object Permanence

Your baby is properly on the move now — or very nearly. These months bring a real shift in what they can do and how much they want to do it. Keep the floor clear, keep your eyes open, and enjoy it.

What's developing

Movement. Sitting is arriving — first with support, then unaided. Rolling, tummy-dragging and rocking on all fours lay the groundwork for crawling, and some babies pull up to standing by nine months. Movement is the real work right now, so make sure there is safe space to do it. Hands are more deliberate too: your baby grips with both hands and passes objects between them. The endless dropping of things is not misbehaviour — it is a genuine experiment in gravity, fascinating every single time.

The senses. Your baby's field of vision is widening. They notice things further away, track movement across the room, and show real curiosity about the world beyond arm's reach. Mouthing is still part of the picture, but they are starting to explore a little more with their eyes.

Language. Babbling now comes in chains of syllables, and some babies say a recognisable word. Understanding races ahead of speech — your baby grasps far more than they can say. Keep reading aloud, keep talking, keep naming what you are doing.

Thinking. A big cognitive step happens around now: object permanence. Your baby begins to understand that things still exist even when out of sight. Before this, out of sight genuinely meant out of mind. Now they will look for a hidden toy and reach for you when you leave the room.

How Montessori supports this stage

Give movement room and time, and let dropping and retrieving run its course rather than treating it as naughtiness. Peekaboo and gentle hiding games are perfect for nurturing the new sense of object permanence.

Simple things to try

• Hiding games. Partly hide a favourite toy under a cloth and let your baby uncover it. Plain old peekaboo does the same job — and never gets old at this age.
• A treasure basket. Gather a handful of safe, interesting household objects of different textures, weights and sounds in a low basket, and let your baby explore freely without commentary.
• Space to move. Clear a safe stretch of floor and let your baby roll, shuffle, rock and pull up. This is the most important "activity" of all right now.
• Drop and retrieve. Offer objects your baby can drop, watch fall, and reach for again. Frustrating for you, riveting for them — and real learning.

Babies reach these stages at very different times, so hold the ages loosely. When first words and the pincer grip start to appear, our 9–12 months guide takes it from here.