NINE- TO TEN- MONTH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST (©Diane Bahr) Place a check mark next to the characteristics you see in your nine- to ten-month-old baby.
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Typical 9- to 10- Month-Old Baby |
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| MOUTH/FEEDING DEVELOPMENT | ||||
| Integrates involuntary suckling reflex (seems to be disappearing 6-12 months) | ||||
| Integrates gag reflex (now found on back ⅓ of the tongue secondary to appropriate feeding & mouthing experiences; 6-9 months) | ||||
| Integrates transverse (side) tongue reflex (seems to be disappearing 9-24 months) | ||||
| Controls the phasic (up-down) bite reflex (5-9 months) | ||||
| Integrates phasic (up-down) bite reflex (seems to be disappearing 9-12 months) | ||||
| Uses increasing diagonal rotary jaw movement (6-11 months) | ||||
| Uses mirror neurons in feeding making it important for care-providers to participate in & demonstrate eating & drinking activities (This is a social, interactive process) | ||||
| Gets bottom 2 front teeth (central incisors) between 6 & 10 months | ||||
| Gets top 2 front teeth (central incisors) between 8 & 12 months; removes food from bottom lip with top front teeth | ||||
| Gets bottom lateral incisors (10-16 months) | ||||
| Gets top lateral incisors (9-13 months) | ||||
| Has closed mouth & easy nose breathing during sleep & when mouth is inactive/empty | ||||
| Rests tongue in the roof of the closed mouth to help maintain palate shape | ||||
| Is free of tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip, &/or cheek ties) | ||||
| Sucks liquid from breast &/or bottle with up-down tongue & jaw movement | ||||
| Increases suck, swallow, breathe sequences on the breast &/or bottle (different on breast than bottle) | ||||
| Learns to manage appropriate food & liquid textures; relies less on breastfeeding & bottle-feeding over time | ||||
| Drinks from an open or recessed-lid cup placed at lips, but not into lip corners | ||||
| Drinks more than 3 consecutive sucks from open or recessed-lid cup with improving jaw control (9-15 months) | ||||
| Drinks from a straw with straw placed only on lips (6-12 months) | ||||
| Uses 3 or more continuous, consecutive sucks during proper straw-drinking (6-12 months) | ||||
| Removes food from a spoon with upper lip movement | ||||
| Moves lower lip inward when spoon removed (6-12 months) | ||||
| Can close lips when swallowing | ||||
| Holds and bangs spoon (9 months); imitates stirring with spoon (9-10 months) | ||||
| Can pass a food pieces from one hand to the other (8-9 months) | ||||
| Begins picking up small food pieces with thumb and fingers (9-12 months) | ||||
| Uses jaw movements matching shape & size of the food when taking bites & chewing | ||||
| Tightens lips & cheeks to keep food in place during chewing on side where food is placed | ||||
| Moves lips with chewing (6-9 months) | ||||
| Moves lips inward slightly when food remains on them; moves lip corner & cheek inward on the side of chewing (8-11 months) | ||||
| Moves upper lip forward & downward during chewing (8-12 months) | ||||
| Moves lower lip inward while removing food with upper incisors (9-21 months) | ||||
| Uses lips & cheeks to control & move food (8-18 months) | ||||
| Uses up-down biting & chewing/munching on a soft cookie (6-9 months) & on a hard cookie (6-19 months) | ||||
| Uses diagonal rotary chewing on the side where food is placed (6-9 months) | ||||
| Bites through a soft cookie (7-12 months) | ||||
| Moves tongue up & down with the jaw, but begins moving tongue toward small pieces of food on the side gums with a rolling &/or shifting motion (6-9 months) | ||||
| Begins to move the tongue independently from the jaw during sucking (7-11 months); transfers food from center of tongue to both sides of mouth (7-12 months) | ||||
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9-12 Month Foods/Liquids (unless advised otherwise by pediatrician, dietician, etc.) |
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| Soft, cut-up cooked and safe, soft, cut-up uncooked foods (such as bananas, skinned peaches, peeled avocado, etc.); introduce citrus slowly. | ||||
| Cooked fruit or vegetable strips. | ||||
| Soft, chopped meats (such as stewed chicken, no bone; ground meat; no fish). | ||||
| Casseroles with noodles, pasta, or rice. | ||||
| Bread, toast, crackers, dry cereal without sugar (no chocolate). | ||||
| Eggs (yolks at 9 months, whites at 12 months) and cheese (soft cheese strips, cottage cheese, yogurt formulated for babies). | ||||
| Sips of water, formula, or breast milk from an open-, recessed lid-, or straw-cup | ||||
| Breast milk or formula from breast or bottle, allowing baby to self-limit. | ||||
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BODY DEVELOPMENT (Typical 9- to 10- Month Old) |
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| Full Body Reflexes | ||||
| Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex/Response: The flexion part of this response is usually integrated by the brain by 4 months; the extension part of this response may take as long as 3 ½ years | ||||
| Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex/Response: Develops between 6 and 9 months; seems to disappear (become integrated by the brain) around 12 months | ||||
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When Sitting (Typical 9-Month-Old) |
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| Has good trunk/core control and pelvic/hip adjustment while placing legs in a variety of positions | ||||
| Can circle/ring, long-leg, and side sit (Note: W-sitting stresses ligaments and can destabilize the trunk/hips) | ||||
| Stretches leg muscles in long-leg sitting when reaching forward | ||||
| Transitions to crawling from newly acquired side-sitting | ||||
| Reaches for objects in a variety of ways, including items overhead | ||||
| Can voluntarily push, hold, transfer, and drop objects; begins using a pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) | ||||
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When Sitting (Typical 10-Month-Old) |
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| Is usually eating and drinking (hopefully in a suitable, well-fitting chair) or examining toys; otherwise, the baby is typically moving (e.g., crawling, pulling to stand, cruising) | ||||
| Long-leg sits (legs out in front), side-sits, and frequently tailor-sits (with feet together or ankles crossed) | ||||
| Can move easily out of side-sitting and tailor-sitting to crawling and climbing | ||||
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When Using Hands (Typical 10-Month-Old) |
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| Increasingly manipulates/explores toys with hands and vision (visual, tactile, proprioceptive systems) | ||||
| Picks up small, appropriate, safe food pieces with pincer grasp; uses thumb, index, and middle finger to pick up appropriate small toys (three-jaw chuck) | ||||
| Takes objects easily out of containers with improving toy release to drop into containers | ||||
| Coordinates hands in activities (e.g., moves objects from hand-to-hand, bangs objects together, holds a container while removing objects/food - such as finger feeding appropriate foods from a bowl) | ||||
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When Crawling (Typical 9-Month-Old) |
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| Explores the environment, as well as attains and transports toys | ||||
| Returns to sitting by shifting hips and legs to one side or the other | ||||
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When Crawling Typical 10-Month-Old |
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| Moves legs and arms reciprocally, smoothly, and quickly with trunk/core rotating appropriately in opposite directions (main way of moving around the environment) | ||||
| Kneels and half-kneels while playing | ||||
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When Kneeling or Half-Kneeling (Typical 9-Month-Old) |
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| Can play with toys with one hand placed on a bench or step to stabilize the body | ||||
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When Climbing (Typical 9-Month-Old) |
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| Shifts weight to one side or the other and lengthens the weight-bearing side | ||||
| Can shift from climbing to kneeling or half-kneeling but cannot climb down stairs or from furniture | ||||
| Combines climbing, kneeling, half-kneeling, and rotating hips/pelvis to sit in a chair | ||||
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When Climbing Typical 10-Month-Old |
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| Experiments with climbing over and onto objects (e.g., furniture) | ||||
| Learns which items are safe or unsafe on which to climb via experimentation | ||||
| Uses active problem solving and motor planning while making refined changes in postural control (dynamic stability) | ||||
| Enjoys climbing stairs | ||||
| Begins to demonstrate mindfulness when descending stairs (i.e., looks behind, lowers weight-bearing leg, tailor-sits on step, rotates trunk/core, stabilizes body with arm(s), and repeats) | ||||
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When Standing (Typical 9-Month-Old) |
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| Places one hand on furniture to stabilize and balance body while placing weight on legs | ||||
| Rotates body over hips from one side to the other while holding onto furniture with one hand or the other | ||||
| Can lower from standing unless using both hands to manipulate a toy (may drop to sitting) | ||||
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When Standing Typical 10-Month-Old |
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| Rises from half-kneeling position using the weight-bearing hand for balance and postural control; may squat from standing | ||||
| Uses one hand for support while reaching with the other (developing increasing postural control) | ||||
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When Cruising Typical 9-Month-Old |
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| Shifts weight laterally (to one side or the other), rotates hips/pelvis toward unweighted leg (face-side) and transfers weight to that leg | ||||
| Changes side-to-side cruising toward forward walking while holding onto furniture with skull-side hand | ||||
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When Cruising Typical 10-Month-Old |
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| May move sideways (stabilizing with two hands) or turn body in direction of movement (stabilizing with one hand) | ||||
| Increasingly engages motor planning while cruising along a variety of items in a variety of directions (variations on a theme develop generalization – Suzanne Evans Morris) | ||||
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During Supported Walking Typical 9-Month Old |
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| Makes stepping motions while fixing the shoulder girdle, upper trunk/core, and hips with arms upward and hands/arms held by care-giver’s hands | ||||
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When Supported in Walking Typical 10-Month-Old |
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| Fixes shoulder girdle, trunk, and pelvis but increasingly dissociates leg movements with one or two hands held |
Primary References
•Bahr, D. (2018). Feed your baby and toddler right: Early eating and drinking skills encourage the best development. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
•Bahr, D. C., & Hillis, A. E. (2001). Neurological and anatomical bases. In D. C. Bahr Oral motor assessment and treatment: Ages and stages (pp. 1-41). USA: Pearson College Division.
•Bly, L. (1994). Motor skills acquisition in the first year: An illustrated guide to normal development. USA: Psychological Corp.
•Feldenkrais, M. (1972). Awareness through movement (Vol. 1977). New York: Harper and Row.
•Morris, S. E., & Klein, M. D. (2000). Pre-Feeding skills: A comprehensive resource for mealtime development. (2nd ed.)
. San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders.
•Neuro Restart (2019). Primitive reflexes. Retrieved from http://www.neurorestart.co.uk/primitive-reflexes/
•Vulpe, S. G. (1994). Vulpe assessment battery-revised: Developmental assessment, performance analysis, individualized programming for the atypical child. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications.