Sitting, crawling, looking upwards – your baby’s curiosity is their driving force. Day by day, month by month, they’re inching closer to standing upright and the big milestone of “walking”. As your little one nears the end of their tenth month, there are new baby milestones to observe. We’d like to share these with you, alongside insights from our expert Katrin Ritter. This month’s focus: the half-kneeling position.
10th Milestone “Half-Kneeling” and Other 10-month Baby Milestones
On your knees, ready, go! The Half-Kneeling Position
Can your baby already get into the angled sitting position on their own? Are they also quite good at crawling? If so, you’ll likely notice them pulling themselves up from crawling or angled sitting to a kneeling position against furniture this month. This stems from their boundless curiosity and urge to explore their world vertically.
Once your little one is kneeling, they’ll likely try to stand one leg up, moving into an asymmetrical half-kneeling position. They’ll probably pause there for a moment, feeling it out – until they’ve gathered enough energy, courage and curiosity to pull themselves up to standing using their arm strength. Though ‘arms’ isn’t quite right, as at this stage, your baby only pulls up on the side where they’ve bent their leg.
Your baby will likely practise this sequence repeatedly, becoming more confident until they can pull themselves up against a smooth wall. They’ll still need support from furniture, walls, or you for balance for a while. Don’t be surprised if they take a short ‘training break’ after their first gentle attempts. Babies often end their practice rather abruptly on their bottoms, which may startle them momentarily.
Provide incentives, but don’t ‘help’
During this time, you can offer your little one great incentives to keep pulling themselves up. For example, attach interesting toys to the outside of their cot. Or sit on the floor with your little one on your bent leg. If you place a chair with an object on it directly in front of you, they’ll certainly push themselves from sitting to standing to reach it.
Please only provide incentives, don’t help or pull them up. Only when your child gets into this position on their own are their core muscles and spine truly ready for it.
The pincer grip enables finer grasping
There’s a form of grasping that’s one of the most challenging in the first year: the pincer grip. Your babies might master this by the end of their tenth month. It develops from the pinch grip but allows for even finer grasping, as the thumb pad meets the index finger pad, with nails touching.
This 10-month baby milestone stage is crucial for fine motor skills. As parents, you’ll notice your little one becoming more adept at picking up small objects, a clear sign of their growing dexterity. Remember, each baby develops at their own pace, so don’t worry if your child hasn’t mastered these skills just yet. Keep providing a safe, stimulating environment for them to explore and practise these new abilities.
Moreover, babies’ feet now lose their grasping function and are increasingly used for support. It’s crucial to let your babies play barefoot now, allowing their soles to receive more stimuli and strengthen the muscles in their little feet.
Babies test their boundaries
You’ll notice that your little ones are growing into more independent beings at ten months. They imitate as much as they can, for instance, trying to eat with a spoon or drink from a cup. They also test their boundaries, observing how serious you are about your limits. Additionally, they now decide for themselves whether they want to cuddle or not and give their first kisses. However, they still lack the fine motor skills for a proper kiss. So, they simply open their mouth wide and more or less gently bite, er, kiss your cheek or nose.
Encouraging 10-month baby milestones
Your child pulls themselves up to stand! What a milestone. And how quickly they’ve reached it, don’t you think? Now, it will only take a few more months until they’ve built up enough muscle and balance to attempt their first step. It’s so much fun to observe your baby now and support their development milestones. Get down on the floor and let them pull themselves up on you. Support where necessary, but don’t pull on their little arms to help them up. As mentioned before, only what your little one achieves on their own is good for them. These 10-month baby milestones are exciting for parents. Remember, each baby progresses at their own pace, so enjoy each moment of your little one’s growth journey.
