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Your ten-month-old is incredibly smart. At this age, they are sponges soaking up everything around them. They are watching you all the time.
They are learning constantly just by watching.
For example, if you give them a toothbrush for the first time and they have watched you brush your teeth daily they will know it goes in their mouth.
People often underestimate their babies. Parents will assume they will learn skills and things later. Like if they frequently drop their cup at dinner. The parent will think they should just be patient and when they are 3 they won’t drop their cup anymore.
I want to talk about how we can teach our babies at a young age. We can have gentle expectations of them.
We are going to talk about how routines, consistent schedules, and repetition are key for educational growth in your ten-month-old.
I really started to notice this repetition during the toddler phase, if you want to read about that check out What Benefit does it Serve When My Toddler Repeats Actions and Processes?
Benefits of Routines
Routines and repetition are the keys to learning.
Think back to when you were a child or teenager. When you learned a new skill you repeated it.
Think about algebra or hitting a baseball. You didn’t get it on day one. It took practice. It takes repetition.
If you can make something a part of your routine, you are going to naturally repeat it.
Routines also create a sense of safety and expectation.
Your baby knows what to expect or what is coming.
Take car rides. My baby doesn’t freak out typically during car rides even though they cannot see me and they don’t know where they are going.
We have a routine of driving somewhere and once we get there I get them out of the car, as a normal parent would.
My baby has trust and faith in me being there to get them out once we reach our destination.
On the occasion that we get home and I take a load or two into the house before getting my baby out they will start to fuss.
They are not happy that I deviated from the routine. They expect to immediately get out of the car and be reunited with me.
Some routines naturally happen, like getting your baby out of the car. Some routines are created, like reading books before bed.
Routines can be good for both you and the baby.
Routines give you consistency.
If reading a book before bed is a part of your routine with your baby they will get the benefits of all that reading time, which of course is good for them.
If reading isn’t part of a routine, then you are likely not going to give your baby as much book time. Routines give you that desired consistency.
Teaching Good Habits
Do not be afraid to start teaching good habits. Your baby may only be ten-months-old but they are capable of learning.
It is never too early to start gently encouraging good behavior.
Something we start working on around this time is teaching our little ones to not drop or throw their sippy cup during meals or snacks.
This is not a strict thing. Instead, it involves gentle repetition.
I do want to say it can be frustrating at times. It is a lot of work on your part to stay consistent.
Would you rather be frustrated by picking up your baby’s cup 20 times during a meal or take the time to teach them not to do so?
If you just allow the behavior and pick up the cup you are making absolutely 0 progress. You should not expect any positive change.
However, if you take the extra step of reminding your baby the cup stays on the table you are investing time into teaching them how to enjoy a proper meal setting.
What I am currently doing with our baby is sitting beside them. When they grab their cup and hold it down at their side or hanging over the edge of the table I tap the table in front of them. I just tap tap and say put your cup here. You can do it. The cup goes here.
If they drop their cup to the floor I will pick it up. I “tap tap” the spot in front of them and say cup goes here and place the cup.
This helps connect the tap tap to where the cup goes.
Does this work-Yes!
Can it be frustration-Yes!
But so is picking up the cup 20 times, knowing that you will have to do it again the next day and the day after that.
If you want to read more on table manners check out Drastically Improve Your Toddler’s Table Manners with these 5 Tips.
You can decide what is more exhausting for you.
This can also translate to other parts of your baby’s life. It could be a reminder to stay still during diaper changes. You could be working on encouraging them not to scream at the table or rip pages in a storybook.
Teaching good habits is important and can be sped up with routines and repetition. The more often and consistently a learning opportunity occurs the quicker they will learn.
The cup example is something that can be learned quite quickly because eating happens consistently and frequently.
Something that happens less frequently, like say teaching your baby not to scream at church is a bit more difficult. You likely only attend church once a week. This gives you less frequent learning opportunities and less repetition.
Don’t be afraid to start gently working on good habits with your ten-month-old. We have so much to teach our babies and time goes by so fast. Take advantage of starting early.
10-Month-Old Daily Schedule
You are going to have some sort of natural routine, rhythm, or schedule to follow. Below is our current schedule for our ten-month-old. Every day can of course be a little different. You can have weekly commitments or random obstacles like teething or sickness.
We are going to talk about a generally good and normal day.
Create a general routine for your day. What are the things you do every day like naps and meal times?
What are the other things you do, but maybe at random times? Like diaper changes.
Find the holes in your routines and also the cues.
A cue is something you do that then means you do something else. For example, when I am done eating and my plate is empty that is the cue to take my plate to the dishwasher.
After your baby is done eating you get the cue to wipe their hands and face.
It is like cause and effect.
Typical Schedule:
- 7:45 Wake Up
- 7:55 Nurse #1
- 9:00 Breakfast
- 10:30 Morning Nap
- 11:35 Wake Up
- 11:45 Nurse #2
- 1:00 Lunch
- 2:30 Nurse #3
- 2:45 Afternoon Nap
- 4:15 Wake Up
- 4:20 Snack
- 5:30 Nurse #4
- 6:15 Dinner
- 7:40 Nurse #5
- 7:55 Bedtime
Now you can take cues in your day and attach something you want to do with your baby. Maybe you feel like you aren’t reading enough to them.
If you have read the book Atomic Habits you will understand what I am doing here.
Take something that you always do during your day, like a diaper change. Attach the thing you want to do more with something you have to do daily.
After every diaper change, we sit and read a book.
A diaper change is a cue to read a book. It becomes part of your routine. It is established as a habit.
It is going to happen much more frequently now.
Take a minute and think about a few things you would like to teach, improve, and increase in your baby’s daily life.
Pick one or two things and find somewhere or something to attach them to. Once these new skills or routines are mastered go back to your list and find places to add more.
Helping Your Baby Learn
You can put these skills towards anything you want your baby to learn.
You could teach them to stop something negative like dropping their cup.
You could teach them a new skill like waving every time they go “night-night”.
The goal may be more about you reminding yourself to read to your baby.
Learning can take many different forms. What are you wanting your baby to learn?
Think about it.
Break it down into small steps.
Find a way to make it a frequent part of your routine.
Do not underestimate the power of routine and repetition.
Stack it on to something you have to do.
Conclusion
I encourage you to gently teach your baby things. Do not stress about learning occurring quickly or on your timeline.
One baby may take a week to stop dropping their cup, while another may take a month. The point isn’t quickly making your baby the perfect little child. The goal is to encourage them to learn slowly and gently over time.
Let learning still happen naturally. Play for learning is huge. Your baby is going to learn through play and observation.
Do not underestimate your ten-month-old’s ability to learn.
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