Your baby at 10 months: first words, first steps and family food

What is new this month

Standing alone for a few seconds, squatting down and getting back up, and cruising confidently. Some babies walk this month; most do not, and the normal range runs to about eighteen months.

First words appear — 'mama', 'papa', 'baba', or a made-up sound used consistently for a particular thing, which counts as a word. Understanding is much larger: most ten-month-olds follow simple instructions with a gesture.

Fine motor skills sharpen: putting objects into a container and taking them out, poking with an index finger, and holding a spoon (badly, and with enthusiasm).

Eating with the family

By now a baby should be eating a chopped, softened, less-spiced version of what the family eats — dal-rice, soft roti torn into dal, khichdi with vegetables, curd rice, upma, idli, egg, soft fish or chicken for families who eat them.

Three meals and one or two snacks a day, at the family table where possible. Babies learn eating by watching people eat, and a baby fed separately in front of a screen learns something else entirely.

Still no added salt or sugar, no honey, no cow's milk as a drink, and no whole nuts or other choking shapes.

Let the mess happen. Self-feeding with hands and a spoon is a developmental task, not a housekeeping failure.

Sleep and behaviour

Two naps, roughly 12-15 hours of sleep in 24. Some babies begin resisting the morning nap; hold it as long as you can, since dropping to one nap before around fourteen months usually produces an overtired, harder evening.

Expect testing: dropping food deliberately, saying no with the whole body, and checking your face after doing something forbidden. This is learning about cause and effect rather than defiance, and calm consistency works better than a big reaction.

Separation anxiety may still be strong. Short goodbyes, a familiar caregiver and reliable returns are what shorten the phase.

When to see a doctor

The standing newborn rules still apply: any fever in a baby under three months means the hospital the same day; fast or laboured breathing, the chest sucking in, blue lips, a fit, a rash that does not fade under pressure, refusing feeds, no wet nappy for six to eight hours, or a baby who is floppy and hard to wake are all same-day emergencies at any age.

This month specifically: not standing with support, not babbling or making consonant sounds, no pointing or gestures, no response to their name, no interest in games, not picking up small objects, using only one side of the body, or losing any skill.

This article is general information, not medical advice, and is no substitute for personal medical advice. For any decision about your or your child's health, please consult your doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What counts as a first word? — Any consistent sound used for a specific thing — 'ba' for bottle every time counts. Words used for anything and everything do not, yet.

Q: Should I give a bottle at bedtime? — No. Milk pooling around the teeth overnight is the main cause of early childhood tooth decay. Finish milk, clean the teeth or gums, then bed.

Q: My baby walked at nine months and my sister's has not at eleven. — Both are normal. The walking window runs from about nine to eighteen months, and early walking predicts nothing about later ability.

Q: How do I stop him throwing food from the high chair? — Say once, calmly, that food stays on the tray, and end the meal when throwing continues. It is a cause-and-effect experiment, and the effect that ends it is the meal finishing rather than a big reaction.