HearingExplore · 8–12 months

Ringing the musical mobile

You hang a musical mobile within their reach, and they discover that it makes a sound when they touch it.

To do with your baby between 8 and 12 months. It works on: hearing, cause and effect, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. You'll need: musical mobile.

In the app, one activity a day for their age →

What do I need?

• Musical mobile

How do I do it?

1. 01

   Set up the mobile

   Hang a musical mobile from the wall or a doorframe. Put it at a height your baby can reach while standing or from the floor.

2. 02

   Show them the sound

   Touch the mobile yourself and say “Listen!” with excitement as it plays. Do it a couple of times, so they connect the movement with the sound.

3. 03

   Help them try

   Encourage them with a “Your turn!” Gently take their hand and help them tap the mobile. When it plays, celebrate: “You made it ring!”

4. 04

   Watch them experiment

   Let them touch it on their own as much as they like. Notice how they try things out: tapping harder or softer, using different parts of their hand or tapping several times in a row to hear the rhythm.

5. 05

   Wrap up without rushing

   When they look away or start to fuss, leave it for today. You can play again another day.

What are they learning?

Every time they touch the mobile and it plays, they discover that their hand is what makes the sound. Seeing their actions get the same result again and again gives them confidence in what they can do. They also practise guiding their hand with their eyes and adjusting how hard they tap.

• Hearing

  Hears how the sound changes depending on how hard they tap

• Cause and effect

  Discovers that touching the mobile makes it ring

• Hand-eye coordination

  Watches the mobile and guides their hand until they reach it

• Fine motor skills

  Tries tapping with different parts of their hand, harder or softer

What the research says

1. Newborns prefer their mother's voice

   DeCasper & Fifer · 1980

2. Babies explore more when their movements make something happen

   Rovee & Rovee · 1969

3. Eye-hand teamwork in newborn babies

   von Hofsten · 1982

See all 8 references

1. DeCasper AJ, Fifer WP. Of human bonding: newborns prefer their mothers' voices. Science. 1980;208(4448):1174-1176. doi:10.1126/science.7375928 doi.org/10.1126/science.7375928
2. Muir D, Field J. Newborn infants orient to sounds. Child Development. 1979;50(2):431-436. doi:10.2307/1129419 doi.org/10.2307/1129419
3. Rovee CK, Rovee DT. Conjugate reinforcement of infant exploratory behavior. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 1969;8(1):33-39. doi:10.1016/0022-0965(69)90025-3 doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(69)90025-3
4. Waismeyer A, Meltzoff AN. Learning to make things happen: Infants’ observational learning of social and physical causal events. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2017;162:58-71. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.018 doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.018
5. von Hofsten C. Eye-hand coordination in the newborn. Developmental Psychology. 1982;18(3):450-461. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.18.3.450 doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.18.3.450
6. Berthier NE, Carrico RL. Visual information and object size in infant reaching. Infant Behavior and Development. 2010;33(4):555-566. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.07.007 doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.07.007
7. Gerber RJ, Wilks T, Erdie-Lalena C. Developmental milestones: motor development. Pediatrics in Review. 2010;31(7):267-277. doi:10.1542/pir.31-7-267 doi.org/10.1542/pir.31-7-267
8. Rochat P. Object manipulation and exploration in 2- to 5-month-old infants. Developmental Psychology. 1989;25(6):871-884. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.25.6.871 doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.25.6.871

Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education