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Here Comes the Ball

Push and catch a ball together so your baby can track its changing position and adjust their body to reach it.

  • 9 months
  • Quick prep
  • At home
  • About 5 minutes
Focus
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Developmental benefits

  • Movement：Pushing, catching, and turning to find the ball encourages your baby to adjust their body to the ball’s changing position while using large-muscle movements.
  • Cognitive：Watching where the ball travels helps your baby notice distance and direction and adjust their attention as its position changes.

Preparation

What You’ll Need

  1. 1

    Your baby’s soft toy ball

Step 1

Push the Ball Away

Place the ball near your baby and invite them to push it away. Return it and repeat. As the ball rolls, narrate whether it went far or stayed close.

What to notice

  • Looks toward the ball after hearing you say, “Here comes the ball” Attending and Understanding
  • Sits down and reaches out to push the ball Gross Motor

Tips

  • Use “far” and “close” as the ball moves so your baby hears each word with a visible change in distance.
  • Different pushes send the ball different distances. Give your baby time to repeat the action and adjust how they use their body.

Step 2

Catch the Ball from the Side

Sit facing your baby and slowly roll the ball toward one side of their body. Invite them to turn and reach for it. Alternate sides so they can try both directions.

What to notice

  • Tracks the rolling ball with their gaze Emergent Mathematical Thinking
  • Reaches out to catch the rolling ball Perception

Tips

  • At first, another caregiver can sit beside your baby and help them join the back-and-forth game.
  • Looking toward the ball is already a response, even before your baby reaches or catches it. Say, “You saw the ball!”
  • Adjust the direction and speed of your roll based on your baby’s response so the ball remains possible to reach.
  • If your baby loses track of the ball, point to it to help them find its new position.

Step 3

Turn and Find the Ball

If the ball rolls past your baby, point to it or pat the mat nearby. Give them time to turn, locate it, and bring it back so the exchange can continue.

What to notice

  • Twists their torso and reaches in the direction the ball is moving Gross Motor
  • Plays ball with you for a while Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning)

Tips

  • Turning to retrieve the ball asks your baby to notice where it is, decide how to move, and coordinate the movement needed to reach it.

Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026