What developmental milestone should an 8-12 month old typically achieve?

During the age range of 8 to 12 months, infants typically develop significant communication skills, including the ability to express their wants and needs through gestures. This includes pointing, reaching, or using hand movements to indicate their desires, which is a crucial part of their social and cognitive development. At this stage, babies are beginning to understand that they can influence their environment and the behavior of others through non-verbal communication.

Reaching out or pointing towards objects is a foundational step in developing more complex language skills later on. This milestone signifies not only their physical development but also cognitive progress as they start to connect their actions with the responses from caregivers.

As for the other choices, while they represent important skills, they either emerge either later or earlier than the specified age range. Walking unaided generally occurs after the first birthday, and while some infants may start to use a spoon around this age, it's not as commonly established as gesturing for wants. Blowing kisses is often a skill seen a bit later as well. Thus, the ability to communicate wants through gestures encompasses a core achievement in the developmental timeline for infants between 8 to 12 months.