When do babies start lifting their heads. How does tummy time benefit infant development. What age do most babies begin crawling. When should a baby start walking independently. How can parents support their baby’s motor skill development.

The Journey of Head Control: Building Neck Strength

One of the first remarkable milestones in a baby’s physical development is gaining control over their head movements. This process begins in the earliest months of life and continues to improve as the infant grows stronger.

During the first three months, babies have relatively weak neck muscles, requiring full support when held. Parents and caregivers should always ensure proper head support during this time, using their hands, specialized V-shaped cushions, or bouncy cradles designed for infants.

As babies reach 4 to 6 months of age, their neck muscles gradually strengthen, reducing the need for constant support. This progression is a crucial step in their overall physical development, paving the way for more advanced motor skills.

How can parents support head control development?

• Practice supervised tummy time sessions
• Encourage head lifting with engaging toys
• Support the baby’s head and neck during feeding and carrying
• Gradually reduce support as the baby shows increased strength

By promoting head control exercises, parents can help their infants build the foundation for future physical milestones, such as sitting up and crawling.

Grasping and Reaching: Developing Fine Motor Skills

The development of fine motor skills is a fascinating process that begins in the early months of a baby’s life. Initially, newborns tend to keep their hands in a fist, but they may instinctively grasp objects placed in their palms, such as a parent’s finger.

As infants grow, their ability to manipulate objects and interact with their environment expands rapidly. Around the four-month mark, many babies begin to discover their own feet, often grasping them during playtime. This self-exploration is an important part of their sensory and motor development.

Between 12 and 18 months, most babies master the ability to point at people and objects, a significant milestone in both motor and communication development.

How can parents encourage reaching and grasping skills?

1. Offer safe, age-appropriate toys within reach
2. Play games that involve handing objects back and forth
3. Encourage exploration of different textures and shapes
4. Practice finger foods to promote pincer grasp development

By providing opportunities for babies to practice these skills, parents can support their child’s growing independence and cognitive development.

The Power of Tummy Time: Strengthening Core Muscles

Tummy time is a crucial activity for infant development, offering numerous benefits for physical and cognitive growth. This simple practice involves placing a baby on their stomach while awake and supervised, promoting strength in the neck, shoulder, and trunk muscles.

Contrary to popular belief, tummy time can begin shortly after birth. Even newborns can benefit from short sessions, gradually increasing duration as they grow stronger. For babies between 4-6 months, tummy time remains an essential part of their daily routine.

What are the benefits of regular tummy time?

• Strengthens neck and shoulder muscles
• Promotes head control
• Prevents flat spots on the back of the head
• Encourages reaching and grasping skills
• Prepares babies for crawling and other mobility milestones

To make tummy time enjoyable for babies, parents can try various approaches such as using play mats, positioning mirrors for self-discovery, or engaging in face-to-face interaction during these sessions. The key is to keep it fun and gradually increase the duration as the baby becomes more comfortable and stronger.

Rolling Over: The First Step Towards Mobility

Rolling over marks a significant milestone in a baby’s journey towards independent movement. This skill typically emerges between 3 to 7 months of age, with most babies mastering it by the 7-month mark. The ability to roll over is not just a physical achievement; it also represents a cognitive leap as babies learn to coordinate their movements intentionally.

When do babies typically start rolling over?

While every baby develops at their own pace, here’s a general timeline for rolling milestones:

• 3-4 months: Some babies may start rolling from tummy to back
• 4-5 months: Many babies can roll from back to tummy
• 6-7 months: Most babies can roll in both directions

Parents can support this development by providing ample tummy time, encouraging reaching for toys placed just out of reach, and celebrating each attempt at rolling. It’s important to ensure a safe environment as babies become more mobile, removing hazards and never leaving them unattended on elevated surfaces.

Crawling: Exploring the World on All Fours

Crawling is an exciting milestone that opens up a world of exploration for babies. This skill typically emerges between 6 to 10 months of age, though some babies may start earlier or skip crawling altogether in favor of other forms of mobility.

It’s important to note that there’s no “correct” way to crawl. Some babies prefer the classic hands-and-knees crawl, while others may opt for bottom-shuffling, army crawling, or even rolling to get around. All these methods contribute to a baby’s physical development and spatial awareness.

How can parents encourage crawling?

1. Provide plenty of supervised tummy time
2. Create safe spaces for exploration
3. Place favorite toys just out of reach
4. Get down on the floor and demonstrate crawling
5. Use positive reinforcement for any attempts at movement

As babies become more mobile, it’s crucial to childproof the home environment, ensuring that potential hazards are out of reach and that spaces are safe for exploration.

Mastering the Art of Sitting: A Balancing Act

Learning to sit independently is a complex skill that requires significant muscle strength and coordination. This milestone typically occurs around 4 to 7 months, with most babies showing signs of sitting by 8 months. However, it’s important to remember that every child develops at their own pace.

The journey to independent sitting begins with the development of head control and progresses through various stages. Initially, babies may need support to sit upright, gradually requiring less assistance as their core muscles strengthen.

What are the stages of sitting development?

• Supported sitting (around 4 months)
• Tripod sitting – using hands for support (5-6 months)
• Brief moments of unsupported sitting (6-7 months)
• Extended periods of independent sitting (7-8 months)

Parents can support this development by providing opportunities for supervised practice. Placing babies in a sitting position with support, such as cushions or a Boppy pillow, can help them build the necessary muscles. As they grow stronger, gradually reduce the support to encourage balance and core strength.

Walking: The Ultimate Mobility Milestone

Walking is perhaps the most anticipated milestone in a baby’s first year of life. This complex skill requires a combination of balance, strength, and coordination that develops over many months. While the average age for independent walking is around 12 months, it’s entirely normal for babies to start walking anywhere between 9 and 18 months.

The journey to walking begins long before the first steps. Babies typically progress through a series of developmental stages, including pulling up to stand, cruising along furniture, and standing independently before taking their first unassisted steps.

What are the typical stages leading up to walking?

1. Pulling up to stand (8-10 months)
2. Cruising along furniture (9-12 months)
3. Standing independently (11-13 months)
4. Taking first steps (12-15 months)
5. Walking independently (12-18 months)

Parents can support their baby’s journey to walking by providing safe spaces for practice, offering support when needed, and celebrating each milestone along the way. It’s important to ensure the home environment is safe for a mobile toddler, removing hazards and securing furniture that could tip over.

Supporting Your Baby’s Physical Development: Key Strategies

As parents and caregivers, there are numerous ways to support and encourage a baby’s physical development throughout their first year and beyond. By understanding the typical milestones and providing appropriate opportunities for practice and exploration, you can help your baby build the strength and skills they need for each new challenge.

What are effective ways to support infant motor development?

• Provide ample tummy time from an early age
• Offer age-appropriate toys that encourage reaching and grasping
• Create safe spaces for unrestricted movement and exploration
• Engage in interactive play that encourages physical activity
• Celebrate and encourage each new skill and attempt
• Be patient and remember that every baby develops at their own pace

It’s important to remember that while these milestones provide a general guide, every baby is unique. Some may reach certain milestones earlier or later than average, and that’s perfectly normal. However, if you have concerns about your baby’s development, don’t hesitate to consult with your pediatrician or health visitor for personalized advice and support.

When should parents seek professional advice about development?

While variation in developmental timelines is normal, there are certain situations where professional input may be beneficial:

• If a baby is not showing signs of rolling by 6 months
• If there’s no attempt at crawling or alternative mobility by 12 months
• If a baby is not walking independently by 18 months
• If there’s a noticeable lack of progress or regression in skills
• If you have any concerns about your baby’s muscle tone or coordination

Remember, early intervention can be key in addressing any potential developmental concerns. Your healthcare provider can offer reassurance, suggest strategies for support, or recommend further evaluation if necessary.

In conclusion, the journey from newborn to toddler is filled with exciting milestones and developments. By understanding these stages and providing a supportive environment, parents can help their babies thrive and grow, celebrating each new skill as it emerges. Remember to enjoy this special time, as the first year passes quickly, and each milestone is a precious moment in your child’s development.

Your baby’s development from 2 to 12 months

You’ll notice many changes as your baby grows and develops through their first year. There are lots of things you can do to support them.

It can be an exciting time and you may have many questions, such as:

• When does my baby start lifting their head?
• What is tummy time and is it good for my baby?
• When will my baby start to crawl?

It’s important to remember that every baby is different.

Supporting your baby’s head

Heads are very heavy and it takes babies some time to strengthen their muscles so that they can support their own head.

In the first 3 months babies have quite weak neck muscles and need to be fully supported with your hands, a V-shaped cushion or bouncy cradle.

By 4 to 6 months your baby will gradually need less support as their muscles strengthen. There are simple things you can do, and games to play, that can help your baby develop muscles and control.

More about head support.

Grasping and reaching

At first, your baby will hold its hand in a fist, although theymay also grip something put into their hand – like your finger.

During the next few months, your baby will be exploring how to:

• touch and grasp their feet at around 4 months (although, for some babies, this comes later)
• point at people and things between 12-18 months.

You can help your baby practice reaching and grasping in lots of ways.

More about grasping and reaching.

Tummy time

Tummy time is great for helping your baby strengthen its neck, shoulder and trunk muscles. It’s active, fun and good for bonding.

You can start as soon as your baby’s born. Even from 4-6 months tummy time is a good thing to do.

There are lots of different ways to help your baby enjoy tummy time.

More about tummy time.

Rolling

It’s a big moment when your baby starts to move about on their own. The first step is often rolling, an important stage towards crawling and getting around.

Some babies can start rolling as early as 3 to 4 months, with most rolling by 7 months.

There are lots of things you can do to help your baby gradually learn how to start rolling.

More about rolling.

Crawling

Your baby starting to crawl is a milestone. They can now move about and start to explore the world.

How they go about it doesn’t matter – some babies bottom shuffle, others move backward or even wriggle on their tummy.

What’s important is that you are on hand to help when needed and keep them safe.

More about crawling.

Sitting

Sitting is much harder than it looks, something adults have forgotten as we do it so easily.

Your baby will need to have muscles strong enough to hold their head up on their own and control their movement. When they do, they’re ready to practise sitting.

Your baby should be showing signs of sitting by 8 months.

There are several activities you can try with your baby to help them to start sitting. Ask your health visitor for any further advice you may need or if you have any concerns.

More about sitting.

Walking

Walking is one of two big milestones parents often look for – the other is your baby’s first word. But walking takes a lot of skill and practice and your baby will need time and patience.

First, they need to learn to balance, then learn to stand. Many babies begin by practising pulling themselves up against furniture and using it for support before taking their first steps.

But if your baby is not walking independently by 18 months, then you should speak to your Health Visitor or Family Nurse for advice.

More about starting to walk and walking independently.

Movement Milestones: Babies 4 to 7 Months

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Ages & Stages

Ages & Stages

​Once your baby reaches about four to seven months old, get ready for some exciting movement milestones. Some of the big challenges they’re working on at this age include rolling over both ways, for example, and sitting up!

Your baby will begin to master skills like these their back and neck muscles gradually get stronger. They’re also developing better balance in their trunk, head, and neck.

First, they’ll raise their head and hold it up while lying on their stomach. Encourage this by placing them on their stomach and extending their arms forward while they are awake. Then, get their attention with an attractive toy. Use it to coax them to hold their head up and look at you. This also is a good way to check their hearing and vision.

Getting ready to roll over

Once they’re able to lift their head, your baby will start pushing up on their arms and arching their back to lift their chest. This strengthens their upper body. This is key to keeping steady and upright when sitting. At the same time, your baby may rock on their stomach, kick their legs, and “swim” with their arms. These skills, which usually appear at about five months, are needed for rolling over and crawling. By the end of this period, they’ll probably be able to roll over in both directions. However, the time frame varies for different babies. Most children roll from stomach to back before the opposite direction, although doing it in re­verse is perfectly normal.

Working on sitting up

Once your baby can raise their chest, help them practice sitting up. Hold them up or support their back with pillows as they learn to balance themselves. They’ll soon learn to “tripod,” which is leaning forward as they extends their arms to balance. Interest­ing toys in front of them will give them a focus as they gains their balance. It will be some time before they can get themselves to a sitting position without your help. But by six to eight months, if you position them upright, they’ll stay sitting without leaning forward on their arms. Then they can discover all the wonderful things the world has to offer from this new vantage point.

Gaining more control of hands & feet

By the fourth month, your baby is also getting better control of their hands. For example, most babies can easily bring interesting objects to their mouth now. During their next four months, they’ll begin to use their fingers and thumbs in a mitten- or claw-like grip or raking motion. They’ll man­age to pick up many things.

Your baby won’t develop the pincer grasp with index finger and thumb until about nine months old. But by the sixth to eighth month, they’ll learn to transfer objects from hand to hand, and turn and twist them. Be sure to remove any objects from his en­vironment that he could choke on or injure himself with.

As their physical coordination improves, your baby will discover new parts of their body. Lying on their back, they can now grab their feet and toes and bring them to their mouth. While being diapered, they may reach down to touch their genitals. When sitting up, he may slap his knee or thigh. Through these explorations he’ll discover many new and interesting sensations. They’ll start to understand the function of body parts. 

When you place their feet on the floor, they may curl their toes and stroke the surface, use his feet and legs to practice “walking,” or bounce up and down. Watch out! These are all preparations for the next major milestones: crawling and standing. ​​

Toys ​Appropriate for Your 4- to 7-Month-Old

• ​Unbreakable plastic or mylar mirror

• Soft balls, including some that make soft, pleasant sounds

• Textured toys that make sounds

• Toys that have fingerholds

• Musical toys, such as bells, maracas, tambourines (make sure none of the parts can become loose)

• See-through rattles that show the pieces making the noise

• Old magazines with bright pictures for you to show him

• Baby books with board, cloth, or vinyl pages​

More information

• ​Simple Ways to Entertain & Boost Your Baby’s Development at Home
• The Power of Play: How Fun & Games Help Children Thrive​

Last Updated

3/8/2021

Source

Adapted from Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 7th Edition (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

from sitting to first steps

6 months

Here is the first significant date in your baby’s life – six months! The child, rising on the handles, tries to sit down. Some children at this age already sit quite confidently, but their backs still need support. Others get on all fours and sway back and forth. So they prepare for active crawling. Each of the child’s routes now has a goal – a pet (cat or dog), a favorite bear or ball, mom or dad.

Pediatricians consider it absolutely normal for a baby to start crawling between 5 and 8 months of age. However, there are children who skip this stage altogether. Surely you have heard stories about how the children of your friends immediately began to stand on their feet, without crawling at all. Each child is individual. However, crawling is a very useful skill. Crawling contributes to the proper development of the back muscles, and also helps to form interhemispheric connections and spatial representations.

Therefore, if your baby does not want to crawl in any way, and among your friends there are parents with crawling babies, invite them to visit. Let your child interact with them. After all, as you know, children learn everything from their peers much faster than from adults. A doctor in such a situation may recommend a special massage and a set of exercises.

7 months

Now the baby sits confidently without support, and actively crawls all day long. He kneels on his own. He enjoys studying the properties of surrounding objects: knocks them, shakes them, throws them on the floor, disassembles, breaks, pulls them into his mouth. Some babies try to get up, but if your child doesn’t show that desire yet, there’s nothing to worry about.

8 months

The child can now not only sit, but also change from place to place. Turns body sideways to pick up toys. If you now ask the baby where the father or grandmother is, and he will happily turn around in the direction of his own person or point his finger at him. Excellent crawling, sometimes with a toy in hand. He can wave his pen after: “bye-bye.” By the end of the month, many children are able to stand up at the support, holding on to the railing of the crib or playpen.

9 months

Now is the time to get all dangerous objects out of your baby’s path. Because the baby now not only gets up, but can also take the first steps, holding on to the support. However, he still prefers to get to the intended goal by crawling rather than by walking. Reaches for objects that are taller than him, and sometimes he even manages to pull something off the table.

He likes to “read” magazines and books, flipping through the pages and tearing paper with special pleasure and excitement.

10 months

The child learns to stand on his own, sometimes even trying to complicate his task: standing, then crouching and rising again. True, while such attempts may look ridiculous and clumsy. Begins to walk, holding only one hand on the hand of an adult or on walls, furniture, wheelchair toys specially designed for the first steps. Also at this age, sometimes you can already notice that the child begins to give preference to one of the hands.

11 months

Your baby is now standing on two legs without support. Can bend over and pick up toys from the floor. The time has come for the first long-awaited steps. If the baby does not dare to make them yet, do not worry. Pediatricians consider it normal if a child starts walking between the ages of 9 and 15 months.

The kid snatches a spoon from you during dinner, a rag, a comb, showing with his whole appearance that he wants to do everything himself. He likes to collect and disassemble cubes and pyramids, build turrets, he likes musical toys.

12 months

Your little one is like Figaro, here and there, constantly on the move. Many children begin to walk independently by the age of one. But some babies at this age move only holding the hand of an adult, and this is also absolutely normal.

Also, children like to take part in the process of dressing, bathing, eating. They can also climb onto a chair or a low sofa, climb over a small obstacle

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Neurological development of a child in the first year of life. Examination “Fundamental”

Salmagambetova Elena Garrievna

Neurologist, Epileptologist

April 24, 2021

The development of a child in the first year of life occurs within a certain time frame. By the second month of life, your child holds his head well, follows the object, hums, smiles; at 3-3. 5 months – turns over on a barrel; at 4.5-5 – performs a turn from the back to the stomach, takes toys; at 7 months – sits, crawls from 8, at 10-11 – gets up at the support and begins to walk independently up to a year and a half.

In general, according to generally accepted ideas, the absence of tempo retardation is an important indicator of health. But it also happens that with a relatively good psychomotor development, there are some disturbances in the overall harmony of movements, “discomfort”, which alerts attentive parents. The range of complaints is very wide – from a persistent tilt of the head to one side from 1.5-2 months to a significant asymmetry in movements, gait disturbance after a year. Of course, gross anomalies are already detected in the hospital. For example, congenital muscular torticollis, lesions of the nerves of the brachial plexus (the baby’s arm is “flaccid”, unbent in all joints, brought to the body), congenital deformity of the feet, etc.

Many other diseases of the neuromotor system are usually diagnosed during the first year of life, usually in close cooperation between a neurologist and an orthopedist. Therefore, now they are even trying to single out neuroorthopedics as an independent field in medicine.

Early recognition of neuro-orthopedic problems, bone and joint development disorders is very important, because as the child grows and develops, the manifestation of these conditions may increase and, accordingly, more therapeutic measures will be required to cope with the disease.

The first examination takes, on average, 1.5 to 3 months. This review is “fundamental”. Information about the course of pregnancy and childbirth is carefully collected, complaints are evaluated, the child is examined (do not be surprised that the examination itself does not take much time – here the duration can tire the child and inhibit his responses). If there are suspicions of violations in the motor sphere, then at a subsequent examination (for example, after 1 month), the most important thing is to understand whether these signs are aggravated. In addition, additional instrumental diagnostic methods often help us – ultrasound of the cervical spine and brain, ultrasound of the hip joints, radiography (according to strict indications), electroneuromyography (analysis of the activity of muscle and nerve fibers). But I repeat once again that many anomalies in the form of the body and functions of movement in a small child are diagnosed clearly and definitively by comparison in dynamics.

Let’s dwell on the main points: “what to pay attention to?” (frequently asked by parents). It is very difficult to give an answer in a simple form, but to make it clear, let it sound like this:

• body position
• range of motion
• presence of asymmetry in the motor sphere.

I will give examples.

When the baby is lying on his back, his head is preferably turned to one side (forced position?) Normally, the head changes alternately in relation to the midline of the body, it can be slightly bent towards the chest.

Baby’s shoulders are symmetrical on both sides. In a child under 3 months old, the forearms may be slightly bent, the hands are clenched into a fist, this is the norm. But if, when pulling up on the handles, you can feel a weakening of flexion on 2 sides or a decrease in muscle strength on one side, this is no longer the norm.

We also pay attention to the child’s legs – whether they are strongly bent in the hip and knee joints, whether there is strong resistance when changing clothes, swaddling, or vice versa – lethargy, weakness, “overextension” are noted.

Here the baby begins to roll over and constantly on one barrel (as if sparing the other half of the body). Takes toys bolder and more clearly with one hand (the other “lags behind”). This is especially noticeable after 5.5 – 6 months.

Many people know the “swordsman’s posture” (dependence of muscle tone on the turn of the head) – one arm is unbent and raised closer to the face, while the other is bent, the difference in the legs is weaker, but also there. Normally, this reflex disappears between 4 and 6 months of age. Its long-term preservation is beyond the norm.

When the baby is lying on his stomach – at 4 months the upper body rests on the forearms and open palms, the legs are extended at the hip and bent at the knee joints. By 6 months, the legs are already fully extended. In pathology, these time frames are significantly violated.

If the baby is placed vertically, supporting the “armpits”, then at 4-5-6 months the legs can be unbent, and the baby “stands” on the fingertips. But by the end of the 6-7th month, the child is already relying on the entire foot. If there is hyperextension of the lower extremities with their significant reduction, the ability to “stand” on the fingertips after 8 months is preserved – these are the symptoms of the disease.

The child is sitting, but we see that this requires a lot of tension in the extensor muscles – we are alarmed by this posture.

The “readiness to jump” reaction looks very bright (or the reaction “parachutist reaction” – I read it in one German training manual). She is the reaction of the support of the upper limbs.

An adult holds the child by the hips and allows the upper body to “fall” forward. The child “falls” on outstretched arms, in most cases with open palms.