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Baby Showers.
Developmental Milestones
Progress varies among babies, so please consult your pediatrician
for further information about these milestones. A great resource to
have on hand is Dr. Steven P. Shelov's book, Caring for Your Baby and Young Children (Bantam).
Your Baby Today: New Baby, New Mom: Pediatrics Today
Developmental Milestones
From the Editors of Your Baby Today
The first year of an infant's life is filled with tremendous growth and
development. There is a range of what constitutes normal acquisition of
the various milestones. Below you will find a summary of
social-emotional growth, the acquisition of language, and the
development of fine and gross motor skills during the first year of
life.
Jean Piaget, noted psychologist,
characterized the early months as the "sensorimotor phase," which aptly
describes the activities of the 1- to 3-month-old child who explores
the world through his or her mouth. The spontaneous, random smile of
the 1-month-old child develops into the socially responsive smile at
around 2 months of age. The baby is learning to recognize familiar
faces and is eager to greet them. The 4-month-old baby is able to
sustain longer periods of social contact and can express a fuller
repertoire of pleasure and displeasure.
From about 6 months of
age onwards, babies begin to develop the Piagetian concept of "object
permanence" (baby has a more fully developed mental image of people and
objects that continue to exist even when the person or object is not
currently visible). A baby knows when parents leave the room, and now
the baby will more actively seek them when they are not present.
Becoming
wary of unfamiliar people, or of friends and relatives who are not
often seen, typically begins around 8 to 10 months of age. The term
that has been coined for this wariness is "stranger anxiety," and you
may want to warn visitors not to rush to hug the baby, but to give her
time to warm up to them.
As the tension around separation
often intensifies between 6 and 12 months of age, peek-a-boo becomes
the perfect game for playing out some of these feelings. Babies become
excited by the disappearance and reassuring reappearance of a familiar
face. As parents and other important caregivers come and go throughout
the day, it becomes particularly important to let your baby know when
you are going out and that you will come back soon. Sneaking out in the
hope that this will lessen the pain of separation often backfires
(suddenly disappearing may make baby anxious).
From about 8
months on, babies can enjoy learning to play hide-and-seek. You can
hide a small toy under a cloth and watch your baby gleefully snatch
back the cloth to discover the hidden treasure. At around 1 year of
age, a baby will enjoy games that are reciprocal, such as rolling a
ball back and forth with a partner. Babies enjoy pointing to objects of
interest and focusing their parents' attention on an item of interest
to them.
By 6
months of age, babies can use a raking grasp to pick up a toy, and then
they can pass it from one hand to the other. At this age, babies are
learning how to bring their hands together for midline play. From
around 9 months on, babies are beginning to separate the thumb from the
rest of the fingers. They can pick up an item with a scooping motion
between the thumb and index finger. A 9-month-old child will more
actively explore a toy, turning it over and over and poking it with one
finger. A 9- to 10-month-old child may begin to drink from a cup with
assistance and a 1-year-old child can begin to use a spoon. The major
fine motor milestone that is achieved at around 12 months of age is the
emergence of the mature pincer grasp -- that is, picking up a small
item such as a raisin neatly between the thumb and forefinger with a
precise movement.
By
3 months of age, a baby will be able to lift his head and chest up off
a flat surface when lying on his tummy. The American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends placing infants on the back or side when they go
to sleep to reduce the risk of "sudden infant death syndrome." When the
baby is awake, it is good exercise for her to have some tummy time, so
she can strengthen her arms and head and neck muscles. By 4 months of
age, a baby should have good head control when she is pulled up to a
sitting position.
By 6 months of age, a baby should be able to
sit with the hands out in front for support (tripod sitting). The baby
should be sitting unassisted by 8 months of age. By 9 to10 months of
age, a baby is pulling herself up to stand and may be starting to take
some steps holding on (cruising). By the first birthday, a baby can
usually walk with one hand held. About 50% of children can walk without
help by one year of age, and the rest will have learned to walk
unassisted by 16 to 18 months.
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