Children grow up very fast. A few months ago, your baby only did what he ate and slept. But now he is actively exploring the world, trying to communicate, pulling your hair, playing with rattles, and requires increased attention to himself. Six months is a serious milestone in the development of the baby. What should a child be able to do at 6 months and how to help him master all the necessary skills?
Physiological development
The first thing a pediatrician will do during a scheduled appointment is to measure the height and weight of the baby. A child at 6 months of age grows up to 2 cm and adds 600-650 g. The growth of a baby is on average 64-68 cm, weight - from 7.5 to 9 kg. However, small deviations from these figures are permissible.
What should a child be able to do at 6 months? The development of all senses proceeds actively. The baby is improving hearing, sight, smell. He distinguishes between people and objects, learns to correctly assess the distance to the toy, recognizes smells. Active wakefulness increases to 3 hours. Some children switch from two times a day to two nights. The digestive system is getting better, so you can introduce complementary foods.
Many babies at this age have teething, which can lead to irritability, constant moods, fever.
The development of independence and neatness
Speaking about what a child should be able to do at 6 months, one should not forget about mastering the basic skills of self-care. By this age, the baby eats porridge and mashed potatoes well from a spoon. If you give him cookies or a slice of banana, he will take them in his hand, he will be able to bite himself, chew gums. But to bring a spoon with food to his mouth for him is still too difficult a task. Many babies try to hold a bottle of milk themselves. At this age, teach your child to drink from a cup, bringing it to the lips of the crumbs.
During dressing, the baby, at the request of the mother, begins to stretch the handle, leg. This is a great way to learn body parts. He already knows how to pull off his socks, a hat. Some parents at this age buy a pot and plant crumbs on it after eating, before going to bed and walking, after them. The results from such training are very different. First successes are often followed by a rollback to the starting position. A six-month-old child is not yet able to control his natural functions.
Fine motor skills
The ability to grab items is the main achievement of the child at 6 months. What can small pens do? They can take and hold toys of different sizes, throw them, shake, squeeze, roll the ball, clap their hands. The baby perfectly coordinates the movements of his limbs, knows how to shift an object from one hand to another. However, the grip is still carried out with the whole brush, fingers are poorly listened.
Parents can help their child by playing finger games with him (Ladushki, Magpie, etc.) by doing pen massage. It is very important to choose the right toys with a heterogeneous texture, with buttons, moving parts, tweeters. By manipulating them, the baby learns to control and coordinate the movements of the hands and fingers. Useful at this age and drawing on a sheet of wallpaper. Buy finger paints and dip your entire palm in them. Be sure to keep the first masterpieces as a keepsake.
Crawl
From this skill depends not only the physical, but also the intellectual development of the child of 6 months. What can a crawling baby do? He is able to actively explore the surrounding space, get to objects of interest, study their properties, and try for a tooth. At the same time, thinking and independence are actively developing.
At six months, the child already knows how to turn over from side to side, from back to stomach and back. He tries to crawl on his stomach or in another way, learns to get on all fours. To help him, Mom can put her palms under tiny feet. The baby will instinctively push off from them and move forward. To create motivation, put an interesting toy at a short distance.
When the baby makes the first hesitant attempts to crawl, set an example for him, moving in a plastusksky or on all fours. After mastering the skill, invite the child to overcome the labyrinth from the sofa cushions, crawl through the rollers from the blankets, find a toy under a chair covered with a coverlet.
Learning to sit
Curiosity is the main feature of a healthy baby. Often, at the age of six months, children have a desire to lift up to see something interesting. Someone is already sitting confidently. Other babies make inept attempts, but at the same time quickly collapse, since the back muscles are not yet ready for the load.
Independent sitting is not included in the main list of what a child can do at 6 months. Both girls and boys do not recommend pediatricians to sit prematurely, as this can provoke a violation of posture. It is considered normal if the mastery of this skill occurs later, in 8-9 months.
However, now during gymnastics, invite the baby lying on his back to grab your fingers. Gently pull it to a sitting position, hold for 15 seconds and lower it back. Exercise cannot be performed if the baby's head is thrown back strongly.
Learning to stand
What can a child do at 6 months if his development proceeds without deviations? A healthy baby of this age relies confidently on its legs when it is taken under the armpits and placed on a hard surface. Many children try to step on the spot, “dance”, and bounce during such experiments. Babies really like the upright position. Some people try to get up, clutching the sides of the crib. Therefore, in order to avoid injuries, it is better not to leave them unattended.
Parents are not recommended at this age to stimulate the baby upright, buying a walker or jumpers. In them, the child will not learn to maintain balance, spinal deformity may occur. The best exercise for the baby, preparing him for independent walking, is active crawling. However, the baby should not be disturbed if he gets up in the crib on his own initiative.
Thinking
To realize the simplest cause-effect relationships is what a child can do at 6 months of age. He already understands that if you pull the rope, the bell will ring. When shaking, the rattle will begin to strum. Throwing the ball to the floor, the baby looks down in advance.
Give him toys that can do something: squeak, if they are squeezed, blink when you press the button. So the child will understand that he is able to influence objects. Games with a ball, cubes, spinning top are taught to monitor the movement of things in space, to see the result of actions: if you push a tower, it will crumble.
At this age, the baby is ready to play hide and seek. Cover the item with a handkerchief, leaving only a small part in sight. The child will happily find the hidden. He understands that a thing continues to exist, even if it is not fully visible. However, if you hide the whole toy, not every kid begins to search. It is still difficult for a baby to realize that an object is present, despite the fact that it is not visible.
Speech
What should a child be able to do at 6 months? Girls and boys actively seek to communicate with loved ones, laugh, squeal, drawing attention to themselves. They already distinguish an affectionate tone from an angry tone, are guided by the facial expressions of an adult. Passive vocabulary is enriched. Children know the names of toys, household items. Following the question: "Where is our watch?" - often follows a pointing gesture in the right direction.
Replacing babble comes babble. Kids chanting syllables: "ma", "gu", "ba", "de", trying to imitate the speech of adults. Over time, sounds become more diverse. Parents can initiate a fun roll call by repeating all pronounced syllables behind the baby and prompting him to respond.
At the same time, it is important to conduct normal conversations with the child, clearly articulating all the sounds, slightly stretching the stressed vowels. During the game, repeat the name of the toys and objects many times, reproduce the sound combinations made by them: the cat - “meow-meow”, the clock - “tick-tock”, the machine - “BBC”. Learn the nursery rhymes that mention body parts. When reciting a rhyme, stroke the baby’s arms, legs, nose or cheeks in accordance with the text.
Aesthetic development
Children begin to react early to beautiful objects, music, nursery rhymes. What should a child be able to do at 6 months? He carefully examines bright, unusual objects, examines them, tries to touch, licks. He has his favorite toys, things. The kid is happy to watch the puppet shows played by his mother. He likes folk crumb games. To the merry music, the children dance, to the lullaby - they calm down. They recognize the familiar compositions, react with joyful walks, try to imitate singing themselves.
At this age, playing with musical instruments (bells, drum, xylophone) is very useful. Listening to music, put the baby on his knees, give a rattle and shake it to the beat of the melody. Dance with the crumbs on hand, falling into a rhythm. Read chanted verses for children, go songs, stage toys to stage fairy tales. It’s time to introduce the first books to the six-month-old baby. It is better if they are with tactile inserts, musical buttons, which are so interesting to click on.
Emotional development
What should a child be able to do at 6 months? At this age, he is capable of actively expressing his feelings. Laughter, joyful walk, active movements testify to a good mood. When the baby is upset, he cries, "bangs" with his feet, throws back the toys. Asking for arms, the child reaches for the adult.
Children very well know loved ones, liven up when they appear. They show special tenderness to their mother, trying to attract her attention, cuddle, and not let go of themselves. Strangers scare them. Caught in a new place, the child becomes wary, refuses to go into the arms of a stranger, may cry.
During this period, you should not leave the baby alone. If you leave the room, call with him so that he senses your presence. Let us get used to new people, we are in unusual situations. Then the baby will feel protected, it will become more confident.
What can a premature baby at 6 months?
If your baby was born ahead of schedule, its development proceeds with a lag of a month and a half. It is normal if the baby does not try to crawl or sit down, like most peers. A premature baby at six months should:
- to recognize relatives, actively communicate with them, respond to facial expressions, intonation;
- be wary of the appearance of a stranger;
- learn to roll over from back to stomach;
- laugh, babble;
- respond to sounds, look in their direction;
- show interest in toys, hold a rattle in hands;
- with the support of an adult, lean with your feet on a hard surface, push off from it.
Troubling signs
We found out what a child should be able to do at 6 months. Now let's talk about developmental disabilities.
You should contact a specialist immediately if:
- the baby does not respond to loved ones, does not know how to smile, does not ask for arms;
- completely absent babble;
- the baby does not turn his head to the source of sound, he does not hear the rustling of paper behind his back;
- there is no interest in toys, the baby cannot take a cube in his hand, hold it;
- when the baby is placed vertically, it just hangs, not resting its feet on the surface and not trying to push off;
- if the child is raised by the hands from a supine position, his head falls off;
- lying in the crib, the baby does not try to roll over from the back to the tummy and back.
The earlier an abnormality is detected in the baby, the greater the chance of a successful treatment.
The list of what a child should be able to do at 6 months is quite impressive. During this period, dramatic changes occur, so parents should be especially attentive to their babies. Close contact with loved ones, positive emotions - the main condition for successful development. Be close to the baby, encourage his activity, rejoice in the small successes, and they will not keep you waiting.