So, the baby has already crossed the line at 8 months. What should a child be able to do? Is it worth it to be scared if not everything is easy for him? How to develop your baby? You will learn about this and much more from this article.
General view of the development calendar
Your baby is already 8 months old! A baby development calendar from 0 to 12 months is still relevant for mothers. The first time after birth, the baby’s brain is unable to process information. For example, the eyes see, but the baby cannot select individual objects. In the first months, the ability to assimilate information is improved. With motor functions the same thing happens. The development of skills will take the first year of life. During this period, hearing, sight, touch, smell develop, the child begins to move independently, pronounce simple words. Also in the first year, an attitude to the world of your crumbs is formed, which will remain for life. In this article we will tell you what a child should be able to do at 8 months. We will also consider the development, upbringing and regime of a baby of this age.
Growth rate and weight
First, all internal organs quickly develop, so the chest increases in size, then the head circumference becomes larger, and facial features begin to change. At this time, the son’s head circumference should be from 42 to 47 cm, and daughters from 41 to 46 cm. The height of the boy at this age should be from 67 to 73 cm, and that of girls from 66 to 72 cm. The weight in boys varies from 7 to 10 kg, for girls - from 7 to 9 kg. Children are no longer growing as fast as in the first months of life. Now the main emphasis is on the development of physical skills. Let's talk about what a child should be able to do at 8 months. Physical and mental development will be discussed below. This information will be very interesting to many.
Physical development
At 8 months, what should a child be able to do physically? What is his body capable of? The muscles by this time are already strong enough, but do not rush the baby to get up without support on his own. A solid balance has not yet formed. After the baby learns to get up at the support, he sometimes runs the risk of letting it go. Do not be alarmed if he plops to the floor afterwards. He still does not understand how to sit down, but he feels tired, so the child has no other choice. Help him, show how to gently lower. Some children do not know how to get up at this age and even refuse to crawl. Do not worry, that means they are not ready yet. Everything that a child at 8 months of age should be able and able to do, your baby will master quickly and in due time. The baby can already sit down and take a toy, lie down, move over, roll away. The baby’s arms are now strong; he can take things away from you or push your hand away. He likes to play, clapping his hands or performing other actions with arms and legs, for example, stomping. He can already use various objects according to their properties, for example, open the lid, roll the ball, press the button. The kid is trying to pick up small objects and can already point his finger at what he wants. By eight months, the baby’s chair is more decorated, it’s easy to monitor the baby’s behavior in order to put him on the pot in time.
Mental development
At 8 months, what should a child be able to do in terms of psycho-emotional development? He continues to absorb knowledge, to notice everything that is happening, he is already beginning to remember the latest events. If the baby is upset, it is easy to distract him, and he switches his attention to something new. The baby already understands the position of objects in space, can search for them, invest in each other. The baby begins to copy the actions of mom, so show how to roll cars and interact with other toys, as well as pay attention to the crumbs of sounds made by surrounding creatures and objects. What should a child of 8 months be able to do regarding speech? It becomes clearer, you can distinguish between "father" or "mother." At this age, your baby’s babble contains almost all sounds. Your little one is already beginning to recognize itself in the mirror and in photographs. The child is happy to listen to music, songs, he will be happy if you circle with him or dance. The kid can listen to you sing or he will try to sing and dance with his leg.
First fears
The kid begins to get scared of everything unexpected, loud. All the "helpers" in the household like a vacuum cleaner, combine, washing machine now scare the baby to tears. Hug the child, turning on the equipment, kiss, explain why you need this or that, let you feel protected. Only in no case do not scold, otherwise the baby will endure tremendous stress. The baby can be frightened of an unfamiliar environment, the absence of a mother. This is a sign that he is starting to distinguish between his own and others. The kid understands the danger of strangers. Look, if your child is not afraid of strangers, you should be wary, because this means that he is not developing correctly. It is necessary to teach the peanut not to be afraid of people, but not to trust them completely.
Daily regime
Consider now the nutrition and daily routine of the child at the 8th month of life. At night, the baby can sleep 11 hours, occasionally waking up to drink milk. In the afternoon he already sleeps twice in a couple of hours. Follow an approximate daily schedule to avoid overexcitation of the child. Around six in the morning, change the diaper, feed and go to bed again. At 8.00 a morning toilet, you can go for a walk or play. At 9.00, do exercises and massage the baby. At 10.00, feed breakfast and put to bed. Around noon, chat with the peanut. Read him a book, play. By 13.00 it is better to go for a walk. At 14.00, feed the baby dinner and play. Around 16.00 put the baby to bed, you can during a walk. At 18.00, take him something active, feed him and put him to bed again. At 20.30, bathe, play, let him do something on his own, and by 22.00 feed and put to bed already all night. Temper your baby and devote more time to developing and active games.
Healthy sleep
Sleep is crucial for proper development. Less than 14 hours a day, the baby can not sleep. If he suddenly falls asleep quickly upon awakening, then you can not worry, everything is normal. It is worth laying the child every day at the same time, performing some kind of ritual. For example, take a bath or sing a lullaby. Put a toy adored by him in the crib with the baby as a signal that it is time to fall asleep.
Food
At 8 months, what should a child be able to do at the table? At this time, the diet is already more diverse. Mother's milk already makes up only 1/3 of the nutrition. Try to feed the baby with his own cooked cereals, not using those purchased with preservatives. Cook porridge in milk, do not dilute with water. It is useful to feed the baby vegetable mashed potatoes, and the more vegetables - the better, just watch for allergic reactions. You can already add meat broths. Mandatory in the diet are fruit juices, mashed potatoes, as well as dairy products like kefir and cottage cheese. Feed the child should only food only in the form of mashed potatoes. If the baby has skin rashes, diarrhea, decreased appetite, nausea, runny nose, redness of the eyes, colic, constipation - this can be a sign of allergy. Carefully and gently introduce new foods into your diet. If the family has allergies, then it is worthwhile to monitor the reaction to all products to which family members have a reaction. You can teach yourself to eat on your own right now.
What should a child be able to do at 8 months: skills
A very exciting question for worrying moms. So what should a child be able to do at 8 months? At this age, the baby already responds to his name, gives a pen at the request, calmly relates to planting on the pot. Now the child sits, crawls, tries to walk with support, gets up, but is still very attached to his mother. The first teeth have already cut out or appeared. The kid is interested in the falling of objects and the sounds of hitting things on the surface, so if a child begins to throw everything in a row, do not be surprised. The baby already sees objects at different distances from itself, distinguishes between the main colors, listens to sounds, understands when his name is. He already understands short sentences, feels praise, responds to requests. If you pronounce the name of a familiar subject, the child will begin to look for it with a look. It can push, pull, roll, fold toys, shift from one hand to another, point to a toy with a finger. He is already dancing and is afraid of breaking up with his mother, is afraid of all the unexpected, crawls. They remember past events, pronounce syllables, and take small items. You can already discern the character of the child. He has his favorite toys. The kid is already oriented in the apartment, can attract attention with his voice, studies the faces of people, repeats facial expressions after others.
Help your baby
Learns to know the world a child of 8 months. The ability to help him, listen to him, understand and be patient is necessary for every parent. It should not be considered that the child should learn everything on his own. You can push its development in the right direction. Crawling is a natural exercise for the body, it trains all the muscles of the child, so it is better not to miss this stage. If the baby begins to walk early, it may have crooked legs or a spine. Walking requires special control over the body, the nervous system may not be ready for this, as a result of which psychosomatic diseases will begin to develop . Help your baby crawl better, play with him, crawl with him, catch up with him or run away from him that way. Do not put your child on a walker. Of course, this is convenient for the parent, but for the child’s muscular corset and bone system, this is too early and too heavy a load. It’s best to help him develop his skills through games.
Educational games
Develop a sense of balance in the baby. To do this, it is enough to take him in his arms and circle, hang a balloon under the ceiling and raise it so that the baby can reach it. Read books with beautiful pictures to him, where he will be able to study new objects, colors, animals. You can put the toy away so that the child has to crawl to it more. Help the kid collect the pyramids or designers with large details. Show the parts of the body, pronouncing their names, ask them to show these parts. This will help the child to better navigate, and if something gets sick, he will easily notify you about it.
Show different colors and name them. Help develop the child’s hearing and intuition - hide the rattle in a handkerchief and shake it. Ask if he hears the rattle where it is. You can develop the logic and accuracy of the baby by playing with cubes and building turrets from them or folding them into a box. Of course, it is imperative that one speak with the child and explain his actions. For coordination and eye control, roll balls to each other, rotate them with your child, teach him, the baby can run after the balls, catch them. Your baby will surely like new games.