You are holding in your arms your little one, so small and defenseless, and it seems to you that any awkward movement can harm him. And at this time you are already starting to wonder at what age the child begins to hold his head. You want this moment to come as early as possible, but do not force events, everything has its time. Now you can only watch the first achievements of your baby.
At what age do children begin to hold their heads
Immediately after birth, the baby is not able to hold his head on his own due to underdevelopment of the neck muscles. Therefore, caring for a child, it is necessary to carefully support his head. And when the umbilical wound heals completely, and this happens, as a rule, three weeks after the birth, experts recommend laying the baby on the tummy. At what age children begin to hold their heads, partly depends on their parents, because the more often the child will lie on his tummy, the faster his neck muscles will get stronger. It is advisable to carry out such procedures before feeding, this will help rid the baby of the stomach cramps that occur in children in the first six months. After six weeks, the child can already, lying on his stomach, raise the head by 45 degrees and keep it in this position for about a minute. Some pediatricians recommend, starting from this age, to get the baby out of the crib, giving him their index fingers. The kid grabs them, and the mother can lift him by the handles, while his head tilts back a little, the child will involuntarily strain a certain group of muscles and thereby develop them.
At what age do children begin to hold their heads confidently
Somewhere from the eighth week you will begin to notice the first awkward attempts of the baby to keep his head upright on his own. And only starting from three months will he be able to hold the head both lying on his stomach, and being in an upright position on his mother’s arms. It should also be noted that parents do not have to rush things, let the baby develop according to the plan outlined by nature. Therefore, parents should know what time the children begin to hold their heads, and not to overload the muscles of the baby that have not yet been strengthened.
It should be remembered that at this age the baby’s head still needs reliable support and safety net. And only by the fourth month the child is already able to keep his head upright, and being on his tummy can lift it along with the upper body. At the age of five months, children can independently and without assistance help keep their heads upright. And
lying on their tummy, they can lift themselves up on their arms and turn their heads around the sides, looking with interest at the fascinating world around them. Closer to six months, most babies already crawl well, and sometimes even try to stand on their feet, relying on something.
However, if all the deadlines have already passed, and the baby still does not hold his head, do not despair. Meet with a neurologist and pediatrician as soon as possible. The main task of parents is to be observant and to know at what age children begin to keep their heads so as not to miss problems that may arise in the development process. In most cases, they are easily eliminated until the baby reaches the age of one.