Infant development is often considered a set of criteria that every child follows in the same way as they grow. However, there’s more to that.
Every child goes through different developmental milestones based on their unique abilities, and that’s totally normal.
Some babies start babbling and even saying words like ma-ma-ma or da-da at the age of just 9 months. At the same time, some babies make it to this at the age of 12 months.
Similarly, some infants may start walking or crawling at 12 months. While some may take more time.
So every baby grows at their own pace. The first 12 months of your baby’s life are highly important, as most of the brain development and growth happen in that time. Each month carries a new development milestone with the curiosity to see what’s next.
Let’s divide the first 12 months of life of your baby into 4 stages to thoroughly understand the target areas for infant development in each stage.
STAGE 01: BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS
As it is a major transition for the baby from the mother’s womb to the outside environment, they take little time to adapt. New moms and dads may often feel worried as the baby cries a lot, may smile at themselves, and often become fussy.
Some major baby development milestones for this period are:
- Griping objects.
- Being attentive when called.
- Trying to reach the dangling objects.
- Holding up their head.
- Sucking their hands.
- Detecting sounds.
- Smiling at others.
- cooing.
By the end of 3 months, a baby can do all of these infant development activities. If you notice any changes in your baby’s behavior, consult your child’s doctor/nurse as soon as possible. These changes may include:
- Not smiling at others.
- Not reacting to loud sounds.
- Not following anything with their eyes.
- Not keeping their head up when they are on their tummy.
STAGE 02: 4- 6 MONTHS
At this age, babies reach a point where they are curious to explore the world around them. Using their little hands, they manipulate things around them with a strong grip. From 3-6 months of age, your child may achieve these infant development milestones:
- Babbling.
- Laughing.
- Grabbing objects.
- Sitting with proper support.
- Rolling over their tummy.
- At the end of 6 months, they also start sitting without support.
- Identify familiar people and strangers.
- Respond to their name.
By the end of 6 months, if your baby doesn’t show any of these infant development signs, consult their healthcare providers.
If you observe any of these things, reach out to your baby’s doctor.
- Not responding to sounds.
- Have difficulty getting things to the mouth.
- Doesn’t make squealing sounds.
- Seem very stiff.
STAGE 03: 7-9 MONTHS
Now, half a year has passed and your baby plays, learns, and speaks effectively. They know they can grab anything, move towards anything, make sounds, and ask for anything. The major infant development milestones for this age are:
- Sitting without any support.
- Crawling.
- Learning to stand up on their own.
- Playing games like Peekaboo.
- Babbling words like mama, dada, etc.
- Understanding what “No” means.
- Using fingers to point at things.
By the end of 9 months, your little baby has learned a lot and achieved many developmental milestones. These help them to enhance their emotional, cognitive, and social skills. If your kid shows any of these signs, you should consult their doctors/nurses.
- Not trying to crawl.
- Not babbling.
- Doesn’t transfer things from one hand to another smoothly.
- Doesn’t recognize familiar people.
STAGE 04: 10-12 MONTHS
It’s time for your baby to turn into a naughty toddler. Although they are still babies, they act more like toddlers. At this last stage of infant development, your baby shows a great transition. Your kid might start showing these activities as a sign of their effective development:
- Show “pincer grasp”. Holding objects mainly O-shaped between their thumb and forefinger.
- Feeding themselves, although it’s very messy.
- Copying others.
- Show emotional responses when familiar people surprise or leave them such as Mom and Dad.
- Playing games like “Peekaboo” and “Pat-a-Cat”.
- May start standing alone.
If they don’t show these activities by the end of their first birthday, seek their doctors. If you notice anything given below, it is important to seek a health professional to understand the root cause:
- Not crawling.
- Unable to stand up.
- Unable to speak single words such as Mama or Dada.
- Not pointing at things.
- Not giving responses when called.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Growing up kids is a journey that consists of a mixture of many emotions. It’s sometimes joy, sometimes excitement, worry, and sometimes a hectic full-time job.
But seeing your precious babies growing up gives parents immense courage to let them learn new skills and life. And with effective parenting tips ensuring that they receive the best early education.
The age of birth to 12 months is highly sensitive for immense growth and infant development. Hence, as a parent, it’s your responsibility to observe every action of your kid and examine whether they reach their developmental milestones in the target period or not.
It’s not something dangerous if the target skills are not achieved at their specific age. But, you should consult a doctor if it happens just to avoid any complications in the infant’s development.
