The age of six months is a serious stage in the development of a baby. He masters new opportunities, gets acquainted with adult food, observes the world around him with interest, studies objects. During this period, character traits begin to appear, the first communication skills are formed. Every day the child becomes more mature, his actions - more meaningful.
Kid on the rug
Baby development norms in six months
A standard examination by a pediatrician includes the study of the basic parameters of the child: weight, height, head and chest circumference. Thanks to this data, it is possible to determine the growth rate and physical development of the baby. The readings are compared with the average standards entered in special centile tables. For boys and girls at the age of six months, the standards are slightly different.
Important to remember! Each child has its own personality, and growth rates may differ slightly from the standard data.
Boy indicators:
- Weight - 7.1-4 kg (a difference of 1 kg is possible);
- Height - 64-70 cm (deviations of 3 cm are allowed);
- Head circumference - 42-45 cm.
Girl indicators:
- Weight - 6.8-8 kg;
- Height - 61-68 cm;
- Head circumference - 41-44 cm.
Interesting. You can also calculate the required parameters using the standard formula = birth weight + 800 * number of months.
It is worth considering the type of feeding of the baby - a baby on artificial feeding gains weight faster.
Basic skills of a baby in six months:
- Rolling from back to tummy, from belly to back.
- Fixing the toy in one hand. The child lies on his stomach, the other hand is supporting.
- Transferring toys from one hand to another.
- An attempt to get an object placed over a crumb.
- Transferring toys from one pile to another.
- Firm girth of adult fingers, pull-up. The kid uses a sitting position.
- Pushing off with both feet from the surface, if the child is supported by the armpits.
Don't worry if your little one doesn't succeed. This is a natural process, the child should not be able to perform all actions, certain differences are permissible. Parents need to contact a pediatrician if the baby does not try to sit down, does not show interest in toys, does not recognize pets, does not respond to harsh sounds.
Kid and cubes
Physical development
At the age of six months, the child continues to actively develop. Some babies are already confidently sitting, others are only making attempts and will be able to sit on their own only at 7-8 months. In addition, there is a tendency to crawl - backward, sideways only a few centimeters, but such skills significantly expand the possibilities of the crumbs. Not all children begin to crawl by the age of six months, some skip this stage altogether - this is a normal variant of individual development.
Important! Recently, baby walkers have become popular - this is a device that helps a child move around. Walkers help parents a lot - there is something to keep the child at 6 months old, while they are busy with their own business. Many experts, in particular, the well-known doctor Komarovsky, recommend not rushing to use this device - when the child is placed in the walker, the load on the skeleton increases, which is not yet sufficiently strong. This may affect the health of the baby in the future.
For many babies, the age of 6 months is characterized as an active period of teething. This is an important and difficult stage - the child becomes moody, does not sleep well, refuses to eat. The supporting capabilities of the child's body decrease, the temperature may rise, the ear hurts, a cough, and stomatitis appear. The kid needs constant attention and understanding of loved ones.
Another important event that occurs in the sixth month of life is the introduction of complementary foods. The child is introduced to adult food, which can affect digestion. Therefore, you should take a responsible approach to the quality of food and the sequence of introducing new products into the diet. The first complementary food is vegetable puree, then gradually the menu is replenished with dairy-free cereals, fruits, fermented milk products. Up to a year, the baby's diet should contain meat and fish.
In the process of growing up, the baby gradually increases the phases of wakefulness. The child sleeps mainly three times a day.
Emotional and social development
Psychoemotional changes are the second component of a harmonious and comprehensive state of the child. To understand how to develop a child at 6 months old, you need to find out how much his development corresponds to the average standards.
The main criterion by which the emotional and social state is determined is the revitalization complex - the way the baby communicates with others.
The revitalization complex includes several ways of manifesting emotions that a harmoniously developed baby should possess:
- Recognizes loved ones by voice, even if he does not see them.
- Tries to understand the meaning of what was said. For example, if we are talking about an object, he tries to find it with his eyes.
- The rudiments of logical thinking appear - the kid knows that if he throws the toy, it will fall.
- The child smiles in response to an affectionate appeal to him, communicates with the help of babbling. At the same time, the baby tries to repeat what was said, alternates vowels and consonants. Sometimes, it seems that he already pronounces the words clearly.
Note. If there are some deviations in the emotional development of the baby, a proper examination by a pediatrician is necessary.
Basic development guidelines
To the question of how to develop a child at 6 months, the answer is simple - pay more attention to him, talk, sing your favorite songs, consider vivid drawings.
To ensure your baby's safety, it is recommended to arrange a play area on the floor. The baby rolls over, rolls over, tries to crawl, stand up, holding on to the back of the bed. In addition, six-month-old children show interest in the surrounding objects - they feel, drag into their mouths everything that comes to hand. Therefore, it is necessary to remove all small, sharp, dangerous elements in the area where the child is staying, block access to sockets, wires, and install a lock on the cabinet doors.
A good way to keep your baby entertained is to take long walks in the fresh air, in the park, or in the playground. Children react perfectly to animals, so you can not only entertain the baby, but also teach to imitate the sounds of cats, dogs, birds.
Council. A child in six months can play on his own for several minutes, but a much better option is to spend this time with him, study, play. These moments of intimacy are a great way to teach your baby how to interact, improve his emotional state, and develop the skills he has learned. The child becomes calmer, less capricious.
Games and exercises in six months
A lesson with a 6 month old child is based on various exercises: to study your own body, develop hearing, vision, speech, fine motor skills. A few simple exercises in the form of a game, which are performed without special equipment:
- Examination of body parts. In turn, the parent asks the question: "Where is our mouth (ear, nose, eye)?" He answers it himself, pointing his finger first at himself, then at the baby. Similar actions can be repeated using a mirror - children love to watch their reflection.
- Hearing development. Development is in the pronunciation of animal sounds, the use of musical toys. You can hide the toy, turn on the sound and look for it with your child.
- Development of vision. The kid is already closely following the movement of objects. You can help develop this ability and stimulate vision with your favorite bright toy: gradually bring it to the child, then take it aside and hide it.
- Development of fine motor skills. It is necessary to improve the sensitivity of the fingers by lightly bending all the fingers first, then each separately. A sense of balance is well developed by playing with plastic bottles half-filled with colored liquid or sand.
Important! You can engage in game exercises with a child, provided that he feels well.
The best toys for a baby in six months are musical toys, rugs, cubes, pyramids, rattles.
You can build a tower with cubes and destroy it with a machine - such actions will cause a lot of emotions. Another version of the game is to transfer cubes from one pile to another, or first put toys in a box, then pull them out.
Possible toys
Kitchen activities
The main place in the house for mom is the kitchen. In order to have the opportunity to cook a meal or wash the dishes, you first need to keep the child busy. You can try several options for the game:
- Put the baby on a feeding chair, put a wooden spoon in your hand, turn over several metal bowls, put in front of him. Now you need to tap the bowl with a spoon and invite the child to repeat these steps.
- Find several bowls of different sizes, put one in the other and let the baby move them.
- You can turn the feeding process into a game - hand the baby his favorite spoon and invite the child to try to eat on his own. Of course, there will be no visible results, but the baby and mother will get pleasure.
Child development through books
Books with bright, colorful pictures will be of interest to a baby at any age, starting from six months. At first, you can just read fairy tales, preferably in verse, play roles, talk in different intonations, voices, sing songs. When the child is able to sit on his own, it is recommended to use beautiful books from textiles - they are not only durable, but also interesting, original, play the role of not only a development tool, but also a favorite toy.
Books with cardboard pages are suitable for joint study - it is more convenient for the baby to turn them over. To make the child as interested as possible, it is recommended to choose books with small text and voluminous drawings. It is desirable that they depict creatures or objects familiar to the baby: animals, birds, vehicles, trees, flowers.
Development of the premises of speech
At six months, the child actively babbles, pronounces about 40 sounds, listens carefully to the conversation, imitates his parents, trying to repeat the word he heard. This ability needs to be developed. The main condition for the harmonious development of the prerequisites for speech in a baby is constant communication.
You need to talk with the child, comment on all your actions. During the game, repeat the sounds of animals, vehicles. Little children perceive poetry very well, memorize melodies and songs.
Six months is an important stage in the development of a little man. During this period, the baby becomes active, observes the world around with interest, and his first communication skills are laid. It is very important to contribute to the harmonious development of the child, giving due attention, playing and communicating with him.
