If a 6 month old baby. The long-awaited six months: what a six-month-old child should be able to do

10.09.2019

Six months is one of the significant dates in the life of every baby. It is after this moment that the formation of a full-fledged personality begins. Every day, the little one gets more and more new skills, more and more often surprises parents with the manifestation of individual character traits.

At 6 months, the child is actively developing physiologically and mentally. In this regard, there is a change in the daily routine and nutrition. For children at this age, the improvement of speech is characteristic, although this happens passively, imperceptibly to others. By six months, the baby perfectly recognizes the voices of mom and dad, reacts to his name and the names of his favorite toys.

Features of physical development

In order to determine the level of development of a child of 6 months, experts use special tables. The data will be different depending on the gender of the baby. The boy should have a weight of 6.4 to 9.8 kg, height from 63.3 to 71.9 cm. For a girl, the indicators will be slightly different. Weight - from 5.7 to 9.3 kg, height - from 61.2 to 70.3 cm.

A 6-month-old child already knows how to independently change position, turning over from his back to his stomach or to his side. The baby is actively preparing to start crawling soon: without rising from the surface, it moves a little back and forth, spins. He is already reaching out to mom or dad, demonstrating that he wants to handle.

toddler skills

What can a 6 month old baby do? In fact, the little ones can already do a lot.

Toddlers were able to adequately learn coups from the back to the tummy and vice versa.
All children are freed from the pronounced muscle strain, the so-called physiological hypertonicity, which manifests itself in many infants.
The baby can hold the hand of adults with his fingers, rise from a lying position with support from his parents.
Some children at this age already know how to sit without assistance.
A 6-month-old baby can, lying on its stomach, lean on the bed with one hand and grab a toy with the other.
Toddlers are constantly trying to crawl on all fours or pull the body, leaning on the elbows. Movements are most often aimed at approaching the subject of interest.
If the child is supported under the armpits, he pushes off with his legs, making "dancing" movements.
Some babies are already trying to get up, holding on to furniture.

The baby grabs toys with one hand, can transfer them to the other. He holds objects in two hands. Children throw and pick up the toy many times in a row, carefully watching this process.
If you hide your favorite toy, the baby starts searching, he is already able to detect the object if it is covered with something.
At six months, the baby plays independently for 10 to 15 minutes. Interest is the repetition of actions that work well: unfolding and folding a piece of fabric, opening and closing a box, and others.
Six months of age is often marked by the appearance of the first tooth. This is usually the central incisor in the lower jaw. At this time, it is worth visiting the dentist for the first time, who will draw a conclusion about the development of the jaws.

Features of psychoemotional development

This aspect is very important for the development of a child at 6 months, so you should pay attention to it. What can the baby do?

Now crying appears only in the presence of physiological inconvenience. The babbling is gradually improving, replenishing with new combinations of sounds. Sometimes it gives the impression that the baby is already talking and pronouncing whole words. However, the child is only trying to repeat the sounds heard. It is too early to call such an imitation speech. The development of the baby by the beginning of the seventh month will allow him to learn up to 40 different sounds.
Now the baby is becoming more and more interested in the meaning of the words spoken by adults. He can look for a toy or an object that mom is talking about.
The baby easily recognizes the voices of loved ones even when he does not see them. When he hears his mother's voice, for example, from the hallway, he signals this with a cry.
Most children already show their love and affection for their parents in every possible way, cuddle up to them. As for relationships with strangers, at 6 months the baby no longer experiences such fear as it was before, but keeps his distance.
The baby's thinking continues to develop, the simplest cause-and-effect relationships are being formed. For example, he knows that when an object falls on the floor, a knock is heard, when you press the button of an interactive toy, music will appear, if he starts crying, his mother will definitely come. Experts say that it is possible to judge significant changes in the intellectual plan of the child when he has fears. This indicates not only an understanding of the connection between phenomena, but also their foresight.
A six-month-old child shows interest in the practical features of various subjects.

Test to check the development of a six-month-old baby

In order to perform such a check, you need to implement the following steps.

It is worth attracting the attention of the little one with a toy and holding it at a distance of 30 cm. He should look at the object, separating it from all surrounding things.
When the baby is lying down, shake the rattle in front of him, and then slowly move it away. A toddler with extra support will be able to get up and sit down.
Offer the baby first a bright toy, and then a bottle. The reaction to different objects should be different. At the sight of food, he will open his mouth or reproduce sucking movements. The toy is refreshing.
Child development at 6 months allows him to repeat the facial movements of his parents: smile, lower his eyebrows.
If often mom and dad call the child by name, then at this age the baby is able to actively respond to this.
When the child holds the toy in the handle, try to pull it towards you. The skills of the little one allow him to hold the object quite firmly and resist actions that he does not like.

anxiety symptoms

At 6 months, the development of the child is quite intensive. Parents should carefully monitor his condition and be sure to consult a doctor if the following features are present.

The baby does not make attempts to sit down, even if he is helped.
When parents support the baby under the armpits, he does not show activity and does not “dance”.
A baby at 6 months does not have a reaction to sounds localized in places that are not visible to him.
The baby cannot transfer objects from one hand to another.
Doesn't ask to be picked up.

The development of a 6-month-old child allows him to recognize close people, smile at them, babble. If there are no such skills, this serves as a signal for parents.

Complementary feeding

When a baby turns six months old, it's time to get acquainted with "adult" food. Most often, fruits and vegetables are used for this. It is recommended to introduce complementary foods only after consultation with a specialist who will be able to correctly compose a menu that meets the individual needs of the baby.

Late or incorrect use of complementary foods can have serious negative consequences for children's health. During the first year of life, the digestive system is only being formed, as is the immune system. Violations of this process sometimes do not appear immediately, but after a few years. For this reason, it is necessary to approach the use of additional products for feeding the baby with great responsibility.

How to play with a six month old baby?

The normal development of a child at 6 months requires the opportunity to engage in "research", which is facilitated by certain subjects:

containers with lids that can be easily opened and closed;
interactive toys that make sounds when a button is pressed;
rattles;
a developing object that can stretch or shrink.

It is important to teach the child to look for a familiar thing. To do this, you should ask a simple question: “Where is the machine?”. Standing with the baby in front of the mirror, ask where he is, and where is mom or dad, and then show him where whose reflection is. The peanut should be able to show where someone is.

We must not forget about the individual characteristics of a child at 6 months old, that the development of one crumb may differ from the abilities of another. However, he should have an elementary set of the skills described above. Their formation should be carefully taken care of. This will be the key to his good health, the normal level of intellectual and physical abilities.

Beloved baby has passed the first stage of his development and celebrated the first "anniversary". During this time, he grew stronger, grew up, acquired a lot of skills and knowledge. The development of a child at 6 months will bring new achievements.

The baby's muscles are getting stronger, which will allow him to sit on his own and prepare for crawling. The intelligence of the crumbs is rapidly developing. He learns speech and overcomes new logical tasks.

table

By the age of six months, the baby doubles its body weight compared to the weight at birth and grows by an average of 15 cm. Shoulder width should ideally be ¼ of the length of the body itself. Indicators of height, weight, head volume depend on many factors, but heredity plays the main role.

However, there is a norm that pediatricians and parents are guided by. Below is a table with data developed by WHO. It shows that the physical development of a girl at 6 months is slightly different from the development of a boy. Indicators for both sexes correspond to the norm if the data for height, weight, head volume are in the range from “below average” to “above average”, inclusive.

Height, weight, head circumference of a six-month-old baby

Indicators	boys
Indicators		Head circumference, cm	Head circumference, cm
Very low

Below the average

Above the average

Very tall

How to assess the correctness of development?

For every mother, it is important that the baby grows up healthy. You can evaluate the physical development of a child of 6 months on your own by conducting several tests. You should know that observations should be carried out when the baby is full and rested. Tests to check:

If you put the baby on his tummy, then he, firmly leaning on his outstretched arms, raises his body and head at an angle of 45-90 ° to the plane.
In the supine position, you need to give the crumbs a tight grip on your thumbs and pull them a little towards you. The development of a child at 6 months, in contrast to the younger age, will allow him to happily make an attempt to rise. At the same time, the baby controls the head well, and can also touch the chest with the chin.
Putting the baby on its feet and supporting it under the armpits at the same time, you can see the new skill that the baby learned at 6 months. Development will allow him to keep his body weight on his legs for a couple of seconds, while straightening his feet.
If you offer a child a beautiful toy, then a six-month-old baby will be able not only to hold it, but also to shift it from hand to hand.
It is necessary to interest the baby in a bright new object on the table, then, as soon as the child reaches out to him, begin to mix it and drop it on the floor. Interaction with the outside world is a skill that a 6-month-old baby has already mastered. Development at the age of six months is characterized by the fact that the baby will follow the object of interest to him until he disappears from sight.

Changes in behavior

A six-month-old baby begins to realize what emotions are. He manifests them in accordance with the situation and subtly feels the mood of loved ones. If the parents talk and joke merrily, then the baby also smiles and brightens up with joy. But an angry tone in communication spoils his mood. The baby frowns, is alert and may even cry.

Laughter, joy, revival, tears, gestures, changes in facial expressions are a normal reaction to the world around us, which a 6-month-old baby can show. The development of a six-month-old child, in contrast to an earlier age, has another striking feature - he can clearly distinguish strangers and close people in his environment and reacts to them differently. If children at 3-4 months go into the hands of everyone indiscriminately, then at the age of six months they perceive strangers with caution. At the sight of a stranger, the baby freezes, carefully studies the new person, and then reacts with a smile, animation or crying. The appearance of close people, and especially mothers, he always meets with delight and babble.

Intelligence

The baby begins to understand the meaning of human emotions and look at the world consciously. The development of a child at 6 months is characterized by the fact that the baby knows the name of him, his brother (sister) and everyone else from his inner circle. Along with this comes an understanding of simple words (“on”, “give”, “no”, “bye”) and expressions (“let's go eat”, “let's go for a walk”, “it's time to swim”). It recognizes items that are used daily or found in the same place, such as a pacifier, a bottle, a clock on the wall. At this age, a passive vocabulary is formed. Over time, after repeated study, hearing the repeated pronunciation of the name of the subject, the baby will look at it. Receptive speech skills come before the ability to pronounce words, so communication and activities with the baby are extremely important.

Speech

Starting from the age of six months, the child starts a new period in the development of speech. At this time, he is already trying to take part in communication with loved ones. The baby does not just babble, but begins to train intonation. He raises or lowers his voice in response to the reaction of the interlocutor. The development of speech at 6 months allows the baby to consciously pronounce the first sound formations. He gets different syllables, consisting of vowels and consonants. The combinations “me-me”, “da-de”, “pe-pa”, “ge-he” and other similar formations make up the sound “repertoire” that the baby pronounces at 6 months.

The development of correct speech at the age of six months is not the presence of all the vowels and consonants listed above, but the changing height of intonation and tone, as well as stress in sound formations.

Problems in development

All parents want their baby to develop properly. But, unfortunately, there are some deviations that require correction and attention of a specialist. For example, if a baby at six months old cannot pronounce any vowel sounds, this is a reason for consulting a pediatrician. Parents should be alert to the following results of monitoring the baby:

his cooing and babbling stopped;
the baby absolutely does not react to the facial expressions of others, does not look in the face when communicating with him;
a constant negative reaction to physical contact: the baby not only repels loved ones with displeasure when he is dissatisfied, but always does it;
the child does not show emotions: there is no smile, gestures, animation;
lack of reaction to different intonations of the mother's voice or their inadequate perception.

Features in the development of girls

In an upright position, the baby opens the world in new colors. Sitting is one of the main skills that accompanies the development of a 6 month old baby. A girl differs in her physiology from boys, so the parents of daughters ask specialists a completely natural and timely question: "When can I sit down a baby with support?"

According to pediatricians, healthy, normally developing six-month-old girls can sit with the support or support of a parent, and by seven months they are already able to do it on their own. In no case should you artificially plant a baby up to 6 months. If at the age of five months her muscles have strengthened, and she will take a semi-sitting position on her own, it makes no sense to lay the baby back in a horizontal position. The baby will still take the position in which she is interested. Leaving the daughter half-sitting for a short time, then you can distract her with something interesting, put her on her tummy or pick her up. It is necessary to observe that a girl at this age sits no more than an hour a day.

Baby 6 months: development, nutrition and first complementary foods

At the age of six months, the first teeth may appear in the crumbs. Most often, the lower incisors grow first. Sometimes, of course, the teeth are late, but a striking feature in the development of the baby is his interest in the food that the whole family eats.

Here comes the moment of the first feeding. According to research, today pediatricians recommend first introducing one-component puree of white or green vegetables into the child's menu. Zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower are perfect for dating. You can choose a special ready-made product or make your own puree. A new dish can only be offered to a healthy baby in a good mood. It is better to do this in the morning. You need to start with one teaspoon, gradually bringing the portion to 180 g and replacing one milk feeding. When getting acquainted with any new product, it is necessary to control the reaction of the body (the nature of the stool and the condition of the skin).

Problems with the introduction of complementary foods

The baby is not always happy with new food. He may get upset and spit out the puree.

What should mom do? There are many tips, but each baby is individual. You can offer another vegetable the next day, for example, instead of not liking broccoli, give zucchini for testing. Some mothers add a little breast milk to the puree so that the taste of the dish seems familiar to the baby. If this does not help, then it is better to postpone the introduction of complementary foods for a few days, and then try again. The most important thing is not to scold or force-feed the baby. The main food product for a six-month-old baby is breast milk or formula, so it is wiser to postpone acquaintance with new food for a while than to rush and cause negative emotions in the baby. 3-4 weeks after the successful introduction of vegetables, you can try cereals.

Entertainment and activities

The proper development of a child at 6 months is influenced not only by a balanced diet, quality care and sleep, but also by playing activities aimed at improving movements and developing intelligence. It is very important during this period and constant communication with loved ones. You can sing songs to your little one, read funny children's poems, look at picture books and just talk about everything, highlighting key words. For example, a bus passed, you need to indicate: “Look, a bus. Where is the bus? When communicating, a passive vocabulary develops.

At the age of six months, the baby will be interested in floating figures for bathing, lockable boxes with contents, thick picture books, balls, a spinning top, a pyramid, soft animals with a sound effect, a plastic mirror, chewing toys. Small objects should not be given to the baby. Any toy purchased for him must be safe and must be certified.

Results

The first half of the year in the life of the crumbs is a turbulent and difficult period. By the end of it, the six-month-old baby has achieved a lot:

freely controls the head and torso;
can turn in any direction;
takes the toy he likes with precise and coordinated movement of the handle;
easily rolls over from stomach to back, and vice versa;
knows his own name;
sits confidently with support or support;
he has teeth;
for the first time he pronounces conscious sound formations, including consonants;
receives the first food for adults;
demonstrates his mood and emotions;
matches objects and their names.

All of these skills are inherent in a healthy baby of 6 months. Development, nutrition, care and love of parents played a major role in all the achievements of the crumbs. The care and support of mom and dad will help the baby overcome all difficulties and grow up as a healthy and smart child.

What should a baby do at six months? How to properly develop a six-month-old baby? How to choose good toys without getting lost in a huge assortment of children's stores? Such questions often concern young mothers and fathers who want their child to be healthy, happy and delight them with new successes.

Height and weight of children at six months

Until 2006, outdated norms for the development of children were in force, based on observations of babies on artificial feeding. Therefore, it is not always worth listening to the words of grandmothers that the child seems thin, it is better to check with the new standards developed by WHO 10 years ago.

According to these parameters, the weight of girls at 6 months can be from 6.5 to 8.2 kg, and their height ranges from 63.5 to 68 cm. Similar indicators for boys are slightly higher: 7.1–8.8 kg of weight; height within 65.5–69.8 cm.

If a boy or girl has a height and weight lower or higher than indicated, this does not directly indicate health problems. However, extremely low or high levels may indicate gaps in the child's nutrition system or a hidden deficiency of nutrients. Therefore, if a difference from the norms of height and weight is revealed, one should be attentive to the condition of the baby and conduct additional examinations, if possible, in order to exclude unpleasant consequences.

What a baby should be able to do at six months: developmental standards

We list the main skills that a 6-month-old person can boast of mastering:

Can roll from tummy to back
Masters the coup from the back to the stomach from both sides, while one of the sides can be leading
Lying on his stomach, straightens his arms and leans on his palms;
Reaches for a toy, trying to get it;
Tries to transfer objects from one hand to the other;
Learns to crawl without lifting his belly;
Sitting or semi-sitting with support;
Relies on legs when held upright, supported under the armpits;
When trying to plant it, it can keep its head in line with the body.

At this age, physical development is decisive for the overall development of the child, it should serve as the main guideline. Mastering various motor skills most of all reflects the gradual maturation of the child's brain. However, there are other criteria that the baby grows and develops correctly, in accordance with its age. For example, these:

Ability to pronounce individual vowels and consonants, as well as their combinations;
The ability to recognize the mother's voice, the "animation complex" (movements of arms and legs, babble, different sounds, eye tracking) as a response to it;
Reaction to the sound of a toy falling, doors slamming, etc.;
The ability to follow the eyes of an object in motion;
Hands and mouth are involved in the study of objects of the world;
Interest in one's own and others' reflection in the mirror;
Positive reaction to games with adults (“cuckoo”, nursery rhymes, “give and on”).

Not always all these skills appear at the same time, often the development of children is non-linear. Some smart babies at 6 months old know how to say the word "mom", but they are in no hurry to learn to sit and crawl. If the baby is healthy and active, do not be afraid of individual manifestations of developmental delay. But the advice of a specialist - competent, calm, attentive - should not be neglected. Although often a six-month-old baby will please his parents with success if he is engaged with him every day and plays with pleasure.

The development of a child at 6 months is in your hands. After all, at this time the baby is with a loving and caring mother a lot, listens to her voice, watches her actions and facial expressions. It is also in the power of parents to stimulate the physical, speech and emotional development of the child. How to do it?

First of all, it is worth motivating the child to move independently more often. If for some reason you avoided putting the baby on the floor, he spent time on the handles or in a deck chair, then you should fill this gap (be sure to free the surrounding space from small or dangerous objects). Place a beautiful toy near the baby, knock or ring it, attracting the attention of the young researcher.

There are simple techniques that help young children learn to turn from their stomach to their back and vice versa. They are easy to find on the net in the format of video tutorials.

Name the objects surrounding the child, voice your actions and plans, call him by name.

While your baby is awake, find time to play hide-and-seek (cuckoo), patties, learn a few nursery rhymes and finger games with him. You will soon see that some of these games are especially liked by the son or daughter.

Invite your child to collect a pyramid, roll or throw a ball. Give your child simple household items like pots, spoons, lids, soft bottles, paper. Comment on the actions of the child, rejoice in his discoveries!

Top Educational Toys for Babies at 6 Months

Balls of different sizes and textures;
Pyramid with rings of different colors;
A simple machine, non-inertial;
Books with surprises;
Developing mats with pockets with zippers, Velcro, buttons
A set of cups of different sizes;
Musical instruments (maracas, tambourine, drum).

The sixth month of a child's life is one of the stages of separation from the caregiver. What a child can do at 6 months already allows him to play on his own for 5-10, or even 15 minutes. However, not all activities of the baby please parents. For example, a child may throw a toy on the floor over and over again and ask his mother to pick it up with sounds. Remember that at this tender age, children do not know how to manipulate and do out of spite. Such actions are just the need of a growing person in the game, interaction with loving people, knowledge of the world and the properties of surrounding objects. Such games, despite the seeming meaninglessness from the point of view of adults, contribute to children's development. Be patient, but don't encourage the behavior you don't like.

The proportions of the child's body begin to visibly change, gradually approaching the usual proportions of an adult.

Physical development

What are the anthropometric indicators of the child by the end of the sixth month of life? The weight of the baby increases by approximately 600–650 grams, and the height by 2.5–3 centimeters. At this stage, the length in centimeters of the circumference of the head and chest, as a rule, is compared. It is possible that the circumference of the chest now exceeds the circumference of the head. The fact is that the proportions of the child's body begin to change visibly, gradually approaching the usual proportions of an adult.

Indicators of a child from 6 to 7 months

Growth chart and

And the weight chart

Growth

66.60-67.95 cm

7.975-8.770 kg

Head circumference

chest girth

Gradually increasing activity

Lying on his stomach, the child stops leaning on his forearms. Raising his chest and arms, moving his legs, he makes swinging movements on his stomach, reminiscent of the movements of a swimmer. The baby tries to crawl, actively rolls over from back to side, to the stomach and back to the back; sits with little support. The increased activity of the child makes you now take care of the safety of the baby if he is in the room alone, without adult supervision. Don't leave your baby alone on a couch or bed without a railing that he could fall off if he rolls over.

Supported under the armpits, the baby rests on the support with the tips of his toes, keeps his head straight, turns it from side to side. In the sitting position, the child holds his head confidently and turns it away when adults try to wipe his nose. Hand movements become more confident and coordinated, a palmar grasp of an object is formed with the entire surface of the palm and the outstretched thumb.

Finger movements are being improved: the baby can hold toys of different sizes equally successfully with both his right and left hands, knock them, throw them, play with several toys at the same time.

The child gets considerable pleasure from changing the position of the body. This stimulates his vestibular apparatus. He likes it when you hold him in your arms, lift him into the air, lower him down, swing him, press him to you, squat, circle around the room.

Such a game is recommended for the development of the baby's vestibular apparatus, in which the whole family (mother, baby and father) participates. Take a blanket and put your child on it with your back. Lift the blanket by the ends and gently rock it from side to side, and then slowly lower it to the floor. Repeat swings. If the baby does not like this, take him in your arms and calm him down. If the baby enjoys such rocking, change directions: rock up and down and from side to side. Remember to talk to your child and talk about how he feels from rocking on the blanket.

mental development

The child's behavior becomes more meaningful. The kid clearly shows his parents his discontent and joy. He can scream and get annoyed if he is not given a toy, and vice versa, babble and smile cheerfully when his parents come up and when he is played with.

Now parents can more confidently determine the well-being of the baby - when the child is satisfied, excited, calm, they can name the reasons for these conditions.

Babble at this age acquires a tonal coloration, can be measured or fast, quiet or loud, have different meanings: “I want to be in your arms, take me”, “pay attention to me, look at me, I’m here”, “take me away it, I don't like it." Noticing the approach of adults and children, the child begins to babble more actively and louder, trying to attract their attention.

The baby's visual and auditory analyzers continue to develop

The child holds objects and toys in his hands for a long time, feels, examines and studies. Trying to get information about the properties of materials, he puts toys in his mouth, licks and bites them. The child empirically explores which toys make sounds, and with pleasure shakes or knocks them. The baby listens to the surrounding everyday sounds, turns his head to the sound source, for example, hearing the sound of an opening door or the steps of an approaching mother. The child turns his head and reacts even to very quiet sounds: the rustling of paper, the clanging of scissors, the gentle whisper of his mother.

The baby closely monitors the movements and actions of adults

He carefully looks into the faces of the parents who are talking to him, begins to understand their facial expressions, reacting differently to the smiling, angry or surprised face of an adult. He is happy to join this game, copying the expression on his mother's face, and tries to imitate the sounds that she makes.

What games and exercises with the baby are useful at this stage?

The baby wants to get a new tactile experience. Let him touch different surfaces: warm and cold, soft and hard, smooth and rough. It can be not only toys, but also household items: spoons, cups, terry towels, silk bathrobes. Tell him about the feelings he is experiencing.

Take a piece of ice from the refrigerator and touch its handle or cheek. Watch how the child will react. Bring it to the fan. Make a warm stream of air and then turn off the fan. After a few seconds, repeat all over again.

Instead of a fan, make a breeze with a piece of paper or handkerchief. Wave it in front of the baby's face so that a stream of air hits him.

Fill several cloth bags with different cereals and tie tightly so that the cereal does not accidentally wake up. Make bags of different sizes, but such that the child can hold them. Put them together with other toys and your baby will explore them too. Instead of bags, you can use any scraps of fabric that are available in the house. Fill them in the same way as the bags with cereal and tie them in a knot.

The little man needs a new visual experience

He can already consider with interest not only close, but also distant objects. Tell the child about the object that he is looking at, but cannot reach. If possible, give it to the baby in the hands or bring it closer so that it can be better seen.

Give the baby toys of different colors, plain and colorful, light and dark tones. You will notice that bright toys attract my attention more. Take two or three toys of the same color and one toy that is very different from the rest - a contrasting color. Put them next to the child and watch his actions. After a while, repeat the experiment with toys of a different color.

How to stimulate the "speaking" of the baby?

When the baby pronounces not only individual sounds, but also some sound combinations: “ygi”, “ghy”, “uh-huh” and others, listen to them and repeat after him. When the child makes the next sounds, repeat them again after him. Soon you will be able to play "talk" in turn. Always talk to the baby when you hold it in your arms, when you feed it, dress it, put it to bed.

Talk about what you are doing. Speak with small short phrases and simple words, repeat the words. Sing vowel sounds and chains of repeated syllables (ge-ge-ge, dey-dey-dey, ma-ma-ma, ba-ba-ba). Pronounce sounds by puffing out your cheeks and rounding your lips.

Do not forget to change the intonation, make it expressive and bright. Leave pauses in your speech, then the baby will have time to say something. Play with the baby in a conversation until he is tired and tired. If he stops talking in turns, stop this activity and give the baby toys.

A kind of milestone and transition to another stage of development is the six-month-old age of the baby. You can't call him a baby, despite the fact that he can continue to suckle at the breast. All his actions, consciousness move to a new stage. Therefore, the question becomes reasonable, what should a child be able to do at 6 months? Are there any special criteria by which the rate of development is determined?

Physiological changes

By this age, the baby already has certain skills, demonstrating how it develops. The first sign is the ability to independently perform coups from back to stomach. The child acts consciously.

By the age of 6 months, he manages to hold on with one hand, lying on his stomach, and use the other to achieve the goal: take a toy, reach for an interesting thing. The muscles of the back develop at the right pace, they are able to provide support to the child, even if not for long.

A certain category of children can sit without support or with a small number of supports: rollers, pillows. This is a great age to start developing your baby to sit. The hypertonicity inherent in infants from the moment of their birth practically disappears. Many already move in their own way, crawling on their tummy or rolling.

The kid firmly grabs the supports with both hands, trying not only to sit down, but also to rise. Little inquisitives begin to actively explore the world around them. Particularly agile get up, holding on to the railings of the crib, while others move from thoughts to deeds, making the first movements to attempts to crawl. Many succeed. If there is no such impulse, then this is not a cause for concern. All kids are different. The child can move while sitting, helping himself with his hands, or immediately go.

The child's body gives the following signal about the desire to walk. If you take the baby by the armpits and hold it, then he will gladly try to push off with his legs, jump or even dance. There is an active development, strengthening of the hip muscles.

physical changes

Following the conditional table, you can observe changes in physical indicators. The development of a child at 6 months is determined by weight, height, head circumference, chest. Regardless of gender, he is gaining about 650 grams by the age of six months. His height increases by two centimeters, his chest - by an average of 1.5 centimeters, and about half a centimeter - head circumference.

The changes concern not only growth, but also the eruption of the first teeth, one of the most important stages of the baby. This process may be accompanied by a slight disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. In parallel, there may be a rise in temperature, abundant salivation. The baby often becomes capricious, cries.

This period will pass. To alleviate the condition of the baby will help special toys-teethers, cooling gels with the effect of anesthesia. The gel is applied to one's finger, the inflamed gums are massaged. The first visit to the dentist is at the age of six months.

Emotional and speech changes

What can a baby do at 6 months? This moment is positioned by the active development of fine motor skills. The baby is able to hold one different object in each hand. At the same time, he carefully studies them, turning from side to side. It is not considered a deviation if he not only feels the thing, but tries to try it “by the teeth”. This is an innate instinct, considered the norm. It becomes easier to feed him with a spoon, as the baby has learned to “remove” food from her lips.

He makes the first attempts to pronounce the words. True, this is more like babbling. The first combinations of vowels and consonants are pronounced. The baby only imitates adults, which is why communication is so important. The development of a child at 6 months, especially in girls, is characterized by the ability to pronounce about 40 sounds. However, such babbling does not carry a semantic load.

In addition to the first attempts to talk, the baby no longer just listens to the words of adults, but also tries to understand them. For example: if you call a thing by a familiar name, he will try to visually find it. You can understand the baby when he asks to be held. He recognizes, distinguishes familiar voices. He knows his mother's voice especially well, he can recognize it even if she is in the next room.

He has the first signs of consistent consciousness. For example, the baby knows: if an object falls, it will make a sound. He throws toys on purpose to watch the process, how they fly, how they fall, and what kind of sound it makes. Children are not just an observational process, they are trying to find practical applications for things and are very happy when adults show them how to handle them. The formation of cause-and-effect relationships does not mean progressive intellectual development. It will start a little later.

Sitting on their knees, they know how to show affection, clinging to an adult. They shy away from outsiders, people they do not know a little less, but at the same time they keep their distance and are not very willing to make contact.

danger signals

Regardless of the number of months, development occurs in each baby individually. The absence of some of the above skills does not mean deviations. But there are a number of signs that should alert, as they can affect developmental retardation, which will subsequently lead to more serious problems:

if by six months the baby cannot roll over from his stomach to his back and vice versa;
if, lying on his stomach, he does not try to raise his body or head;
does not turn his head to look around;
if he lacks the skill of being able to sit with support;
if there is no interest in toys, as well as a desire to try out a thing in the mouth;
the baby does not babble, ignores when they turn to him.

Compliance with the schedule

For the active development of a child at 6 months - a girl, a boy - it does not matter, it is very important to maintain a certain daily routine. The routine contributes to the development and strengthening of the nervous system.

Estimated time. The mode is selected based on the personal characteristics of the baby. He needs at least 14-16 hours of sleep per night. During the day, sleep is recommended in two sets of 1.5-2 hours.

Night sleep lasting 6-7 hours should be uninterrupted. A break is allowed if the baby is breastfeeding. Some children continue to wake up several times during the night. This can continue until the moment of weaning from the breast. In some cases, this passes by three years: an age that is an auspicious moment to wean from mother's milk. As the baby grows older, it will be less likely to apply to the mother, and the moments themselves will move closer to the morning hours. Interesting: “artificial” babies do not wake up at night for a snack. Many pediatricians associate the desire to suck on the mother's breasts more as a means of calming than satiating.

In order for the baby to sleep well at night, the interval between the last daytime and nighttime sleep should be at least four hours. Despite the fact that you can bathe your baby a little less often, experts recommend doing this every evening. Water procedures have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, having a calming effect. In addition, water awakens the appetite.

Child nutrition

The six-month period is the time to start introducing complementary foods. The child's body strongly needs a sufficient amount of all the necessary vitamins and minerals for growth and development. Before introducing complementary foods, a pediatrician should be consulted.

Timing is important due to a number of factors. Late introductions to new foods can cause your baby to reject tastes that are completely new to him. Lack of minerals and vitamins leads to a lack of many substances in the body. Late feeding can cause underdeveloped chewing skills.

Training should begin in the morning. During the day, there will be time to observe the body's reaction to new foods. The optimum food temperature is approximately 37 degrees. It is advisable to give drinks in special plastic non-spill cups (sold in pharmacies), and leave bottles with nipples for trips and walks.

In chubby children, attention is focused on vegetable and fruit purees. Children who need to gain weight are more likely to be given cereal. The child must, along with new food, replenish his energy balance and get acquainted with new tastes.

Exercises and activities

For harmonious development with the baby, it is necessary to play educational games, to study. The ideal option is to interest the baby in sorters designed for children of this age. For example, there are designs with holes in which you need to insert elements of the appropriate size and shape. Games with cereals (peas, buckwheat, rice and others) will help develop fine motor skills.

What can you start teaching him? Distinguish the texture of objects, the ratio of sizes, the ability to distinguish colors. Modern toys designed with age development in mind will come to the rescue. When buying, attention should be paid to the quality of workmanship and material. Psychologists recommend not to expose the child to all the toys at once. The baby, as a rule, plays with two or three species. The rest can be put in a bag, a box. After a week, "boring" items can be replaced with new ones by adding one element.

The kid knows and feels well the emotions of the parents, and also almost unmistakably recognizes approval on an intuitive level. Therefore, it is very important to constantly praise him with every success of the crumbs. For normal physical, mental and emotional development, massage, a number of exercises, including in water, are relevant, provided that your child is not afraid of it.

Do not miss the moment of the infant period, in the future there will be much fewer questions. For example, parents of preschool children before sending them to primary school often ask the question, what should a child be able to do at 6 years old? By mastering all the necessary skills at the appropriate age, each stage of development of the little man will be much easier.