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Babies grow really fast, and by the time your baby is six months old, you will see many physical and intellectual changes happening to her. Every day brings in something new, and you love to see all these changes in your baby. Here, in the following article, we shall acquaint you with some common milestones that your baby may achieve by the time she turns six months old.
Video: 6 Month Old Baby Milestones
6 Month Old Baby Milestones Chart
The following chart helps you understand the achieved and emerging developmental milestones of your baby:
| Your Baby’s Achieved Developmental Milestones | Your Baby’s Emerging Developmental Milestones |
| Better grasping- can make use of all fingers to hold | Will use index finger and thumb to hold also known as raking grasp. |
| Can sit without any support | Will try to get into the sitting position |
| Eat some selected fruits and vegetable | Can eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables |
| Improved colour vision and depth perception | Will be able to differentiate between more colours and perceive depth in a better way |
| Better sleep for several consecutive hours at night | Will have better night sleep and lesser feeding breaks in between |
| Can stretch to grab an object | Will crawl to grab the object |
| Can roll in both directions | Will roll in any direction, even while sitting and crawling |
| Can make simple consonant and vowel sounds | Will make more complex sounds |
| Can recognize familiar faces | Will try and communicate through gestures with familiar faces |
Source: http://www.momjunction.com/articles/babys-6th-month-a-development-guide_00103340/
Some Major Developmental Milestones Your Child Should Reach by Six Month of Age
We have categorized the major developmental milestones in the following categories:
Cognitive Developmental Milestones:
Cognitive development deals with your baby’s overall brain development, which includes the intelligence and the thinking ability of your baby.
- Enhanced Curiosity: Your baby will become a little explorer and would want to explore everything around. She will touch hold and feel the things that fascinate her.
- Copy Sounds: By this time your baby will develop better sound interpretation skills and will and imitate the sounds she hears.
- Responds to her name: Around this time your baby remembers the sound of her name, and she is also able to interpret it, and thus she’ll respond when you call her name.
- Utters Basic Sounds: Your baby will say common vowel and consonant sounds and may reply with these sounds when you talk to her.
Physical Development Milestones:
By the time your baby is six months old, she will be able to achieve the following physical development milestones and gross motor capabilities:
- Better hand-eye coordination: Your baby will have more precise and better hand movements because of better vision. She will hold and observe the objects carefully.
- Improved depth perception and colour vision: Since birth, your baby’s vision improves tremendously and by this time she is not only able to differentiate between wide varieties of colours but she is able to estimate the distance and track objects.
- Uses all fingers for grasping: Your baby will make use of all fingers to hold tiny or small objects, this is called raking grasp.
- Sits without any support: Your baby develops strong back muscles and thus is able to sit and manage her entire body weight. Though she may still not be able to get to the sitting position on her own.
Communication Skills:
Here are some the communication skills that your baby will by the time she is six months old:
- Your baby will start responding to her name.
- Your baby will start making sounds that will show her happiness or displeasure.
- Your baby will respond to different sounds by making sounds.
- Your baby will start babbling and will try taking turns while making different sounds, with parents or siblings.
Sleep Pattern:
Your baby will develop a better sleeping pattern by six months of age, and some of the following milestones may also be achieved:
- Your baby will have longer uninterrupted sleep sessions at night.
- Your baby may sleep for 6 to 8 hours at a stretch.
- Your baby will be able to roll over independently.
- Your baby may not get up for feeds at night.
Senses:
Here are some of the sensory, developmental milestones that your six-month-old baby will achieve:
- Your baby likes to touch and feel various textures. She will like to touch her food, toys, water and various other objects to feel them.
- Your baby develops better vision and thus will get attracted by bigger, brighter and bolder objects.
- Your baby will feel comforted by touching, rocking and gentle sounds.
- Your baby may not feel upset by everyday sounds.
- Your baby will hold objects or toys with both hands and try and bring it towards her mouth.
Social And Emotional Developmental Milestones:
Here are some social and emotional developmental milestones that your six-month-old baby will achieve:
- Recognises familiar people: Your baby will recognise and may also feel comfortable in the company of known or familiar people that you may meet on a regular basis. On the other hand, she may fuss or cry on seeing new or unfamiliar faces.
- Enjoys playing: Your baby will show interest and will also enjoy playing with parents, siblings or caregivers.
- Varied Expressions: By this time your baby will develop various different expressions for various things. You may notice her making different faces for hunger, sleep, discomfort or pain.
- Respond’s to emotions: You will see your baby responding to familiar people. She may make happy and sad faces according to different situations.
When to Worry?
Every baby will reach the above-mentioned milestones sooner or later, but there are some indications that may alarm the parents. These are:
- Your Baby Is Unable To Sit Even With Support: Babies develop stronger back muscles which help them to sit. However, if your baby is not able to sit even with support, this means there is a delay in your baby’s physical growth.
- Your Baby Makes No Sounds Or Respond to Sounds: Though babies at this age do not talk they make sounds and also responds to sounds. If your baby is doing neither, then it may indicate that there is some problem with the vocal cords or your baby may have hearing issues.
- Your Baby Does Not Recognise Familiar Faces: If your baby does not recognise familiar people, this means there may be some problem in the vision or cognitive development.
- Your Baby Appears Inactive Or Shows Poor Motor Skills: Most babies love to play with toys by this age. If your baby appears inactive or shows no interest in playing this could mean that your baby is facing developmental delays.
Ways to Help Your 6 Month Old Achieve the Milestones
As parents, you help stimulate your baby’s growth and development by following some simple tips:
- Tummy Time: It is very important that give your baby some time to lie on her tummy. This helps in strengthening and toning your baby’s muscles and makes her agiler.
- Engage Your Baby In Conversations And Play Time: By talking and playing with your baby you are stimulating your baby’s listening skills.
- Outdoor Activities And Reading: Taking your baby to gardens, parks or various other outdoor locations help in stimulating baby’s vision. You can also read colourful books to your baby.
- Social Interaction: It is very important that your baby meets and sees new faces and people. This will help your baby develop better social and communication skills.
A well-nurtured baby may achieve all the above-mentioned milestones by six months of age. However, it is recommended that you remain watchful as parents and register any developmental delays. It is advised to get in touch with your paediatrician as soon as you register any developmental delays.
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