Child 6 months and his development. Physical and mental development of a six-month-old baby

By six months, the child already knows and understands a lot, he has grown and become stronger, this month it is time for him to introduce complementary foods and gradually introduce him to a new diet. This age is one of the key stages of development, and it is important to know what you should learn in six months of your life, and what still lies ahead.

Parents can already be proud of their child’s numerous skills at 6 months. Not only has the baby grown by more than 10-13 cm and doubled his weight, he has turned from a helpless baby into an active toddler. So, let's see what the average child can do at 6 months? First of all, the baby holds his head well and confidently, rising in his arms when he lies on his stomach. At the same time, he actively manipulates his hands. He makes “rowing” movements with his legs, arching his back and training his muscles. In addition, the baby can actively roll over from back to tummy and back. Make sure he does it the same way in both directions. It is worth emphasizing that the list of what a girl or boy should be able to do at 6 months is not significantly different. Although, in fairness, it is worth noting that girls can usually be a little behind physically, but emotionally they are somewhat ahead of boys.
Also, a child’s skills at 6 months may include the first attempts at crawling, pushing forward or backward from the surface, especially if an object of interest to the baby appears in the field of view. Some of the children try to get on all fours, rocking back and forth. And of course, the key skill for six months will be the first attempts at sitting independently. Most often, children sit with support on hands or objects. But as the muscle corset strengthens, they will be able to sit independently, manipulating the arms.

To stimulate the development of more and more new skills, you need to actively engage with your baby, conduct massage sessions and gymnastics, water procedures(swimming in the bath). Games with active movements will also be useful.

Baby gets up at 6 months

IN in rare cases thin and active babies can be ahead of many of their peers, and parents talk about how a child can stand on his feet in a crib at 6 months. Although, according to the norms, this skill appears a little later, but if the baby performs it independently, without your help, you should not hold it. In this case, his muscles are ready for such loads. Most often, a child at 6 months stands on his toes, especially when swimming in the bath, and this is not a pathology. Thus, he understands how to properly maintain body balance and trains coordination. When standing on a full foot, the child's body may lean backward, making it more difficult to maintain balance. Therefore, a child at 6 months stands on tiptoes, transferring his body weight forward to a support that he will hold tightly to. There is no need to worry about standing on your toes; right now it is not of key importance, and is not a deviation from the norm, a manifestation of muscle tone, etc.
But, stasis is worth saying that you don’t need to put your baby on his feet at six months, trying to lead him or just hold him. If the baby is not ready for such a skill, standing will be too much of a burden for his skeleton, therefore, do not force things - the pace of development of children is individual, you still have a few months left, and the baby will learn to stand on his own. Initially, you need to learn to crawl and sit, and then get up, so pay attention to practicing these skills.

What does a 6 month old baby understand?

At this age, the baby is already quite smart, he knows his family and friends very well, distinguishing them from everyone else. The baby may react negatively to strangers, be afraid of them and cry, ask to be held by his family, but as he gets used to it, he can make contact. The child actively reacts to the emotions of others and copies them. If the mother is upset, the baby may be capricious and whiny. He already knows his name and the names of those around him very well, and looks for them upon request. The child already knows how to use behavior, crying and emotions to get what he wants from his parents - he can scream and protest against being placed in a crib, being let down, or having toys taken away.

Baby's speech at 6 months

Although the baby does not yet have full speech, he communicates quite well using sounds. In addition to vowel sounds, consonants also appear in babbling, from which the first syllables “da”, “ma”, “ba”, “pa” are formed. From these, the baby can form the first unconscious “words,” which make parents very happy. Seeing their animation, the baby continues to babble with even greater enthusiasm. If they left the room, the baby can call his parents with sounds.
At this age, a child’s babble has a clear emotional connotation - the sounds can be both joyful and dissatisfied and angry. The baby changes intonation and volume, thus communicating with others. If a child sees reactions to sounds, this helps him consolidate his first speech skills, he understands that with the help of sounds he can communicate with adults.

By his first “anniversary” the child achieves incredible success. Comparing photos and videos of a newborn baby with the little man who is now walking in his crib, you will find a colossal difference.

If you start to take stock of the past period, you will be amazed at how much your baby has grown and gained weight in six months, how many skills he has mastered. But the baby is not going to stop there, and your task will be to continue to help his development, because there are still many goals ahead: the child must learn to crawl, talk and walk.

To help your baby acquire new skills, you need to have an idea of ​​what a baby should be able to do, so you can figure out how to develop a baby at 6 months. The child development calendar, which outlines what achievements babies should have at six months, can guide you.

Skills

The physical development of children in the sixth month of life continues to progress at a rapid pace. The baby puts a lot of effort into learning new skills and bringing those already acquired to normal level. The child development calendar only indicates approximate dates for when and what the baby should learn and what should change in his life. If your neighbor's girl already knows how to crawl, and your boy has just learned to roll over, don't worry that he is behind in development. Even if by the end of the sixth month the child has not mastered the necessary skills, doctors give another two weeks to develop them.

• in the sixth month of life, all children should begin to crawl; without lifting their belly from the surface, they move forward, backward and in a circle;
• the level of coordination of hand movements allows six month old baby use two limbs simultaneously for grabbing, throwing and clapping; the baby can roll over while holding a toy; Also, by the end of the sixth month, the baby should be able to look at objects and take them with his right and left hands.
• fine motor skills develop, a baby at six months can open boxes, can turn thick pages of children's books, insert cups into each other;
• a child at six months should be able to sit up independently or with support;
• when rising while lying on his stomach, the baby should be able to do this without the participation of his forearms;
• at six months the child should be able to hold his head in an upright and sitting position;
• a change in the position of the body in space triggers stimulation of the vestibular apparatus, so the child constantly asks to be held by adults; he likes to be swayed, lifted to the ceiling or spun around.

Care

Six-month-old babies usually already have their first teeth in their mouth. The timing of their eruption depends on hereditary factors; in some babies they appear before six months, in others only at 7-8 months. The order of teeth growth may also differ from the standards. Parents should not worry if the appearance of the incisors is delayed or if they grow in a slightly irregular order.

Dental growth in six-month-old children is associated with profuse salivation, pain, itching and fever. Therefore, you need to have a supply of certain medications in your first aid kit in order to promptly care for your baby’s painful gums and bring down his temperature. In addition to age-appropriate antipyretics and pain-relieving gels, it will be useful to purchase several teethers for your baby.

Continue to bathe your baby in the bath every day and do gymnastics with him to strengthen his muscles.

Since a baby at six months may not be interested in sitting in a playpen, you should organize for him the most comfortable and safe “sexual” life. Place a thick blanket on the floor and let your child play on it. The baby will play and practice crawling without the risk of him falling. You will need to produce daily care behind surfaces on which the baby crawls.

Emotions and behavior

The baby’s expression of emotions still remains vivid; all experiences are reflected on his face. As the baby begins to learn toys that require precision movements, he may sometimes begin to cry due to failures. Tempers can also occur if the child does not get what he demands or is forced to endure something he does not like.

A child in the sixth month of life continues active communication with loved ones. He has already formed his own " lexicon“- a set of certain sounds, pronounced with different intonations, helps the baby communicate that he doesn’t like something, or that he is happy about dad coming home from work or the appearance of a new toy. This " children's language“is far from an adult, but attentive parents understand even these sound combinations and understand what exactly the baby wants.

At six months, babies already know their name and react when addressed, feel comfortable with familiar people, and when strangers appear, they become wary and may even cry. Don’t worry, this is a completely normal reaction of six-month-old children to strange adults.

Children not only experience their own emotions, but also successfully copy our facial expressions. If you try to “make faces” with your baby, he will repeat your angry, joyful, and sad facial expressions. At six months, a child is good at feeling our mood and can copy it, so keep a friendly and supportive attitude at home. calm atmosphere so that he will always be in a good mood. Not only physical, but also emotional and psychological development is important for a child, so being in a tense environment will negatively affect his personality.

Height and weight

At the end of the sixth month of life, the baby should gain about 600 grams of weight and grow by 2.5 - 3 centimeters. The proportions of the child’s body change, gradually approaching the ratio of body parts to the adult model.

Speech

A baby's speech skills continue to improve in the sixth month of life. New sounds are added to his articulatory arsenal, he combines them in different ways, repeats them many times, sings and pronounces them with different intonations.

Continue to constantly talk to the baby, and read fairy tales with different intonations. Children may enjoy playing dialogue games. Of course, their speech is far from perfect, but taking turns talking with adults gives them visible pleasure. When telling your baby about something, pause for his remarks, and he will definitely skip something..

Feeding

In children breastfeeding the diet changes. As a rule, they begin to wake up less often at night and eat the most 2-3 hours before fully awakening in the morning. Because of this, they are reluctant to eat in the first half of the day. Following your pediatrician's recommendations, you will continue to introduce complementary foods into your baby's diet according to the schedule. Children's doctor will take into account the developmental features of your baby and his physical state, and he will tell you when and what products the baby can try.

Dream

Due to the fact that children in the sixth month of life increase their physical activity during the day, their night sleep becomes longer and more sound. Some children can sleep until the morning without waking up. Day rest takes place in two stages, lasting from an hour to two. Average duration sleep six-month-old baby shorter by a full 4 hours than a newborn's sleep. The baby spends the time freed from resting in the crib on active activities. physical development and world exploration.

Games and toys

At the age of six months, the baby’s fingers and hands move very actively, normal coordination is established, and therefore the nature of the toys that suit the child changes noticeably. The baby can now play with containers of different sizes and colors, nesting them inside each other.

You can satisfy your baby’s research interest by buying him educational products with various details: rustling and ringing. You can also sew small bags and fill them different cereals and tie or stitch tightly. By touching and feeling their contents through the fabric, the baby will develop fine motor skills and enrich your tactile experience.

Children continue to “discover” their bodies; a boy can get carried away with playing with his reproductive organ.

Don't panic, it's quite normal behavior. There is no need to pull the baby back, because in this case he may become capricious; try to distract him with some bright toy and keep his hands busy with it.

A six month old baby may be interested in musical toys, children love the process of pressing large buttons, after which melodies or sounds begin to play. Developing hand coordination allows kids to be able to insert small parts into holes and watch them fall. You need to be close to the baby, teach and guide him.

In an effort to be like you, the child will enthusiastically turn the dense pages of a children's book, and perhaps even try to babble, pretending to read it. If you often showed him pictures in books and told him who was depicted in them, by the end of this period, the baby may, in response to your questions (Where is grandpa? Where is the turnip?), touch his finger to the corresponding depicted character.

Playing with adults in the sixth month of life will be associated with the development of the vestibular apparatus in preparation for active crawling and walking. Children are delighted when they are swung on a blanket, like on a hammock, and they also like the role of an “airplane”.

The development of the vestibular system by the end of the sixth month is very important, since very soon the baby will begin to crawl independently. To prevent a child from falling on his side after rapid movements, he must be able to withstand such spatial overloads. From the newborn period to six months, the baby lay, and if he changed his position, he was securely held parental hands. Now he begins to move on his own, and for this he needs to train the vestibular apparatus.

At the end of this month, you will celebrate your baby's first anniversary - six months. The child has changed a lot during this time. You have become friends, you understand each other, you know his tastes, what exactly he wants at this moment, what his mood is.

In the sixth month, the baby’s weight increases by an average of 600-650 g, that is, every week the baby gains 140 g.

The child moves more than last month. No one can teach a child to crawl on the floor until he himself understands what movements his arms and legs need to make. In his quest to crawl, the baby is guided by an unconditional interest: to quickly crawl to the interesting toy, than to think about what sounds to explain to his mother to give him this very toy or object. As a rule, babies begin to crawl this month. The most favorite crawling technique for children is crawling “on their stomach”.

Baby, six months old, still has difficulty crawling in the classic way, using extended arms and knees. But some children can use this method. Basically, at first, it turns out that you crawl backwards - “crabfish”. But there are unique babies who can crawl with their in a unique way- “kolobok”. They simply roll over from their back to their tummy, then from their tummy to their back through the other side - and so on across the entire room. This activity becomes a child’s favorite sport. Don't interfere! Maybe in front of you is a future gymnast or gymnast! It's also a kind of wonderful massage.

By the end of the sixth month, most babies can sit up fully on their own. “Full” is when the child sits with a flat back without bending the body to the side or forward. But, Dear Parents, do not try to straighten your child’s back yourself. If it remains round, it means it’s not time to sit yet. Don't worry, it's different for every baby. Some babies are ready to sit at 5.5 months, others are closer to 7 months. If at the age of 7 months the child's back remains round and still cannot sit without support, you should consult a pediatrician. The reason for this may be a decrease in the tone of the back muscles, for example, due to, or due to a disease nervous system. If from birth the child lags behind in psychomotor development, then he will also develop the skills to sit later.

Very often, at the age of 6 months, children develop a desire to “walk.” Of course with your help. Happy parents are proud to announce this achievement. But, pay attention to how the legs bend at the knees, the feet also turn outward and this is not correct in the formation of future walking skills. Moreover, sometimes such “walking” can delay or distort the appearance of normal, good walking. The fact is that the muscles of the thighs, thighs and pelvic girdle not yet fully developed in order to provide correct technique walking. At this age, “jumping” and “dancing” are recommended, for which the baby may show a desire. Such activities will not only improve the child’s mood, but will also train all muscle groups that take part in walking. Therefore, be sure to include these exercises in your baby’s daily gymnastics routine.

You can use a walker. Taking into account that the baby can move by crawling or using a walker, you need to ensure safety. This applies to outlets, hot heaters, flowers on high stands, etc. It is advisable to allocate a separate room for the baby; if this is not possible, create temporary barriers in this room. Special attention should be directed towards the steps. Remember that they really attract the child's attention.

Since the baby can already move around in a walker, place all sharp, expensive, small and glass objects. Hide everything medications! It’s a pity that it is at this age that children’s interest leads to serious chemical burns and drug poisoning.

At this age, the child intuitively or superficially begins to understand different emotions. Remember that the high tones of your remarks and quarrels between adults not only alarm and frighten, but also irritate your baby. The child gets a general impression of the emotionality of communication between relatives through their facial expressions, volume of conversation, and intonation.

Right now the baby is the most in the best possible way shows the full range of his mood. You will rarely be able to explain why your daughter or son was just smiling and now has become very serious. The fact is that the baby has learned to switch from one object to another, and each new impression is manifested by a new emotion. The range of new skills is expanding every week. And now you can confidently tell your friends who have kids the same age as you how smart your child is and how many new things he can do.

At six months of age, the baby begins to form his passive vocabulary. He remembers all the objects that you name and, over time, when naming them out loud, the baby will look at these very things.

The baby continues to study your face. His little fingers touch your eyes, nose, mouth... The baby begins to understand that he and you are two different people: if you pull your hair, it hurts, but if you pull your mother, even if it’s severe, for some reason it doesn’t hurt!

You need to talk to a 6-month-old baby as much as possible - during feeding, bathing, dressing, so that the baby feels your attention and care. When you put your baby to bed, sing lullabies to him. Invite your baby to listen to a variety of music - quiet, calm music. Call the child by name and at the same time move away from him at different distances.

Not all children begin to sit by 6 months, and there is nothing wrong with that - each child develops individually. Do not surround your baby with pillows, because with these actions you will not help him sit down faster, but on the contrary, limit him motor activity, and the child’s passive position without movement will negatively affect his development.

Most parents try to summarize this period and draw conclusions that the child should “go” faster, because he began to sit at almost 5 months, jumps well, crawls, etc. Not worth it! “Earlier” or “later”, not a single book will tell you about this. Everything depends on you!

The toddler’s favorite pastime is playing, always with your participation. He constantly strives to communicate: with movements, sounds, glances. If you turn away from him or pay attention to the TV screen, he will become very upset.

At the age of 6 months, you must visit the children's clinic to give your baby the 3rd preventive vaccination. You can ask the doctor questions about the child’s weight, height, suitability of the baby’s skills for his age, and the need for him to be examined by other specialists.

After the doctor assesses the child’s health, you can discuss the date for the third immunization with the DPT and polio vaccine.

It is in the sixth month that most babies begin to erupt their first teeth. Remember that there is no exact time for the first clove to appear. It's different for all kids. For some, this process begins at 4 months, for others at 9-10 months. This period depends on the hereditary predisposition of the child. Ask your parents when your first tooth appeared, your husband, your relatives.

Let us remind you that the timing of the appearance of teeth does not affect their sequence. For most children, their order remains the same. The first to appear are the 2 lower middle incisors, the next 4 upper incisors, and then the 2 lower lateral incisors. First 8 front teeth. Cutting teeth is a long process and children's body long before teeth appear (3-4 months) it begins to respond to changes. Therefore, be patient for 2-2.5 years. During this time, the baby should have as many as 20 teeth.

Common signs of teething that affect many children include:

• increased body temperature (up to 37-38 degrees Celsius);
• increased saliva production;
• refusal to eat;
• loose stool;
• sucking the lower lip.

Today, there are many ways you can make teeth appear easier. Here are some of them:

• special rubber toys- “rodents” that are filled cold water from the refrigerator, but not from freezer. Cold will relieve irritation and eliminate pain on the gums;
• At the pharmacy you can buy drugs that contain local anesthetic substances. The use of such drugs reduces the sensitivity of the gums in the place where the tooth erupts.

Skills and achievements

Physical Skills:

• the child gains 600 - 650 grams in weight. per month, or 140 g every week;
• on average, over the entire period (from the 1st to the 6th month) the child grows by 15–16 cm.

Sensory-motor skills:

• can sit and keep his back straight without the help of adults;
• kneels down and tries to crawl, leaning on outstretched arms;
• bends and turns, in all possible directions;
• the child likes to play with food using a spoon, toy, fingers or tongue;
• the baby can hold a cup in his hands;
• wraps the head freely in all directions;
• the child can sit up independently, turning from back to side;
• taste sensations improved, “favorite” and “unfavorite” foods and complementary foods appear.

Intellectual skills:

• the child not only looks at two different subjects- he can compare them;
• the child has different emotions and can quickly change mood;
• likes to watch an object that moves (car, ball, person);
• the number of sounds that are “successful” in pronunciation increases, as well as their combination into syllables.

Social Skills:

• the baby laughs and “giggles” if he likes something;
• emotionally shows satisfaction or dissatisfaction with something;
• smiles when he sees his image in the mirror;
• worries if a stranger is nearby;
• the child turns towards the voice when he hears his name;
• stops crying, listens or sings along when he hears music.

Daily regime

The child’s daily routine this month remains the same as in the previous month: sleep-feeding-active period-sleep, etc. During the day, the baby sleeps 3-4 times for 1.5-2 hours, while nap must be on fresh air. Night sleep lasts about 10.5-11 hours.

By the age of six months, a child is more awake - about two hours after daytime feedings, and an hour after the last. Every day he becomes more active. At this time, you need to play with him, walk outside, do massage and gymnastics.

Your baby is starting to turn more attention for toys and of course wants you to communicate with him - this is very important to him. Try leaving your baby alone surrounded by toys for a while.

When the baby is not sleeping, do massages, gymnastics with him, teach him to crawl, roll over, reach for toys and just play, alternating various toys by color, shape, sound.

The air temperature in the child's room should not exceed 21-20 °C. Systematically ventilate the room using cross ventilation. In summer, keep the window open all the time; cover it only at night.

Walk with your child outside twice a day at air temperatures from +30 °C to -12 °C. In summer 2.5-3 hours and in winter - 2 hours a day. Do not leave your baby outside unattended.

Bathing your baby is still necessary every day. Water temperature 35-35.5 °C, bath duration 8-9 minutes. After bathing the child, you need to pour water over it, the temperature of which is 34-35 ° C. In addition to hygienic baths, wash your baby’s face and clean his nose and ears every morning.

You should wash your baby with warm running water every time he “goes to the toilet.”

Continue doing gymnastics and massage. The complex of massage and gymnastics includes such exercises as arm movements while hugging the body, bending and straightening the legs together, turning from the back to the stomach behind right hand, back massage, “expansion” in the position on the stomach, abdominal massage, flexion and extension of the arms alternately, turning from the back to the stomach behind left hand, exercises that stimulate crawling. This complex should be performed every day for 10 minutes, with each exercise repeated 5-7 times.

Child nutrition

With the introduction of complementary foods daily ration The child's feeding hours are distributed as follows: 6.00; 10.00; 14.00; 18.00; 22.00. - five meals a day with periods of four hours, the interval between night feedings is 8 hours.

At this age, you need to continue with a highly adapted milk formula. Assortment of fruit juices and fruit purees increases. Make it a rule - do not combine different juices and puree on the same day. Today you give Apple juice, tomorrow - banana puree, the day after tomorrow - plum juice, etc. This is done in order, firstly, to avoid additional stress on the baby’s ventricle and, secondly, to determine the body’s reaction to a new product.

In the sixth month, one feeding is completely replaced with complementary foods - vegetable puree or porridge (in accordance with your pediatrician's recommendations). This month you need to introduce into your child's diet egg yolk(chicken). To do this, boil an egg hard (at least 15 minutes), take out the yolk and grind it with mother's milk or with a mixture, give to the child before feeding. It is recommended to add the yolk to vegetable puree so that the complementary feeding dish (vegetable puree) becomes more rational and the vitamins contained in the yolk are better absorbed. Chicken egg yolk is introduced into the baby’s diet in the amount of 1/4 yolk and the portion is gradually increased to 1/2 yolk. Yolk is not included in the diet of children with allergic diseases.

A new product or dish needs to be introduced small child in small portions so that the baby has the opportunity to taste the food you prepared for him and get used to its taste. Especially if before that he only knew the taste of mother’s milk!

An approximate scheme for feeding a child at 6 months of life is provided in the table.

If your baby gains a lot of weight every month, adjust his daily diet: increase the amount of vegetable puree and raw fruits, and reduce the amount of high-calorie dishes (milk porridge). But if a child does not gain about 300-400 g in weight every month, then you can add creamy and sunflower oil, choose a high-calorie porridge and prepare puree from various vegetables.

The expression “When I eat, I am deaf and dumb” is not about your baby at this age. The fact is that eating becomes the most enjoyable game for a toddler. If you have time, enough food and relatively clean clothes for your baby, at least sometimes organize such a game for him. You will see with what pleasure the child tests everything that is on the plate! First with one finger, then with five, and then with her mouth.

This game will bring a lot of joy and new discoveries to your child (and, perhaps, to you as well): it turns out that vegetable puree rubs perfectly on the table, and tea or juice for some reason leaves a wet mark on the table or a whole puddle. This is simply an exciting activity for your little one!

Not just a tiny little lump, but already a fully grown man who can do a lot of things, but he still has so much unknown ahead of him! He will have to hone his acquired skills and learn new ones. At six months, the baby enters the so-called era of the crawler and rodent, and the task of caring parents is to help him develop, give him the opportunity to realize his potential, and for this he will have to try and devote a lot of time to the baby. So, how to develop a child at 6 months? Read on, this article is devoted specifically to this issue.

What is a 6 month old baby like??

Six months is a kind of anniversary, to which the baby “arrives” with a weight of 6500-7200 g and a height of 63-67 cm (average figures). B can crawl, babble, repeat previously heard sounds, and pick up toys and objects. Moreover, he really likes to throw the latter at different sides, and then watch where everything fell. Some babies at this time are already trying to stand, holding onto the back of the bed or their mother. What needs to be done next to develop a child at 6 months correctly and efficiently?

Setting up an obstacle course

The role of physical development at this age is difficult to overestimate, and therefore encourage the baby to crawl as much as possible, and not on a flat surface, but with obstacles. To do this, sit down on the floor yourself and have the child climb over your legs (stimulate with a bright toy located further away). If your legs are no longer difficult for your baby, then build an obstacle course from blankets and pillows. During these activities, you can turn on music and crawl with your child, which will also give you a good mood.

Putting things in order

How to develop a child at 6 months in a way that is not only useful, but also interesting? It's simple! At this age, kids love to open cabinets and bedside tables, explore the contents of boxes and baskets, take everything out of there, and then put it back. This natural desire must be supported! Make sure that the items that your baby will fidget with are different shapes, all kinds of colors, sizes. Then in the process they will develop and spatial representations, and tactile perception, and

Let's swim with pleasure

Time in the bathroom can also be usefully spent. Don't know how to develop a 6 month old baby while bathing? Read on, it's simple. Sit your baby in the bathtub (if he can’t sit well, use a special seat), let him enjoy the view, and then begin interesting and useful activities. Let the child squeeze the sponge, sponge bubble, catch rubber toys that jump out of the water.

What's inside?

Suitable toys for a six-month-old baby would be jars with lids. Tin containers for tea or coffee are perfect. These jars are light, fun to knock on, and come in different shapes. Stock up on these items and start playing. Remove the lids from the jars and place them in front of the baby. Of course, for a child at this age it is still very difficult to choose the necessary lids, but inquisitive children will collect at least one pair so that they can then simply open and close them with their little fingers. You can put a toy in the jar and close it slightly. The baby will try his best to get to the desired object, which will form little man self-confidence and self-confidence will foster perseverance.

Developing coordination

This can be done in several ways.

1. Tell your child any story about birds. And when you say the phrase “the birds have flown,” raise your child’s arms up and clap your hands. Soon the baby will be waiting for this moment and laughing.
2. In order for the child to learn to maintain balance and control his own movements, the father simply needs to sit the baby on his shoulders more often.

Learn to draw

You say it's too early? Nothing like this! If you are already thinking about how to develop a child at 6 months correctly, then take this advice into account. Place semolina on a tray or other suitable surface for this activity. Show your baby as many lines, circles and other images as possible. One drawback is that you won’t keep such a picture as a keepsake, but you can easily take photographs of “masterpieces.”

What else do parents need to know?

Today's market offers a huge range of toys for children. Caring parents They do not spare any money for this good deed, but they often forget to think about the quality of the product offered. Don’t forget, the baby will touch, lick, and chew this item. Therefore, be sure to inquire about the availability of a quality certificate. Do not buy small toys, fragile. At this age, cubes, pyramids,

The most important thing is to surround your child with care and attention, spare no time for him, and the results of your joint games and entertainment will give you confidence in yourself and your abilities.

How does the baby's body grow during this month? Another 500-600 grams of body weight and approximately 1.5-2 centimeters of height. In addition, the chest and head circumferences increase by 0.5 centimeters. There is a high probability that by the end of the seventh month your child will “arm” his mouth with a pair of wonderful new incisors (usually the lower ones). Therefore, it is recommended to introduce fluoride supplements into your child's diet. The great importance of this halogen for dental enamel has been known to everyone for a long time.

Your baby is six months old! You noted how he has grown during this time, how smart he seems to you now. The child’s physical development and cognitive interests change rapidly. The main slogan of the second half of the year: “Movement is freedom in the exploration of space.” The baby is no longer so dependent on mom and dad. If previously he could only touch and examine what his parents showed him - after all, it was they who changed his position in space, gave him toys and objects - now the baby strives for independence. The seventh month of life is a start in this direction. And the main incentive in the desire to act independently is rapid change motor skills.

Lying on his stomach, the baby only needs to lean on one hand to maintain balance; he independently turns from his back to his stomach. Lying on his back, the child amazes you with his acrobatic abilities - he holds on to his legs, plays with them, raising his head high. Holding out your hands to your baby, you notice his active attempts to accept sitting position- the child learns to sit down. Most babies sit well child seat. In a sitting position, they confidently turn their head towards the sound source, reacting even to very quiet sounds, for example, the rustling of paper or the noise of a quiet rattle.

Muscle development and coordinated hand movements help the baby master grasping small objects. He picks up toys from the floor, grabs objects with his whole palm (“palm grip”), and traces with his eyes the fall of a toy that he has released from his hand.

What games and activities are possible with a baby at this age?

Place your child on the floor, close to the sofa, so that he can sometimes lean on it. Place several toys at the side and in front of the baby. He will look at them with interest, reach out and take them in his hand. Can pull a toy into his mouth, bite it, lick it. Do not leave your child alone on the floor while he or she sits unsteadily without support. Sit nearby and play. If your baby doesn't notice the toy on his side, draw his attention to it. Tap your hand or toy on the floor and ring the bell. The baby will definitely look to the side, see the toy and try to grab it. Place toys from different materials(rubber, plastic, wood, metal, fabric), different sizes and shapes. Don't forget to place different sized balls on the floor. Put the toys in cardboard box from under shoes or in a small plastic basket and place it next to the child. The baby is very interested in pulling out and throwing toys from the box onto the floor. Sometimes a child can independently collect toys back into the box, but then take them out again and throw them on the floor - this is so interesting! Now is the time to give your baby an “Activity Center” - this is a plane on which various toys are located: buttons to press, rotating balls and rollers, strings to pull, bells, a mirror. The baby now likes to: rotate, press, knock, shake.

Mental development

The baby carefully examines familiar objects and toys. Handing the rattle to your child, you notice that he is trying to make a sound - he shakes the rattle, listens and shakes again. This observation leads you to believe that the child is beginning to develop long-term memory.

But still, the main achievement of this age is considered to be a clear distinction between the child’s reactions when seeing familiar and unfamiliar people. At the seventh month the child begins to perceive individual differences facial expressions and appearance, clear images of the faces of familiar people are formed in his memory. Appearance stranger leads to slowdown general movements and wary study of the “stranger.” This behavior is due to the fact that the child does not know what to expect from strangers, since he has no experience communicating with them. If the mother starts talking to the friends who came, smiles at them and encourages the baby, then he stops being afraid and after some time he can smile at a stranger.

The proximity of parents immediately causes animated movements, a smile and spontaneous chatter in the baby. He emotionally and expressively pronounces chains of syllables: “ba-ba-ba”, “de-de-de”, “me-me-me”, changing the pitch and strength of his voice. The similarity of such chains with the first words - “mother”, “woman”, “grandfather” - misleads many parents who think that the child is starting to speak. At this age, the baby actively shows his desire to communicate, but the baby’s babble only begins to resemble a request or question.

It is recommended to develop the child’s ability to make decisions. Now the baby can hold a toy in both hands. Show him the third toy and ask him to take it. At first, it will be difficult for the baby to understand how to take the third toy if both hands are occupied. But soon he will learn to free his hand to take new toy. Hide a tape recorder or alarm clock under a scarf or sheet of paper and place it at the side of the baby. Play music or set your alarm clock. The child will try to determine where the sound is coming from.