Over the next few weeks our CEO, Founder and Neurological Developmental Therapist, will bring you through each Developmental Milestone and stage of growth for your baby, sharing what to expect, what to look out for, and how to nurture each stage of development.

Today, we’re discussing the 6-9 month developmental stage.

What can you expect at this age?
Your baby’s fine motor skills and gross motor skill are developing quickly. Fine motor skills are the ability to make precise movements like picking up an item using his thumb and finger. Gross motor skills require the use of the larger muscles of the body.

One of your baby’s favourite things to do at this age is to watch reaction to her actions. She will drop a toy and wait for you to pick it up, only to drop it again. For a parent, this game can get old quickly, but for a baby, it is fascinating to her because she is making something happen and she wants to see it over and over.

You should also notice that your baby is starting to understand that objects have specific purposes. She might put the phone to her ear or try to brush her own hair. She is also getting really good at recognising objects and people. When you look at a familiar book and say the name of an object in a picture, you may notice that she will look towards the object.

Developmental Aids: Crawling is the first gross motor skill that your baby will develop. Parents can help encourage this activity from her sitting position by using a pull along wheeled toy to encourage her to reach for it as it moves. This will eventually bring her into the hands and knees position for crawling and as she becomes more confident, she will move towards the toy. 

Your baby will also develop their motor planning skills at this age including how much force they need to use to pick up different objects, or place strategically during play. Water play is great for helping children to figure this out. In fact, many children love to try and grasp the water coming out of an object and fill it back up again.

Things to look out for: Learning to eat / Drink is a very complicated process. It requires all 8 senses working in unison. Often if there is an issue with feeding it can be a first sign of other problems and can be an early warning sign to have it looked in to further.

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