Development of a newborn to the second year
There are many stages to a childs development in the first couple of years. All children do different things at different times, believe me experience has taught me that. I have had 4 children now and each one has been different. My first is extremely intellectual, the second more physical. My son has speech and language difficulties where my eldest daughter can barely throw a ball. The information I am about to provide is only a rough guide and should not be followed to the letter. If you are at all concerned about your childs development always speak to your health visitor and she will be able to put you on the right path.
The first month
Physical development
In the first month your babies arm and leg movements are reflexes
Their head flops if not supported
A new baby can see about 10 inches in front of them
S/he will stare at objects but will not reach out for them
A new baby loves skin to skin contact
Mental Development
Your new baby prefers to look at high contrast patterns and faces
They sleep a lot and are only alert for about 1 in every 10 hours
S/he will begin to trust their caregiver, mum and dad will start to be recognised
Most of your babies behaviour is reflexive
A baby will cry if under stimulated but also if over stimulated
Language development
A new baby will respond to voices
S/he may start cooing
Your baby will like it when you talk to him or her
Social development
Your baby will enjoy eye contact
He or she may start to develop there first smiles
Your baby will learn to recognise his or her parents voices
The second month
Physical development
Babies muscles will relax and twitch less
They will be able to lift thier head about 45 degrees
Their hands start to unfold
Your baby may briefly be able to hold a rattle
He or she will start to follow moving objects
Mental development
Your baby will start to make associations, cry for attention
He or she may start to protest if needs are not met
Your baby will want more visual stimulation
Language development
Your baby will start to gurgle, coo and possibly squeal now
He or she will exhibit their emotions
Social development
Your baby will start to show responsive smiling
He or she will communicate moods
They will start to stare and study your face
Your childs personality will start to become more obvious.
The third month
Physical development
S/he can stretch their arms and legs all the way out
They can roll from their back to their side
They will hold their head up to search
They begin to play with their hands
They can now hold a rattle for a little longer
They swipe with their arms
They may briefly be able to bare weight on their legs
Mental development
They begin to learn the cause of their thoughts and the effects
They discover they have feet and hands
They like to look at detailed images
Language development
Your baby begins to extend vowel sounds such as oooooo, eeeeeeeee
He or she will start to laugh
They develop different cries for different needs
Social development
Your baby will start to make eye contact
S/he will smile at faces
They know the difference between their parents and strangers
They may learn to stop crying when you walk into the room
The fourth month
Physical development
Your baby will be able to stand up with help
They’ll be able to roll from their front to their side
They can now lift their head 90 degrees
They will start to reach out for objects
Mental development
Your baby will be aware that people and things have a label, i.e dada
They will start to explore things by tasting them, their fist bottle or bib
Language development
S/he will change the shape of their mouth to change sounds
They start to sputter
Social development
He or she will laugh hard when tickled
They greet there caregiver
They acquire social gestures, eg they move arms to signal ‘pick me up’
Your baby likes social interaction
The fifth month
Physical development
Your baby will now be able to roll over from front to back
They grab their toes
They will be able to wiggle forwards on the floor
He or she will be able to reach with a good aim
They will begin to transfer objects from one hand to another
Mental development
Your baby will now start to show an interest in colours
They will push away disliked actions, i.e wiping their nose
He or she will start to display their own decision making
Language development
Your baby may start to babble (da-da)
They will try to mimic sounds
Social development
Your baby will turn their head towards someone who is speaking to them
He or she will watch your mouth movements closely
Six to nine months
Physical development
Your baby will be able to sit unsupported
They will be able to roll over both ways
They can stand if leaning on another object
They will start to point at objects
They will pick up small objects with their thumb and finger
They can reach out accurately
They can feed themselves
They will have learned how to drink from a cup
They’ll be able to get on all 4’s and rock
Mental development
Your baby will start to study objects
They will concentrate on one toy at a time
They will be able to work out what they have to do to make the toy work
He or she will understand an object might be behind something
Language development
They make longer and more varied sounds
They start to experiment with longer sounds and pitches
Your baby will start to make two syllable sounds
Social development
S/he will mimic facial expressions
They will exhibit their moods with various sounds and body movements
They may be shy or afraid of strangers
He or she will respond to their name
They will raise their arms signalling that they want to be picked up
They like to look at their own reflection
Nine to 12 months
Physical development
Your baby may have mastered crawling or bum shuffling by now
They can stand when supported
They will start to climb on your furniture
He or she will be able to walk with help.
Mental development
Your child will start to understand phrases such as ‘come here’
They will want to explore everything by touching
They will enjoy building and stacking and dismantling them again
Language development
Your child may now start to say simple words such as ‘dog’ and ‘hot’
They understand the word ‘no’
They will start to mimic sounds like tongue clicking, raspberries and coughing
Social development
Your child enjoys to mimic
He or she will point to things they want
They feel pride, especially when praised
They love to play games such as peek~a~boo
12 to 15 months
Physical development
Your toddler will now be able to walk alone
S/he will be able to climb stairs
They’ll be able to grip a crayon
He or she will show signs of being able to run
They will bop to musical beats
Mental development
Your child will now favour one hand
They will understand a word in context
She or she will start to pretend
They will also remember certain things
Language development
Your child will start to sing
They can now say several words
He or she will say no and shake their head
They will be able to obey simple instructions
Social development
Your toddler will now copy and imitate
They will like to look at books together with you
They will start to show their temper when angry
S/he will wave bye bye
They develop a sense of humour and laughs at funny things
15 to 18 months
physical development
Your toddler will now be able to walk backwards
They will attempt to kick a ball
They will dance and trot
S/he will be able to walk in circles
Your child will scribble
They can now throw an object
Mental development
They are now beginning to learn by exploring
Your child will be less anxious when separated from you
They are able to match simple shapes
Language development
Your toddler can now say 10-20 words clearly
They can put short words together i.e ‘bye bye’
They will make their first sentence
Social development
Your child will now be able to respond to verbal requests without requiring signals
They love it when you babble back to them
18 to 24 months
physical development
Your toddler can now jump
They will climb (out of their highchair or pram)
They will be able to undress themselves and attempt to dress
They can open doors
Mental development
They can now understand two step directions, ‘over there, next to the box’
They will have more control on paper being able to draw lines and circles
Language development
Your child can now clearly say around 20-50 words
He or she will also be able to put 3 words together to make a sentence
Social development
Your child will now understand more than he or she is saying
They like to sing and entertain
So that is it, there are many other things you and your child will go through during the first two years of his or her life. Remember, this is only a rough guide and your child is special and will say and do things at their own rate.
This is a members article written by Strawberry
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