Baby Developmental Milestones

There is no greater joy for a parent than to watch the apple of his eye grow from a tiny infant to a toddler and beyond. Though each child is unique, there are certain 'typical' stages in the growth and development process. Understanding the baby developmental milestones makes it easier for a parent to appreciate and monitor the growth of the child. There are various infant developmental stages that a child goes through during the first year.

Infant developmental stages

Infant developmental stages involve sitting, standing, walking and running. Fine motor skills allow a child to use his hands to eat, play and write. These skills are developed over a longer time span. The development of a child also involves development of social skills. It is never too early to inculcate social skills in a child. As a child grows, he learns to interact with others. He learns to form relationships with people beyond his immediate family. He responds to loving care and encouragement from parents and family members. This is also another important facet of his overall growth.

You will be amazed at the pace with which the little infant grows in first year of his life. The baby will double his weight in about 6 months and nearly triple it by the first birthday. It is a treat to be part of this developmental stage, one in which you can play a very important role. All babies are different and follow their own growth and developmental pattern.

There are various facets of the developmental process - motor skills, speech development and social and emotional growth. Here we outline broad baby developmental stages. These follow in a sequential order. This helps you predict the time frame within which your baby is likely to pick up a particular skill.

3 months to 6 months: The baby will be able to roll over, hold his head up and sit and squeal with laughter at your antics. The infant can take toys from you and in all probability put it in his mouth. You are likely to hear experimental sounds and plenty of laughter.

6 months to 9 months: The baby is going to get mobile at this stage, so watch out. Movement will begin by crawling on all fours. It might embark with shuffling movements and then lead to actual crawling. He might move over and sit back and examine things. It will then be only a matter of time when the baby is going to propel himself up by holding on to pieces of furniture. This is the time to talk plenty to the little kid. You will be rewarded with imitations of sounds you make. It will be a momentous day when your little baby says 'mama'.

9 months to a year: At this stage, your baby is very likely to be standing without support and even walking. Keep talking to him and play nursery rhymes and playful songs. It is that stage of development when the child learns to wave 'bye' and understand a few rudimentary instructions.

Our baby developmental milestones section will focus on various growth stages of a child. We take a look at various aspects of a child's development - physical, intellectual and emotional. Monitor your child's development with our informative baby developmental milestone guide. This can be of immense help in taking an active role in your baby's development. Your participation in this process can be extremely rewarding and enriching.