Baby development: in a nutshell

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Your baby’s development happens in fits and starts. He loves to keep you guessing about what he will do next. He may crawl for months and then suddenly decide to walk. Some weeks, you may witness amazing changes and then it stops, and sometimes he even goes backwards a bit. This is quite normal and nothing to worry about. His development process soon kick-starts again.

How your baby is growing

Your baby's everyday life affects how his brain develops. Lots of love, attention and interesting experiences do wonders for his brain growth, learning and development.

• Two to six months: Baby's eyesight is really improving. He begins to connect what he sees with what he hears, tastes and feels. By watching how you react to his emotions and by seeing you express your feelings, he’s starting to recognise when he feels happy, sad, excited or fearful.
• Six to nine months: He is developing ideas about who he is and working out the difference between parents, caregivers, strangers, adults and children. He has positive and negative emotions and knows how to express them. He can let you know when he wants help. By nine months, a growth spurt in his brain means he can make associations between what he sees, hears, tastes and feels.
• Nine to 12 months: His ability to experience different emotions and moods has developed a lot. As the front of his brain develops, he is better able to entertain and reassure himself with familiar objects and people. He is able to move away from things that upset or annoy him.

What your baby may be doing

All babies develop at a different rate. Your baby may reach some of the milestones later. Don’t worry, they nearly always catch up. You know your baby best. If you are worried about his development, get professional advice.

By four months, he can:

• lift head up 90 degrees when lying on his stomach
• laugh out loud 
• follow an object in an arc about 15 cm above the face for 180 degrees (from one side to the other)

By six months, he can:

• keep head level with body when pulled to sitting
• say ‘ah goo’ or similar vowel consonant combinations

By nine months, he can:

• work to get to a toy out of reach
• look for dropped object

By 12 months, he can:

• walk holding on to furniture

Find more detailed month-by-month information on what your baby may be doing.

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  By Raising Children Network

  Babies develop at different rates, and in fits and starts, but there are rough milestones for development and growth.

  • 2-6 months: your baby’s eyesight is improving and he is starting to recognise different feelings and emotions. By four months he can laugh out loud, lift his head and follow an object with his eyes.
  • 6-9 months: your baby is working out where the people around him fit into his life. He can let you know how he is feeling and when he needs help. By six months he can babble and keep his head level when sitting.
  • 9-12 months: your baby is able to entertain or reassure himself and experience different emotions. By nine months he can work out how to reach a toy or look for something he’s dropped. By 12 months he can walk by holding onto furniture.

  This article is an extract only. For more information visit raisingchildren.net.au/development/babies_development.html

  Sourced from the Raising Children Network's comprehensive and quality-assured Australian parenting website www.raisingchildren.net.au.