What are babies doing at 6-7 months?
Thinking and imagining
This is an exciting time. Your baby’s imagination comes alive now. Your baby is also better at remembering things, like favourite people, toys and books.
Emotions
Your baby’s emotions keep developing. Your baby will let you know when they’re happy and sad. You might notice that your baby will laugh and squeal when they’re happy or scream when they’re annoyed. Your baby can also tell how you’re feeling by your tone of voice and the look on your face.
Attachment and fear of strangers
Your baby might show signs of strong attachment to family members or carers and even prefer some toys and books to others. At the same time, you might see signs of separation anxiety or notice your baby is fearful of strangers. These are typical parts of children’s development.
Communicating
You might hear a lot of babbling from your baby. Your baby might respond to their name and stop if they hear you say, ‘No!’ And your baby might communicate with you using gestures. For example, they might put their arms up when they want you to lift them up.
Eating solids
You might have started feeding your baby solids. Your baby will let you know when they’ve had enough to eat, often by waving their hand, closing their mouth or turning their head away. When you’re feeding your baby, you might see the first signs of teeth.
Moving
Your baby can probably sit up without help, sometimes using their hands for balance. They can roll both ways and might start to move around the house by commando crawling. Your baby might even crawl using their hands and knees. If you hold your baby, they might be able to stand and bounce up and down.
Playing and learning
Your baby is learning all the time, often by putting things in their mouth or looking closely at what’s in their hand. Your baby probably bangs and shakes toys and tries to grab blocks. When your baby can’t reach objects they want, they look to you for help. They might use their fingers to drag things towards themselves and pick up smaller objects.
Your baby might also:
- pat their own image in the mirror
- look for (and find!) partly hidden objects
- listen to music.
Your child’s brain develops connections faster in the first 5 years than at any other time in their life. Stimulating and caring environments with plenty of different activities help to build these connections and lay the foundations for learning, health and behaviour throughout life.
How can you help your baby grow and develop at 6-7 months?
Have a chat
Your baby is interested in conversation, so talking together about everyday things will help them understand what words mean. Listening and responding to your baby’s babbling builds their language, communication and literacy skills. It also helps your baby feel ‘heard’, loved and valued.
Read together
Reading, talking about pictures in books and telling stories develop your baby’s imagination. These activities also lay the groundwork for learning words and sentences when your baby is older.
Play together
Play is how your baby learns, and it also helps them feel loved and secure. You could try:
When you’re outside, remember to be safe in the sun.
Get moving
Moving builds your baby’s muscle strength as they get ready for crawling, pulling to stand and walking. You can encourage moving and crawling by placing toys just out of your baby’s reach. And if your baby is crawling, why not get down on the floor and crawl around with them?
If your baby is on the move, always watch them and never leave them unattended on a sofa, bed or change table. Now’s the time to make your home safe for your baby to move around in.
Introduce solids
At around 6 months, solid foods help your baby get enough iron and other nutrients. It also strengthens your baby’s teeth and jaw and builds skills that they’ll need for language development. Just make sure the solids are small and soft enough to prevent choking.
At this age, you can also help your baby learn to drink from a cup.
Sometimes your baby won’t want to do some of these things – for example, they might be too tired or hungry. Your baby will use baby cues to let you know when they’ve had enough and what they need.
How to care for a 7-month-old baby and look after yourself
As a parent, you’re always learning. It’s OK to feel confident about what you know. And it’s OK to admit you don’t know something and ask questions or get help.
It’s also important to look after yourself. Looking after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally is good for you, and it’s good for your baby. When you’re well, you can give your baby the loving attention they need to grow and thrive.
Part of looking after yourself is asking for help, especially if you’re feeling stressed, anxious or angry. There are many people who can support you and your baby, including your partner, friends, relatives, child and family health nurse and GP. It’s a good idea to have a list of these people with their contact details. Put the list on your fridge, so it’s easy to find if you need it.
Never shake a baby. If you feel like you can’t cope or you might hurt your baby, gently put your baby down somewhere safe. Take deep breaths to calm down. Get support by talking to a family member or friend or by calling a parenting helpline or Lifeline on 131 114.
When to be concerned about baby development at 7 months
You know your baby best. So it’s a good idea to see your child and family health nurse or GP if you have any concerns or notice that your 7-month-old has any of the following issues.
Seeing, hearing and communicating
Your baby:
- isn’t making eye contact with you
- isn’t following moving objects with their eyes
- has an eye that’s turned in or out most of the time
- isn’t babbling
- isn’t turning towards sounds or voices.
Behaviour
Your baby:
- doesn’t show whether they’re happy or sad
- shows little or no affection for carers – for example, they don’t smile at you.
Movement
Your baby:
- isn’t rolling
- can’t sit up or stand up with your help
- uses one hand much more than the other.
If you notice that your baby has lost skills they once had, see a child health professional.
Also see your nurse or GP if you have signs of postnatal anxiety, postnatal depression in birthing mothers or postnatal depression in non-birthing parents. With help and support, you can manage symptoms, feel better sooner, and give your baby what they need to develop well.
Development happens in a similar order in most children, but skills might develop at different ages or times. If you’re wondering whether your baby’s development is on track, or if you feel that something isn’t quite right, it’s best to get help early. See your child and family health nurse or GP.
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