Baby developmental milestones: Ages six months to one year
These developmental milestones are designed to give parents a general guideline for certain accomplishments that their infants should be able to do at a certain age. Some infants will be able to achieve these goals faster than others. If parents do notice significant delays in their child’s development, they should consult with their pediatrician and discuss any concerns that they might have concerning this.
At seven months of age an infant should be able to sit alone without support. They are starting to lunge forward and backward even more and may even start crawling at this age. Infants will start to pull toys or objects toward themselves and put them in their mouths. They learn how to start clapping or banging objects together. Jabbering and cooing becomes more complicated and speech is broken down into more than one syllable. Some infants can wave bye bye at this age. Most infants are starting to realize the difference between strangers and family at this age and may appear anxious around strangers.
When an infant has reached eight months of age, they are usually crawling well and are able to pull up to a standing position while holding on to a stationary object or a person. They are working on cruising around while standing. Infants this age are able to point at objects and are learning to gesture with motions and sounds to make their needs known. They are saying simple words like mama and dada by this time. They are also learning to grasp things with their index finger and their thumb such as small pieces of cereal.
At nine months of age infants learn to perfect their crawl with their stomachs off the ground. They are learning to cruise faster and building up more strength in their legs. They are able to stand while holding on to things for longer periods of time. They can correctly identify mama and dada and say the correct words for each parent.
By the time an infant has reached ten months of age, they may be able to stand on their own for a few seconds to a minute. They are cruising very quickly by this time. They can wave good bye and are able to use the pincher grasp with their index finger and thumb to eat certain foods and play with toys. Infants are more able to indicate their needs with either sounds or pointing to the objects that are desired.
At eleven months of age, infants are able to stand alone for a short period of time and also are able to play peek a boo and pat a cake with others. They are able to understand simple verbal commands and also understand what the word no means by this age. They are also able to put their toys into other objects or containers. They are also able to stoop down from a standing position to pick up objects then stand back up.
By a babies first birthday, infants should be starting to take a few steps on their own. They may even be walking alone by this time. They should be able to say at least one word besides mama and dada and may be able to say at least two to three words by this time. Infants are learning to make their wants and needs known through verbal sounds or gestures.
Their personalities really start to blossom at this age and they start showing what their character is going to be like when they are growing up. This is a very important and wonderful time in an infant’s development.