10/08/2020 Reading time: 6 min 3525 0
A baby's first birthday is not only a joyful event. For many, this is also the beginning of a period that seems like a complete surprise. Until recently, the calm baby becomes capricious, becomes uncontrollable, screams and cries a lot. This does not mean that he is sick with something or that you did something wrong. Most likely, the child is having a 1-year-old crisis - a natural condition that needs to be given a little more attention. The more carefully and competently parents behave, the easier it will be for both the child and themselves to survive this difficult period.
The essence of the crisis
During the first year of life, a child travels a long way in development. Just 12 months ago he was a tiny, incompetent lump who was not aware of the surrounding reality. And at the age of one he already has some speech skills, he stands on his feet, plays with toys, and tries to walk. It is believed that the cause of the crisis is the stress that occurs in a child during the transition to a qualitatively new stage of development. Psychologists and developmental psychologists say that around the age of one, the infancy period ends, and the baby begins to separate himself from his parent [1]. This is, in particular, due to the fact that the child gets the opportunity to move independently. In addition, his psyche begins to form, his own motivation appears, the ability to express thoughts, desires and preferences arise - he begins to realize himself as an individual. It is difficult and unusual for the child, his worldview changes; reacting to this, he becomes restless.
What should a 6 month old baby be able to do?
Physical development of a six month old baby
The main indicator of a baby’s physical development is the ratio of his weight and height, which differ between boys and girls.
Six-month-old boys weigh from 7.1 - 8.8 kg
with a height of 65.5 - 69.8 cm, and
girls from 6.5 - 8.3 kg
with a height of 63.5 - 68 cm.
Basic skills:
- the child can roll over from back to stomach and back;
- in a lying position, the baby, leaning on one arm, takes toys with the other;
- the child grabs the parents’ fingers and pulls himself up effortlessly from a lying position;
- some babies are able to sit on their own;
- tries to crawl on all fours towards the toy;
- supported under the armpits, the baby rests on his fingertips;
- plays independently with toys for 10-15 minutes;
- transfers his rattles from one hand to the other;
- holds a toy in each hand, feeling them with the whole palm;
- finds a toy covered with something;
- the child can pick up small objects;
- holds the head confidently in any body position;
- enjoys being lifted, rocked and carried;
- At this age, the baby's first lower incisor, located in the center, erupts.
Psycho-emotional development of a 6-month-old baby
The child changes emotionally; he can show his dissatisfaction and intense joy to his parents. From this moment, you can determine the child’s state - joyful, calm or upset.
The main signs of the baby’s emotional development:
- the child tries to understand the meaning of what he heard, looks for the object being spoken about with his eyes;
- the baby identifies the parents, especially the mother, by voice intonation, without seeing them and expresses delight;
- distinguishes between relatives and strangers, fears strangers;
- the baby babbles and in the babbling you can recognize individual sounds (ma-ma-ma or ba-ba-ba);
- may be interested in the practical use of surrounding objects. By babbling, he draws attention to the object he needs.
Causes
A crisis can occur in different ways depending on how the child lives, how actively the parents are involved with him, and how he eats. Some phenomena familiar to this age contribute especially strongly to the crisis state. This does not mean that they should be abandoned: the main thing is to approach the issue wisely and help the child successfully survive difficult times and adapt to the new world.
Change of diet.
New products appear on the child's menu. They are certainly healthy and tasty, but unusual. It's discouraging. Often at this same moment, women stop breastfeeding, which causes the baby to weaken the bond with his mother. He must get used to being independent, and this is quite difficult.
Lots of information.
A child at this age is constantly learning something: words, movements, skills in handling objects. Of course, this is not easy given the huge amount of unfamiliar information. In addition, each new skill or skill causes delight in the child and the realization that he is becoming independent, and parents do not always understand this independence. The baby is trying to gain new knowledge and new experiences.
Physical exercise.
In addition to the fact that the child thinks more and learns a lot, he also puts in a lot more effort than before. As a baby, he could lie in his crib all day, occasionally turning over or traveling in his mother’s arms. Now he has to strain his own muscles to crawl, try to walk, climb from the floor to the sofa and back. Awareness of one's own physical capabilities also provokes a crisis state. The child realizes that he is capable of doing a lot on his own, and therefore he wants to act independently as often as possible [3]. But the baby is not yet familiar with many aspects of the real world and does not understand why he is limited when he tries to do something interesting.
Building social connections.
During this same period, the child tries to build relationships with his parents in a new way. If previously the baby was in a state of merging with his mother, now he has to let her go and understand that he is an independent person. A new type of relationship with parents is being built: through joint activities, and substantive ones at that [2]. This means that the baby is trying to learn how to use familiar household objects by looking at adults and adopting their behavior. In addition, it is during this period that the child begins to understand that he needs to behave differently with different people. For example, you can ask your mother for food, but not your neighbor. With strangers he becomes distrustful, with family he becomes demanding [3]. This is how the child takes his first steps towards socialization and learns to form social connections.
Growth spurt 6 months
A world of connections . Around 23-26 weeks (about 6 months) you may notice your baby becoming increasingly fussy. This is because a new leap in development has arrived. And we're not talking about a new physical skill now. Such as, for example, the ability to crawl. Your child begins to explore the relationships between things that create his World.
The main and significant skill is the child’s ability to comprehend the distance from one thing to another. We take this for granted. And for a child this is an alarming discovery that radically changes everything around.
The world suddenly becomes a huge place where everything is located in different places in space. And all objects are distant from each other in different ways. The baby begins to feel like just a baby in this huge world. He becomes aware that something may be high on a shelf or in another room. And he does not have the slightest opportunity to get the desired item.
When mom goes into another room, the baby may perceive it as if she has disappeared or moved too far away. Even if a child crawls perfectly, he already realizes that his mother can move much faster. And he doesn’t always manage to catch up with her.
This discovery frightens the baby!
The leap weeks can be difficult not only for the child, but also for his parents. However, if you understand the reason for what is happening, you will be able to react more calmly and take the necessary actions. Above all, give your baby support and closeness.
The restless period usually lasts about 4 weeks (but can range from 1 to 5). Around 28-29 weeks, after the skill has fully developed, the baby may become more anxious again. Now he understands that mom can leave. There is an article about this called “Mom, where are you going?”
