What should a child be able to do at six months?
A child at six months should confidently stand on all fours, begin to crawl on all fours, try to sit down from the same position by sitting back and to the side, resting his hands on the floor. Of course, not every baby can do all this at 6 months.
But if the baby was given a professional massage with elements of gymnastics, at least 2 courses up to six months, then most likely the child will have all of the above skills. Yes, there are children who are developed ahead of their age, but in our practice we rarely meet such people. The key to timely acquisition of skills is the harmonious physical development of the baby, and in this massage and gymnastics play a leading role.
Features of the procedure
Gymnastics for a 6 month old baby undergoes minor changes:
- The duration of classes is increased from 15 minutes to half an hour.
- More stress is placed on the musculoskeletal system.
- Training takes place an hour after meals and half an hour before meals.
- Procedures can be carried out not only on the table, but also on the floor, covering it with a gymnastic mat.
How to develop a baby at 3 months
The rule of a good mood remains unchanged: if the baby is capricious, you should not force him, let only positive emotions come from the activities. You can turn on rhythmic, cheerful music.
Important! Full-fledged classes can only be carried out with a healthy child. Even if he is apparently healthy, he should be regularly monitored by a pediatrician to identify possible contraindications to exercise.
Massage for a 6 month old child: conditions for carrying out
- The room temperature is 20-25 degrees.
- The table surface is moderately hard.
- Massage after meals, 45-60 minutes at the earliest.
- The child should not want to sleep during the massage.
- A child should not cry.
The massage can begin from the back (the child lies on his stomach), in this case we reflexively influence the muscles of the limbs, abdomen and internal organs, because innervation for the limbs and part of the torso begins from the spinal cord. The next area to massage is the leg (the child lies on his back), then massage the abdomen and chest in the same position. Hand massage for a 6-month-old baby is carried out in a sitting or lying position, depending on the child’s readiness to sit. This is the scheme of a restorative massage. If the massage is therapeutic in nature, then the sequence of massaged areas may be different.
How often should a child be massaged?
The regularity and duration of massage depends on:
- General condition of the baby;
- Indications;
- Presence of concomitant pathologies.
The first massage is given to newborn babies at three weeks of age. Procedure time is up to 10 minutes. By six months, class time is increased to 30 minutes (including a gymnastics complex). If there is no negative reaction and the baby is healthy, then massage daily.
When performing a massage, the following rules must be observed:
- Conduct the session no later than 8 pm;
- An hour should pass after feeding;
The surface on which the massage is performed must be smooth, safe and comfortable for the child.
The room must be ventilated in advance, and during the session the windows must be closed to avoid drafts. Optimum room temperature +21+24 °C..
What should parents of a 6-month-old baby pay attention to?
The main “enemies” for a baby at six months are pockets of residual hypertonicity, decreased or asymmetrical muscle tone. Increased or asymmetrical tone can prevent the child from freely moving the joints of the arms, legs, and torso. Reduced tone also impedes movement, but due to a lack of strength in the muscles. The favorite localization of hypertonicity at six months is the posterior group of thigh muscles - the child can sit with his knees bent; if the knees are straightened, the torso bends and the back becomes round; due to tone, the pelvic muscles do not allow free rotation, bending, extension, or abduction of the thigh in the hip joint; the muscles of the scapular region, when tense, give the picture of a child sitting with his arms spread to the sides and pulled back, the baby finds it difficult to manipulate his hands in front of him. With reduced tone of the shoulder girdle, arms, and abdominals, the child cannot get on all fours because lacks strength. In this case, the baby will not like to lie on his stomach and will always strive to roll over onto his back. The author of the article is children's massage therapist Alexey Vladimirovich Matrosov. The article was written for the Happy Baby massage center (website happybabymassage.ru), copying it is prohibited!
The goals of massage for a 6-month-old child are determined by the nature of the massage, therapeutic or restorative. The duration of a massage with gymnastics for a six-month old newborn child should be 40-50 minutes, provided the child behaves calmly. How many times a week should a child have a massage? This is a question that some massage therapists argue about. Based on our practice, we believe that a massage procedure for a 6-month-old baby should be performed every day, but if the course consists of 10 procedures or more, then we recommend 1-2 days off every 5-6 sessions. It is not necessary to use oils or creams to massage a baby at six months. Professional massage therapists at the “Happy Baby” children's massage center are always happy to help your baby develop harmoniously, and dear parents, you to find peace of mind! Massage must be combined with gymnastics, it enhances the effect of the procedure. Gymnastics for infants can be, like massage, therapeutic or restorative. In gymnastics, you can use a ball (fitball), it develops the vestibular apparatus well, teaches various muscle groups to tense in a timely manner depending on changes in the position of the body in space, which is very useful for the child when he learns to walk.
How to do a massage correctly
Before the session, you must wash your hands and lubricate them with oil. Artificial and synthetic creams are not suitable for babies. It is better to use natural olive or coconut oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, shea oil or a mixture of them. Massage at 6 months begins with stroking the entire body. They accompany the process with a voice: the baby is asked to give a hand, sit down, roll over. Over time, the connection between word and action will strengthen. The intensity and complexity of movements are increased gradually.
The hands are massaged first: stroking the hands and palms is replaced by rubbing them. Then each finger is gently massaged: this stimulates the development of fine motor skills, which are closely related to intelligence and speech. After the fingers, they move to the wrists, rising higher to the elbow joint and shoulder. Following the massage, an exercise is performed: the baby’s arms are brought together and spread apart. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times. Move on to foot massage. The legs begin to be massaged from the foot to the shin area and above. The first technique is stroking, then rubbing and patting. Finish with flexion of the knee joint. Repeat the technique 2-3 times, then make a few light stroking movements.
Additionally, you can massage the foot: the thumbs are located to the right and left of the center of the foot. The legs should be kept bent, and the movements of the fingers should be rhythmic, circular and soft. While performing a massage in the lower leg area, you can slightly increase the pressure and intensity of movement.
The next area to work on is the stomach. The oblique abdominal muscles are stroked and rubbed, making counter and circular movements in a clockwise direction. They try not to touch the navel area. Do about 5-6 repetitions, and move on to the baby’s chest. The chest is massaged in a similar way: stroking, patting, light vibration movements. A circular massage is done in the direction from the ribs to the shoulders.
After the chest massage, they do an exercise - soaring. The baby is picked up under the tummy and lifted. This technique develops the vestibular apparatus and coordination of movement.
After hovering, the child is placed on his back and turned to the left, and then to the right side on his stomach. Massage of the buttocks and back is performed from a position on the stomach. Massaging the spine is unacceptable: hand movements should not affect it. Stroking and rubbing is done from the buttocks to the neck, up along the surface of the back. Then pats and pinches are done in the same direction, and again they move on to stroking. This develops muscle muscles. To strengthen the muscles, the hovering is repeated after the session, but only the child is held by the back. Children's massage ends at 6 months with gymnastics.
A child cannot get on all fours at six months, how to teach him?
To teach a baby to get on all fours, you must first understand why the baby at 6 months is not yet on all fours. Frequent causes are weakness of the arm and abdominal muscles. Hypertonicity is also possible. In the absence of these reasons, the child should not experience difficulty getting on all fours; rather, on the contrary, he will strive to do so. If the child cannot understand where to start, you can “give” him a little, i.e. put in this position and hold for 1-2 minutes. Support under the chest with one hand, hold in the lumbar area with the other. The baby needs to feel this position, then he will understand what to strive for. The initial moment of rising onto all fours (i.e., between the position of lying on the stomach and all fours), you must first practice with the child, placing his legs in turn on the knee, then he must rise to his arms himself.
Why doesn't a 6 month old baby crawl?
We believe that a child crawls on his own if he stands on all fours and crawls without assistance. This is not so easy for a baby, especially at six months. If the child has not crawled by six months, there is nothing to worry about, this is the lower limit of the norm, the upper limit is 8-9 months. If you give your child a massage with strengthening exercises at 3 months, then at 6 months, then you will not have problems with the baby’s physical development. A child of six months cannot sit, why?
Children at 6 months are just starting to sit up, this is the lower limit of the norm. It is advisable that your child stands on all fours at this age; if this is the case, then the ability to sit down is just around the corner.
Gymnastics for children 4-6 months
Unconditioned reflexes gradually fade away, so the proportion of passive-active exercises increases. The number of repetitions of the same exercise also increases.
Passive exercises are performed - flexion and extension in large joints.
Circular movements in the hip joints, with the obligatory fixation of the child’s knees with your own hands.
Simultaneous flexion - extension of the legs.
Starting position: on your back. You should grab the child's legs at the bottom of the lower leg from behind, holding the feet. Bend your legs at all joints, pressing them lightly towards your stomach (the baby's knees should be spread apart), then straighten the baby's legs.
Connection of opposite and identical knee-elbow.
The range of exercises on the ball is expanding.
At this age, many children swing with interest on the ball while lifting the toy from the surface.
On the ball in a position on the back, you can rock the baby with a slight “squat” when the legs reach support.
From 5 months, you can rock the baby on its side, pushing off the support surface.
