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Introduction: During this period babies will be learning many important new skills. Just to name a few, they will be learning to sit, stand, crawl and understand words. This will be a period of rapid change for most babies. Infants will be learning many new motor skills.
Fine motor skills will also develop more quickly if parents give their babies plenty of opportunity to use their hands to manipulate objects, touch, explore and experiment. By 6 months of age, most babies begin reaching for objects both in and out of their reach. Eye/hand coordination as well as grasp are steadily improving.
Tips to parents to enhance their baby’s gross motor development:
Sitting:
Sitting is a skill that children will be working on during the period from about six to eight months. At first babies will only be able to sit alone, unsupported for a few seconds at a time. Slowly these periods will grow longer. By nine months of age or so, most babies will probably be able to sit without support for long periods of time.
Here are some ways to encourage sitting:
- Hold in sitting positions. Parents can hold their babies in sitting positions, supporting their heads and necks if needed.
- Prop them up. Parents can prop their babies in sitting positions in a soft, safe place.
- Sit them on the floor. Parents can put their babies in sitting positions on the floor with their legs pen and their hands in front on the floor between their legs. Hold in this position for a few seconds (if they need the support).
- Pull them into position. Parents can gently pull their babies from lying to sitting positions (this exercise also encourages head/neck control).
Creeping / Crawling:
At about six months of age, most infants begin to show the first signs of crawling behavior. Usually sometime after six months, babies begin to creep by propelling themselves on the stomach with their legs, using the arms to steer. Here's how parents can help their children in developing creeping/crawling skills:
- Allow them to spend time on their stomachs. Parents should provide time for their babies to spend on their stomachs. Parents should make sure their babies are in a safe place with plenty of room to move.
- Dangle an interesting object. Parents can hold or place an interesting object in front of their babies, but just out of their reach.
- Call to them. Parents can call to their babies and encourage them to creep short distances.
- Let them push off. While babies are lying on their stomachs, parents can place their hands firmly behind their children's feet and let them push off.
Standing/Walking:
Most babies begin to show signs of wanting to stand and walk at around nine to ten months of age. They will probably show this interest by pulling themselves up from a sitting position to a standing position using furniture.
Here are some things parents can do to help their babies learn to stand and walk:
- Hold them upright. Parents can hold their babies in an upright position. Parents can then let them bear some weight on their feet. Parents can then "walk" them while supporting their weight.
- Use sturdy furniture. Parents can let their babies pull themselves up to a standing position using sturdy furniture that is easy to grasp.
- Assist in balancing. Parents can encourage their babies to take steps while holding onto an adult's hands for balance, not support.
- Let them bounce. Parents can let their babies stand on their laps and bounce.
- Hold onto fingers. Parents can let their babies hold onto an adult's fingers. The adult can then lift their fingers, gently pulling them into a sitting position.
- Lift them. Parents can lift their babies up onto all fours.
Tips to parents to enhance their baby’s fine motor development
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