3–6MONTHSMilestones
At 4 months a baby:

•  Smiles a lot
•  Laughs out loud and squeals with delight
•  Shows they enjoy life by laughing and kicking their legs
•  Likes people
•  Is interested in the surroundings and activities going on around them
•  Clearly shows enjoyment at things like being bathed and talked to.

Motor skills:

Your baby:

•  Rolls over from their front to her back at about 4 to 6 months
•  Can lift their head and chest when on their tummy by 4 months
•  Will lift and wave their arms and legs about when on their tummy

•  Begins to discover their hands belong to her, and plays with their fingers at about 3 to 4 months
•  Grabs and plays with their toes when lying on their back at about 4 to 5 months
•  Can hold objects for a short time at 3 to 4 months
•  Brings toys and objects you put in their hand up to their mouth
•  Swipes at dangling objects at 3 to 4 months, but usually misses
•  Sits when being held by their hands. May sit for a short time on their own from 5 months.
•  Grabs for toys at around 5 months
•  Can support their own weight when stood on their feet
•  Grabs at hair, glasses and so on when you hold them.

Speech and Language development

Before babies can speak they are interested in speech even without understanding. At this stage they begin to make little noises and sounds. When you imitate these, you’re communicating with your baby and you will actually see their fascination in speech.By responding to your baby’s needs when they cry, you are showing that you’ve heard them and that theymatter. This is the start of communication and formation of a healthy relationship. You are also encouraging communication.

•  Show them your tongue and practise simple sounds together like ‘maa’ and ‘daa’. They’ll beinterested in how your mouth works and how the sound comes out. Imitation is still limited but learning starts from this stage and they will eventually start to imitate later.
•  When they make a sound, repeat it so they know what sound they’ve just made and this leads to baby being interested in ‘conversations’ with you.
•  Repeat single words to them a lot – name what they are seeing for example food, an animal etc. and what you are doing ( e.g. bath). Say their name.These conversations are really important. They are learning to talk, but they are also discovering that thereis a ‘me’ and a ‘you’, and that language can help join the two of you. This sets the basis for all theirrelationships for the rest of their life.From this early age babies can also be interested in books, so read to them often. They also are able to do the following:

•  Coos and gurgles with pleasure by 3 to 6 months
•  Begins babbling and then listening at around 3 to 4 months
•  ‘Talks’ to toys at around 5 to 6 months
•  Turns their head towards sounds by 3 to 6 months.Exercises and stimulation at this stageBaby by this stage is probably a very social being who loves being with you and having fun together.

•  Talk to your baby all the time, telling them what you are doing and what different noises are. Use simple words and very short sentences.
•  Make faces and blow raspberries on their belly.
•  Sing to them.
•  Put them on the floor on their tummy to play for short periods.
•  Put them on the floor without a nappy so they can freely kick their legs.
•  Give them bright objects to look at. Put some within reaching distance so that they accidentally touch it – then they’ll try to touch or hit it again.
•  Provide them with different things to do – change what they’re looking at or move them so theyhave something else to look at.

Developmental delays & warning signs

These are very important months in development and if baby is not developing well it is most obvious from this stage. Some of the thing to worry about and seek help are:

•  Your baby is unhappy or unsettled much of the time
•  YOU are unhappy or anxious much of the time – very important because babies learn how to befrom their parents and caregivers so their development is automatically affected if this is the case
•  Your baby is not turning to look for you when you speak
•  your baby is not smiling and cooing even some of the time
•  your baby is not kicking his legs
•  you feel that you and your baby just aren’t getting on together as well as you would like

The African context and baby development at this stage

Songs and story-telling are an important part of the African culture and experience and such stimulation is exactly what a baby needs at this stage. Mothers sing to soothe their babies or to put them to sleep.

Research has shown that exposing babies from this early age to language through songs, stories and talking to them in play helps in language and speech acquisition. Play also starts at this stage with mostly siblings and cousins. The mother is still mostly the primary caregiver.

Talent Adamson Behaviour Therapist BA (Health and Social Services) Applied Psychology, BA Hon (HSS) Psychological Counselling – (UNISA)