Do you know the important baby growth milestones?

Developmental milestones have been defined as behaviours or physical skills are seen in infants as they grow and develop. These include skills enabling a baby to sit up, roll over or take the first step. Babies also reach milestones in the way they play, move and behave. Most milestones are prescribed for an age range. These are called milestones as they are achieved by most children of that age range.

Milestones for Baby Growth

Developmental milestones are primarily known to belong to 3 broad categories. Given below is an introduction to common milestones for 1-year-old babies under each category.

Physical Milestones

Physical milestones or milestones pertain to skills developed by babies in the functioning of muscles in their limbs and other body parts. Babies spend a lot of time on their back while sleeping, therefore a significant amount of exercise is required to keep their muscles active and strong. By age 1, with the development of gross motor skills, most babies can sit and stand on their own. They try to walk while holding onto furniture or other support. Fine motor skills developed during this age allow babies to hold things between their fingers, move objects from hand to hand and turn pages in a book.

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Cognitive Milestones

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention defines cognitive, or brain development as the learning process of memory, language, thinking, and reasoning. Vocalising (baby babbles indicating conversation), listening, understanding, and knowing the names of people/objects are a part of language development.

During the first year, babies also develop bonds of affection with their parents and caregivers. Babies understand emotions like love and trust basis their interactions with parents. This aspect of social and emotional development determines how babies will interact with others in future. Therefore, it is essential for parents to hold, cuddle and spend time with babies to strengthen this bond. Babies also begin to understand logic and reasoning at this stage and are in an exploratory mode when awake. He/she understands the meaning of “No” and will stop any activity in response.

Social milestones

1-year-old babies are known to be social in the presence of parents or known faces. They smile frequently in social gatherings and love to gain attention by repeating sounds or actions. Separation anxiety when parents or caregivers leave a room is quite common. Babies are known to also love playing interactive games like “Peek-a-boo”

Mentioned above are just a few of the many milestones achieved by babies in their first year. It is prudent to remember that babies are different and can achieve milestones later than their peers. However, if you suspect more than a reasonable delay in achieving milestones, developmental screening can help detect if the baby needs a more detailed check-up. Research supports that early developmental interventions in speech and physical therapy have better outcomes.

What remains important to the development of a healthy and happy child is the approach to parenthood adopted by moms/dads/caregivers. In the first year, the sole focus should be to provide a loving, secure and joyful environment for the baby to grow up. Positive parenting encourages talking, listening, singing and reading a book to your baby in addition to the physical demonstration of affection like hugging and cuddling them. The aim is to ensure that along with you, your baby to looks forward to waking up happy every morning!

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