No two people are the same and the same applies to children. Children grow up and achieve milestones at their own pace. Of course, we as parents are in a hurry to hear the baby’s first words and want to see them standing without any support. But this is a slow process and happens over time. Some babies catch on quickly, while others are late bloomers. Small milestones lead to a big moment of hearing clear words from your baby or seeing him or her walk independently.
Walking
During the first year, a child’s body develops muscle strength and coordination. They learn to sit, roll, and crawl before being able to pull themselves up and stand with support.
The first stage of walking is crawling. It develops body balance in them and prepares their muscles to support walking. This happens between the ages of 7 and 10 months when they master crawling and moving around efficiently. Once they are confident about their crawling, babies start pulling their bodies up with the help of objects like tables, sofas or beds. This occurs over a period of 9 to 12 months. At this time they also figure out that going from kneeling to standing requires deep bending so that they don’t fall over (yes, babies are smart). They can also walk with support (try running with the help of support).
By 12 months most babies can stand without support for a minute or so and enjoy walking while holding their hands. During 12 to 15 months, the baby starts taking his or her first steps. He stretches his arms to find balance. It proceeds to climb and descend the stairs with confidence and dance to the music.
Signs to note
If the child is not able to sit properly by 9 months or is not able to bear his weight on the legs even after 15 months, you should consult a doctor.
Speak
The joy you feel after hearing your baby calling momma or papa for the first time is incomparable to any happiness and excitement in this world. These moments make us forget those sleepless nights, tiring days and troubles. Like walking, talking is also a month-long process.
Babbling marks the beginning of real communication. You can only listen to coos and goos for 3 months. Babbling starts from the 4th month and you can hear the ‘p’ B’ m’ sounds as these are easily produced by the lips together. Babies express themselves by changing tone, pitch and inflection at 6-7 months of age.
Their understanding starts developing at the age of 9-10 months. So you can see them giving the process towards saying goodbye, no, come here and little instructions. A one-year-old child understands most of the things being said about him. You are very close to him to hear Mama, Papa or Dada. Infants also understand instructions such as ‘Please bring that paper to me’, ‘Put the paper down’.
The most interesting part of talking starts around 18 months. Babies have their own version of every word and express themselves with those words. They try to speak the words they hear from everyone around them and by the time they are two, they form short sentences and communicate. By about age 3 their vocabulary expands and their speech becomes clearer.