What Developmental Milestones Happen at 6 Months?

Your Babbling, Curious, Moving Baby

At 6 months old, your baby is developing rapidly across a range of physical and mental milestones. It’s an exciting time, with new accomplishments to observe almost every day.

Up to 6 months, your baby may have been gaining as much as an ounce a day and will have doubled its birth weight and then some. Now things slow down a bit in terms of growth, but baby becomes more active and engaged with its body, with the world, and with you!

At half a year, typical behaviors include reaching out to touch everything within their reach. They are going to start rolling, getting on hands and knees, rocking back and forth, and sitting up on their own.

They’ll become more vocal, in the sense of babbling, with a few at this age managing words like “mama” and “dada.” They’ll want to learn about their world through sensory experience, and that can mean putting whatever they get their hands on into their mouths—including playthings, slippers, dog toys, and more!

It’s a time to be vigilant and interactive with baby.

Do you have questions about your baby’s development? Visit our website and complete our 4-6 months old development questionnaire.

Physical Milestones at 6 Months

t 6 months old, most babies can sit up without support, get on their hands and knees, and roll over from stomach to back and vice versa. In a few months, they’ll be crawling. This is the age when they are building their arm and leg muscles, as well as practicing hand-eye coordination. So watch out, as they may have some unexpected moves! On the good news side, baby may begin sleeping through the night, as well as napping two to three times a day.

Cognitive Milestones at 6 Months

By 6 months, your baby starts to recognize familiar faces and voices, and they enjoy playing with parents and caregivers. They recognize cause and effect, including the idea that shaking a rattle makes a noise— or that throwing their toys around may bring some attention. Memory and perception are developing at this age, and a 6-month-old can recognize partially hidden objects and reach for them.

Communication and Language Development at 6 Months

The foundations of communication skills are starting to happen at 6 months. This includes baby’s ability to use facial expressions and body language to express emotions. They start to understand simple words, like “bye-bye,” “juice,” and “no.” Of course, as all parents experience, a child’s understanding “no” and complying with the instruction are two different things.

6-months is the age when your baby begins babbling. Their growing brain is starting to put sounds together and they try to copy the words they hear. By experimenting, they learn to make consonant-vowel sounds like “ma” and “da,” or vowel-consonant utterances like “um.”  Hearing your child’s first word is not too far off.

Social and Emotional Development at 6 Months

Emotionally, 6-month-olds often demonstrate being obviously happy, including smiling and laughing.  They may become anxious or upset when separated from their parent or primary caregiver. They know the difference between caregivers and strangers, and will begin showing preferences for familiar people and objects.

6-month-olds enjoy social interaction with others, including games like peek-a-boo and having fun looking at themselves in a mirror.

It’s important to keep in mind that all babies develop at their own pace, so some may achieve these milestones earlier or later than others.

Early Intervention Therapies

If you have been worried that your child is falling behind with early childhood milestones and your gut is telling your child may need support with their development, Early Intervention is a program that can help you get answers.

If you have concerns, ask your pediatrician about Early Intervention therapies from TEIS Early Intervention.

At TEIS Early Intervention, our therapists listen to your concerns, assess your child’s individual needs, develop a customized treatment plan, and educate you along the way on simple routine-based solutions to maximize your child’s development in their natural environment.

Early Intervention evaluations and therapy services are available under the Federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities.  Before services can be provided, an independent evaluation of your child must be completed. To assure impartiality, one agency offers evaluation services while another provides the therapeutic services.

To learn more, call TEIS Early Intervention at 412-271-8347 or visit our Contact Us page to get help today.

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