 Developmental
Milestones
What
are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by seven months
of age?
From age
four to seven months, the most important changes take place within your child.
This is the period when he’ll learn to coordinate his emerging perceptive
abilities (the use of senses like vision, touch,and hearing) and his increasing
motor abilities to develop skills like grasping, rolling over, sitting up,
and possibly even crawling.
Here are
some other milestones to look for.
Movement
milestones
-
Rolls
both ways (front to back, back to front)
-
Sits
with, and then without, support of her hands
-
Supports
her whole weight on her legs
-
Reaches
with one hand
-
Transfers
object from hand to hand
-
Uses
raking grasp (not pincer)
-
Responds
to own name
-
Begins
to respond to “no”
-
Distinguishes
emotions by tone of voice
-
Responds
to sound by making sounds
-
Uses
voice to express joy and displeasure
-
Babbles
chains of consonants
-
Finds
partially hidden object
-
Explores
with hands and mouth
-
Struggles
to get objects that are out of reach
Social
and emotional milestones
Developmental
health watch
Because each
baby develops in his own particular manner, it’s impossible to tell exactly
when or how your child will perfect a given skill. The developmental milestones
listed in this book will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect,
but don’t be alarmed if your own baby’s development takes a slightly
different course. Alert your pediatrician, however, if your baby displays
any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.
-
Seems
very stiff, with tight muscles
-
Seems
very floppy, like a rag doll
-
Head
still flops back when body is pulled up to a sitting position
-
Reaches
with one hand only
-
Refuses
to cuddle
-
Shows
no affection for the person who cares for him
-
Doesn’t
seem to enjoy being around people
-
One
or both eyes consistently turn in or out
-
Persistent
tearing, eye drainage, or sensitivity to light
-
Does
not respond to sounds around him
- Has difficulty getting objects
to his mouth
- Does not turn his head to locate
sounds by four months
- Doesn’t roll over in either
direction (front to back or back to front) by five months
- Seems inconsolable at night after
five months
- Doesn’t smile spontaneously
by five months
- Cannot sit with help by six months
- Does not laugh or make squealing
sounds by six months
- Does not actively reach for objects
by six to seven months
- Doesn’t follow objects with
both eyes at near (1 foot) [30 cm] and far (6 feet) [180 cm] ranges by seven
months
- Does not bear some weight on
legs by seven months
- Does not try to attract attention
through actions by seven months
- Does not babble by eight months
- Shows no interest in games of
peekaboo by eight months
Published online: 6/07
Source: Caring
for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 (Copyright ©
2004 American Academy of Pediatrics, Updated 5/05)
To order a copy of this book visit the AAP
Bookstore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information contained
in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical care
and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your
pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
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