Parents of a newborn little man every day observe various kinds of changes in his behavior. By three months he learns to hold his head, at four - he tries the first lure. This article will focus on the development of a child at 7 months.
What should a child be able to do according to medical standard?
The pediatrician will certainly ask the parent what the child can do at 7 months. According to the medical standard, the pediatric patient must fully cope with the following tasks:
- Sitting alone without parental support and without support.
- Turn over in all directions.
- Make the first attempts to take a sitting position.
- Hold the bottle in your hands and drink from it.
- Try to get up on your knees, holding the sides of the crib.
- Raise the toy, examine it and toss it up slightly.
If a child is lagging behind development in some ways, then parents have a lot of questions about whether everything is normal with his health. As a rule, doctors with a slight physical lag recommend performing gymnastics at home.
The baby is not 7 months old and does not try to crawl. What to do?
The baby does not always develop as his parents would like. There are times when the baby after reaching six months continues to stay in a horizontal position most of the time. And this means that it is time for the parent to think about solving this problem.
If the child is not sitting at 7 months, then this kind of physical lag can be due to several reasons:
- Intensive weight gain. The larger the baby, the more difficult it is for him to develop physically.
- Prematurity. Baby crumbs born prematurely tend to develop according to their "real" age. That is, in terms of development, they can lag behind exactly as much as weeks before they were born
- Hypotension of the legs and arms. Children with weak muscles are much more difficult to learn to crawl and sit down.
If the child is not sitting at 7 months, then he will have to undergo a course of massage and physiotherapy exercises. If before 9-10 months he did not acquire these skills, then perhaps he has any health problems. He must undergo an examination by a neurologist and orthopedist.
Physiological features
An important role in the development of the child at 7 months plays physiological features. By this time, his organs of vision and hearing are fully formed. A child can recognize which side the sound is coming from and is able to focus his vision on some bright subject.
By the seventh month of life, parents are already actively beginning to introduce complementary foods. Accordingly, the frequency and visual symptoms of the stool may change. The life of the child by this period changes markedly: he sleeps less; during wakefulness, he studies new subjects, without requiring constant attention from his parents; his nutrition system and lifestyle are changing.
main parameters
From 1 month to 1 year, the parent together with the baby must visit the pediatrician every month. The purpose of the visit to him is to monitor the development of a small patient. At the next appointment to measure the height and weight of the child at 7 months.
The ratio of weight to height:
- Indicator for girls: weight from 6.8 to 8.9 kg, height within 64-70 cm.
- Indicator for boys: weight from 7.1 to 9.5 kg, height from 65 to 71 cm.
The ratio of these two indicators will help to determine whether the child is eating normally and to assess its degree of development. If the baby’s weight is 7 months below normal, then pediatricians recommend introducing saturated foods, such as milk-based cereals, into his diet. A small patient with a large weight is transferred to food on a clock basis. He should eat small amounts every 4 to 4.5 hours.
About teeth
Each mother with trepidation worries about what a child can do at 7 months. Physical development is a process that can be influenced. But, there are also factors that are not amenable to human intervention. For example, teething refers to this. Normally, by this age, the first teeth should come out in a little man. Their appearance will be prompted by several signs:
- The baby begins to accumulate abundantly saliva. It is recommended not to leave the child alone for a long time and you cannot fix his head in axial position. Otherwise, it may choke.
- Another obvious sign is redness and swelling of the gums. Most likely, this feeling will bring the baby discomfort, so he will be capricious. Special dental gels for children in the “0+” category will make this feeling easier.
- Baby is worried about itching in the gum area. He tries to remove this discomfort on his own - he pulls toys, fingers and other objects into his mouth. It is recommended to buy him special devices for teething. They will help relieve itching, as well as accelerate the maturation process.
- Another obvious symptom is an increase in temperature of more than 37 degrees.
The process of tooth formation is individual. It depends on a combination of many factors. In some children, they appear at 4 months, and for someone after the eighth.
Learning to crawl
More than half a year has already passed, when the long-awaited birth of the baby took place. And this means that it's time to think about how to teach a child to crawl. At 7 months, this is quite simple. Indeed, by this time the body is already strong and ready for physical exertion. There are several proven ways to achieve first success:
- Put the baby on the tummy. Opposite him, put a bright toy. He will try his best to approach her.
- Help the child move his body forward by pressing the heels with his palm.
- Show him these skills in your performance. Of course, from the outside it may seem silly, but children always try to repeat the habits of their parents.
- Lift the crumbs legs slightly, literally for 10 - 30 seconds. Move his body forward slightly so that he takes a few “steps” with his hands forward. An important condition is that the exercise can be performed only if the shoulder girdle is strong enough.
How to teach a baby to crawl at 7 months? Exercise alone will not be enough to achieve this goal. In addition, it is required to record the baby on a massage course and daily perform a gymnastics complex on the muscles of the arms and legs.
Hygiene procedures
For each parent, of course, what the child should be able to do at 7 months is of particular importance. A boy, how to develop faster than a girl. This is due to the fact that he has stronger muscles. He used to sit down, and begins to crawl. Accordingly, at this age it is already possible to gradually begin to accustom them to the pot.
By this age, parents should already get used to some hygiene procedures:
- daily washing;
- ear cleaning;
- nail clipping;
- combing;
- warm baths (frequency of the procedure every day or once every two days).
If necessary, it is necessary to treat the baby's skin with oil, baby cream or powder.
Sleep
A newborn man sleeps almost always. He wakes up only to eat or when diaper replacement is required. The development of a child at 7 months becomes a bit different - more and more time is allocated for wakefulness.
At night, the baby should sleep about 8-10 hours. Sometimes, it can be interrupted for a snack. Normally, the baby should rest three times during the day. The total duration of sleep during this period of time should be about 5 hours.
Walks
A mandatory component in the development of the child at 7 months is walking. Their duration and frequency depends on weather conditions. It is strongly not recommended to walk with the crumbs:
- at high air temperature - from 27 degrees;
- in frost - below 20 degrees;
- with a shower;
- in strong winds.
In other cases, you can walk with the baby 1-2 times a day. On average, a seven-month-old child should spend 4 to 6 hours outdoors.
A contraindication for walking is also the poor health of the crumbs and their attendants.
Nutrition
Each month is of particular importance in the development of the child, both physically and psychologically. Not only the baby's abilities change, but also the nutritional needs. For full well-being, he needs approximately 1000-1100 ml of food per day. At one time, he can eat 200 to 250 ml. Accordingly, a growing organism requires 4-5 meals per day.
If the weight and height of the child is 7 months below normal, then the daily menu should include milk porridge with the addition of fruit. For nutrition, potatoes can be added to vegetable puree. Gradually, the diet can be expanded by adding yolk, cookies, crackers and bagels to it.
If the baby’s weight and height is 7 months above the norm, then his menu should consist of less high-calorie foods: dairy-free cereals, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin and some types of fruits (apple, pear).
In addition to the main meals, the baby can be fed with a mixture or breast milk.
Psychological development
Separately, it is worth talking about what a child should be able to at 7 months (girl and boy) in psychological terms. By this age, the baby begins to make many sounds. They continue to be like babbling, but the parent can clearly recognize when her baby is in a good mood, and when in a bad mood.
Games with a child of 7 months are already becoming more interesting. By this time, he is already familiar with many objects, knows their semantic meaning and is even able to point a finger at them.
The kid is already starting to respond to his name - he turns his head to the person who uttered it.
During this period, a specialist can already identify some pathologies in the development of the baby. For example, he is left-handed or right-handed. By the 7th month of life, his hemispheres are already fully formed, respectively, you can determine which hand he controls better.
What to do if the baby is behind in development?
For each mother, her child is the smartest and most ideal. But, unfortunately for many parents, their children can develop more slowly than other babies. If the child is lagging behind in development, then the following is required:
- With a clear lag in the physical plane (does not creep, do not sit down), much attention needs to be paid to the development of the muscle corset. A loyal assistant for this case will be daily gymnastics professional massage.
- If you lag behind in psychological terms, you need to pay great attention to communication and games with your child at 7 months. Modern mothers spend most of their time on life, career, and socializing with friends. The more they will be in contact with the baby, the faster it will develop.
If the child is slightly behind the norm, then do not rush him. He will certainly catch up with his peers, but a little later. If a positive result does not appear for a long time, in addition, there is no progress even after classes, then a medical examination is required to identify pathologies.
Every child is different! Its development depends on many factors. You should not compare your baby with other children and “tune” his development to strict medical standards. It is important to be patient and spend more time on your baby!