Every baby grows at their own pace, and it’s alright to let them be. However, as a parent, we must look out for some typical baby development red flags.
Besides learning about the potential milestones for your baby, it is also essential to know about baby development red flags. For this reason, we have brought you a list of development milestones, and the potential red flags as your newborn reaches the age of six months. Read on!
Baby Development Red Flags To Look Out
Considering the level of exclusiveness in the stages of baby development skills, we will start with the milestones development before stating the red flags for better understanding.
By 2 months
Social milestones
- Stares at you
- Calms down when you hold your pick them up
- Looks happy at your sight
- Smiles back seeing you talk/smile
Language milestones
- Reacts to noise
- Makes sounds other than crying
Cognitive milestones
- Watches your movement consciously
- Stares at a toy for long
Physical development milestones
- Opens hands
- Tries holding their head up (when on tummy)
- Starts moving their arms and legs actively
Red flags to address
- Doesn’t react to loud noises
- Doesn’t follow moving eyes or objects briefly
- Don’t put hands in their mouth
- Fails to hold their head up (when on tummy)
By 4 months
Social milestones
- Smiles to get attention
- Chuckles when tickled
- Tries to hold your attention by looking at you, moving or making sounds
Language milestones
- Makes cooing sounds, such as “oooo”, “aahh”
- Responds with sounds when you try talking to them
- Turns the head in the direction of your voice (or any sound)
Cognitive milestones
- Opens mouth at the sight of breast/bottle when hungry
- Shows interest in looking at their hands
Physical development milestones
- Holds head up without support when held
- Grabs a toy when you give them
- Swings the toy with their arm
- Pushes up onto forearms/elbows (when on tummy)
Red flags to address
- Doesn’t smile at anyone but you
- Fails to hold head and chest up when on tummy
- Struggles to move eyes in all directions
- Don’t bring hands/things to their mouth
- Doesn’t turn their head to sounds or moving objects
- Doesn’t respond with a chuckle
- Doesn’t move their hands and legs actively
- Don’t push their feet when placed on a hard surface
- Doesn’t make cooing sounds
Baby Development Red Flags For A 6 Months Old
Milestones to expect
By 6 months
Social milestones
- Laughs
- Looks in the mirror
- Recognizes family and other familiar faces
Language milestones
- Makes sounds with you in turns
- Sticks out tongue and blows
- Makes squealing noises
Cognitive milestones
- Explores things by putting them in the mouth
- Reaches out to grab a toy
- Closes lips to say no to food
Physical development milestones
- Rolls on the bed (from tummy to back)
- Pushes up using arms when on tummy
- Leans on hands for support when sitting
Red flags to address
- Doesn’t show interest in getting things that are within reach
- Does not show affection for you/caregivers
- Is not responding to sounds (not even to the ones in closer range)
- Faces difficulty in bringing things to their mouth
- Seems quite floppy
- Doesn’t make vowel sounds, such as “oh”, “ah”, etc.
- Doesn’t laugh
- Struggles to roll over
- Looks stiff (tight muscles)
Role Of Parents In Handling Baby Development Red Flags
Here are a few tips and activities for encouraging and supporting the little one:
- Show positivity towards your baby. In addition to this, be excited, talk to them, and smile when they make sounds.
- Read and sing to your baby as it will help them understand and develop language.
- Spend some time holding and cuddling your little one. Show a sense of care and security. Moreover, responding to your baby or picking them up doesn’t mean you are spoiling them.
- As they turn 4months old, you can allow them to take safe things in their mouth. That’s how they learn and explore!
- Give them a safe area in the house to play with toys – reach out for them or kick them.
- Copy your child’s actions. If they coo, you coo. When they smile at you, smile back. Because these things help them build their first social skills.
- Point out new things around your baby. Show them a plant on your balcony or the sky, cars, and animals.
In A Nutshell
Remember, there isn’t a pre-defined list of baby development red flags. Your baby will develop at their pace. So, if you don’t see them reaching any of the physical, cognitive, social or language milestones in the first few months, we suggest you to be patient. However, it is best to check with your doctor if you notice something seriously odd with your baby.
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