From infant to toddler - developmental milestones

3rd to 4th month

At this age, infants should be able to stretch and bend their extremities without much difficulty. They should also be able to guide their hands spontaneously to the center of their body. While in a sitting position, they can keep their head upright for a short period of time and while lying face down, slightly lift it. They can also hold and keep eye contact and fixate on faces. They react noticeably when talked to. Upon touch, they turn their heads to familiar sound sources and begin to communicate through facial expressions, gestures and sounds. Around the sixth week of their life, the "social smile" or "copy smile" occurs, where infants react to faces in their immediate surroundings with a smile.

6th and 7th month

After half a year, a properly developed infant should be able to prop themselves up on their hands while lying on their stomach. They should also be able to grab an object with both hands and switch it from one hand to the other. In addition, infants at this age begin to react more consciously to their environment: they communicate more often with their primary care giver by giving a voiced laugh and vocalizing monosyllable sounds or rhythmic syllable chains (such as ge-ge-ge).

10th to 12th month
At this age, an infant’s physical and mental development allows them to be able pull themselves up and remain standing for few seconds on their own. When they sit, they do so without help and they should be able to easily roll from their back onto their stomach. The child can now also grab small objects with their thumb and index finger and hand them to their parents upon request.

Already, these new motor skills enable the baby to drink from a bottle and - with a little help - from a cup. As they grow older, their communication skills and interaction further develop as well: at around the 12th month mark, they start mimicking language sounds and form double syllables. This is the time when they first start saying “Mama” and “Dada”. They can also tell familiar and unfamiliar people apart and the sight of other children usually triggers joyous laughter. The development of a baby’s emotional intelligence also progresses noticeably. Children at this age are usually able to regulate their feelings independently and they can tolerate slight disappointments as well as short separations from their primary care giver.

Regular pediatric check-ups help to closely monitor the child’s development and make it possible to recognize and deal with any developmental problems at an early stage. In addition to the precautionary examinations, parents and caretakers should to start the process of vaccinating their child during the first year of life for complete immunization. You can find a detailed immunization schedule at the webpage of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Weighing a child’s body, measuring their length and their head circumference, are all essential methods for preventive check-ups - especially for infants and small children. Seca offers specially designed baby scales, length measuring systems and head measuring tapes, which meet all of the requirements for medical or private use.

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