The child in the fourth month of life changes externally. At this age, the color and quality of the child's hair change markedly. The reason for everything is the loss of the delicate and tender primary hair with which the baby was born. Now you can determine what the baby will have eye color. As you know, all babies are born with blue eyes. By the age of three months, the iris of the eyes changes noticeably, and it becomes clear that the brown-eyed or blue-eyed will be your baby.
Important achievements of the fourth month of development of the kid
Physical development indicators
At the fourth month of the development of the child, the following changes in the indices of physical development are observed:
- increase in body weight by 600-750 grams, 140-170 g each week;
- the baby grows on average by 2-2.5 cm.
Given the rapid growth of the baby in the first year of life, it is important to ensure the intake of enough vitamin D in his body, especially from September to April, when solar activity is weakening. Vitamin "D" will promote the absorption of calcium by the baby's body, and, consequently, the right growth and development. Be sure to consult with the pediatrician about the dosage of the drug.
Sensory-motor skills
In terms of sensory-motor development in the fourth month of life, you can observe the appearance of the following skills:
- some babies can already turn themselves from back to tummy and vice versa;
- the child is able to hold the raised head for a long period of time;
- babies on artificial feeding are already ready for the introduction of the first complementary foods;
- the child turns the head in all directions, both in the position lying on the back, and in the position on the tummy;
- the kid can hold small objects between the thumb and forefinger;
- the baby is actively splashing in the water while swimming;
- the kid focuses his sight on objects at different distances;
- The child moves in the crib, thanks to the "swimming" movements;
- the kid takes out and "tries" the objects caught in the hand on the taste;
- the child is familiar with many smells, distinguishes them.
Intellectual achievements of the baby
The kid of this age has noticeably grown up in terms of intellectual development. He already can:
- smile and vocalize in the presence of adults, which are of great interest to him;
- the kid creates new sounds, listens to them, imitates familiar tones;
- the child is able to remember events for a short period of time, from five to seven seconds;
- the baby plays more active, plays, for an hour and more between periods of sleep.
Social development of the baby
In the fourth month of life, the child grows up socially. He laughs when he is tickled, interested in his reflection in the mirror, attracts attention with various sounds, listens to pleasant music with pleasure, smiles when talking to him. Feeding the baby combines with the game. He is no longer that little helpless little man he used to be, he is actively interested in his surroundings.
Motional activity of the baby in the fourth month of life
For the fourth month of life, the child begins to confidently hold the head, turn it to the sides, hold it for a long time in the position lying on the stomach. The kid learns to turn over from the back to the abdomen and vice versa.
The kid's fists are no longer compressed, as at birth. The child is able to take a toy in his hands, hold it, and also "taste" the taste. When the baby lies on his stomach, it sometimes seems that he is trying to swim. In fact, these are the first attempts to crawl!
Some parents, at their discretion or on the advice of grandmothers, begin to sit down babies from the age of four months. Orthopedists in this matter adhere to a single point of view: "Do not rush!" Sitting the baby for only a few seconds can be used as an element of daily gymnastics exercises. If you sit down too early, when your body is not yet ready for independent sitting, you can severely damage the development of the musculoskeletal system. When the spine and the muscular system of the baby get stronger properly, he will sit himself. Sit your baby in five months, six or seven does not really matter, most importantly - he will do it when he is ready for it 100%.
The language of communication
The kid at this age already knows how to laugh loudly. This is an active indicator of social development! Along with the "agukaniem" in the speech of the baby appear individual sounds, such as: "e", "e", "s", "a", "l", "m", "b", "n" and others.
Dream of the kid
As a rule, the night sleep of the baby becomes deeper, the baby sleeps an average of 10-11 hours. Daytime sleep is divided into two or three periods: one sleep before lunch and one or two sleep after dinner. Adjust to the needs of the baby. As a rule, if you want to sleep, the child becomes listless, rubs his eyes, yawns. Other children, on the contrary, become more active, but at the same time also irritable.
To the baby developed faster
In order for the child to develop more actively, it is recommended to stimulate his visual and auditory receptors, as well as to promote the development of the motor skills of the baby. Proceeding from the above, during the fourth month of the child's development it is advisable to conduct the following developmental activities, as well as a set of gymnastic exercises.
Exercises for active development
- Pronounce the baby sounds with which "different animals" "talk". Show the child how the dog is barking, the cat is mewing, the hen is chuckling, the goat is ticking, the pig is grunting, the cow is mooing.
- Periodically leave the baby naked on different surfaces. So it will be better to form a tactile perception of the child's environment.
- All that you do with the baby (undress him, dress, do massage, gymnastics, bathe), sound, use the appropriate rhymes and songs.
- Play with the baby in hide and seek.
- Play with your child, use colorful rattles to play the game.
- Introduce the child to the new sounds, show the place where the sound comes from.
- Put next to the child's watch, watch his reaction, how he reacts to the tick. Say it yourself: "Tick-tock, tick-tock ..."
Gymnastics for the development of the baby in the fourth month of life
In order for the baby to develop more actively, it is important to regularly hold gymnastics and massage. Easy stroking of hands, feet, massage of the bellies clockwise will help relieve muscle tension and calm the baby.
Perform flexion and extension of the legs of the baby, as well as the prevention of hip dysplasia - circular movements of the legs in the hip joints. Turn the baby from the back to the abdomen and from the abdomen to the back, holding it by the legs. Do "sitting down": taking the kid by the handles, stimulate the lifting of the head and upper body. Do not pull the child by force. If he does not succumb and does not try to raise himself, then such an exercise should be postponed. It is also important to perform breathing exercises: dilute the baby's hands in the sides, and then cross them on the chest.
The fourth month of the child's development is a transition period, a new stage of the child's noticeable growing up. Do not forget to pay attention to your baby, talk to him as often as possible, smile to your daughter or son, and in return you will receive a sea of positive emotions.