So many people ask me when their baby should be doing A,B,C and D. Most movements a baby may start to preform are considered motor milestones. So why is it important to keep track of developmental milestones? Motor milestones are important because they allow us to track our baby's progress and development. Sometimes a delay in motor development may present itself in a delay in motor milestones. Therefore it keeps health care practitioners aware of potential needs...whether it be more testing or a referral to a paediatric physiotherapist. The earlier a child receives care the better. Children learn best when they are very young. They are developing very quickly...making many new "neuropathways" in the brain-basically learning how to move and making memories of this. The earlier a deficit or delay is picked up, the earlier intervention can be started thereby maximizing the benefits of physiotherapy. Why is physiotherapy important to a developing infant?
Physiotherapy will help a child go through movements they may not be attempting- they allow a child to repeat these movement over and over to promote learning-the development of new neuropathways- and lay down new "motor memories".
Some of the milestones of a 7-9 month old:
lifts head up and pushes through elbows and often through hands during tummy time
picks up small objects with thumbs and fingers (pincer grip)
sits without support
sits and can reach for toys outside base of support (leaning)
starts to creep or crawl (hands and knees or pulling along on tummy)
These are general guidelines but I do like the charts that offer a range for age rather than a specific age as children develop at very different rates... this doesn't always mean something is wrong. It can be tempting to compare baby to others but remember every child is different. Quality (how a baby is doing it) often means more than quantity (what a baby is doing) and this often takes a trained eye to observe movements of baby.
My son, born premature often moved very different from my other children...nothing was necessarily wrong...just different...we kept track of it along the way....thankfully he did fine.
If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me anytime! This first year can be stressful I know but it does help to have all the correct information you can.
One of my favourite quotes:
"You cannot make people learn. You can only provide the right conditions for learning to happen." ~ Vince Gowmon
